The Sunday Mail
Society Reporter
AUTHOR Sydney Ndlovu has written a play that imagines Mbuya Nehanda in different social settings, reimagining her persona and existence beyond the violent images portrayed and left behind by colonialists.
The book, whose release is “scheduled for when Covid-19 conditions allow”, is a text which locates Mbuya Nehanda (through her vessel Charwe) in the day-to-day lives of pre-colonial Zimbabwe.
Titled “Chiedza and the Legend of Nehanda”, the play imagines how Mbuya Nehanda would have reacted to grief, triumphs and familial ties had she lived in an unadulterated society without colonial influences.
It is based on a character called Chiedza, a Good Samaritan with a pure heart who is assisted by Nehanda, who comes through her dreams to perform her good deeds.
Speaking in an interview with The Sunday Mail Society, Ndlovu said the idea for the book came to him four years ago.
“In 2017, I was working on a documentary called ‘Second Republic’, around political events of that time. That is when I stumbled upon a research by Pritchard Zhou in which he said Zimbabwe is the Ophir of the Bible where Solomon got endowments,” he said.
The information triggered his curiosity, which sent him on a deep dive.
“I started researching further on the claims that Zimbabwe is an Ophir. I found other mysteries that I could not answer; for example, why Cecil John Rhodes opted to be buried at Matopos, yet he had relocated to Cape Town. As I did further reflections, I realised that most of our answers are connected to Mbuya Nehanda, who was a connection or conduit to one true God,” said Ndlovu.
The documentary filmmaker said what he learnt about Mbuya Nehanda’s life inspired him to pen the play. He said he toyed with the idea of non-fiction but felt he needed to take a more evocative approach.
“Theatre, unlike novels and non-fiction books, can be acted out and that to me ,it is my own way of ensuring that Mbuya Nehanda comes back to life through the various actors who will take to the stage.”
He plans to engage theatre practitioners and take the play across the country through performances when public health conditions allow.
