‘Nehanda Nyakasikana: The Ultimate Sacrifice’

Elias Chakanyuka

ON May 25, 2021, Native Host Incorporated presented a book titled; “Nehanda Nyakasikana: The Ultimate Sacrifice,” to President Mnangagwa during the unveiling of the Mbuya Nehanda statue and national monument in Harare.

Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga spoke briefly about the concept behind the compilation of the book, before it was presented to the Head of State.

During the presentation, Native Host announced that they dedicated the book to President Mnangagwa because of his noble decision to lead the documentation of the country’s history and to honour the country’s iconic heroine, Mbuya Nehanda.

Since the unveiling, there has been debate over the book, considering that this is probably the first time in the country’s history to have a book focusing specifically on Mbuya Nehanda.

This is despite the fact that there has been extensive research on Mbuya Nehanda that has borne the publication of several academic and journal articles.

The Sunday Mail interviewed Native Host to get a clearer picture on the idea behind the book, the team that compiled it and most importantly, to get a glimpse of the contents of the book.

Native Host said the concept behind the book came after Government mooted plans to erect a statue depicting the iconic First Chimurenga heroine.

“When we heard that Government wanted to honour Mbuya Nehanda through the erection of a statue in Harare, we researched and discovered that there was no book written on Mbuya Nehanda,” said Native Host.

“The main aim was to celebrate this warrior woman and in the process instil a spirit of ubuntu/hunhu and patriotism among the people of Zimbabwe.

“We wanted a book on Mbuya Nehanda that would speak to the youths in a way that would inculcate positive attitudes towards our culture, values and traditions.

“The concept was also in support of the move by Government to introduce heritage studies in school.”

According to the “Teacher’s Guide” on Heritage and Social Studies for Grade 3-7 that was circulated by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Heritage and Social Studies should embrace “the Zimbabwean Constitution, patriotism, national identity, national symbols and factors of production such as land, capital, labour and enterprise.”

The learning areas cover the social history of Zimbabweans, local cultures, cultural interdependence, heritage values and religious practice.

It also encompasses the history, traditions and social qualities which are considered an important part of Zimbabwe’s image and focuses on cultural and heritage preservation.

With the concept in place, Native Host then assembled a team, led by Munyaradzi Huni as the editor, with journalist and writer, Baffour Ankomah, as the chief contributor as well as University of Zimbabwe lecturers, Dr Munyaradzi Nyakudya, Mr Tapiwa Loveson Gopo and Alliance Francaise to turn the concept into a book.

“We first identified veteran journalist, Huni, to lead that team as the editor of the book,” said Native Host.

“He was our obvious choice for this task because of his vast experience and knowledge emanating mainly from his hugely popular interviews with former freedom fighters from the Second Chimurenga.

“As the editor, he then researched a lot on Mbuya Nehanda after which he wrote the bulk of the stories in the book tracing the origins of the Nehanda spirit, how Nehanda Charwe led the First Chimurenga and how her famous words ‘mapfupa angu achamuka’ inspired the Second Chimurenga.

While the book was anchored on Nehanda Nyakasikana, the editor came up with stories that put the iconic heroine in proper context through tracing the history of Zimbabwe from pre-colonial times.

“Through archival documents, Nehanda Charwe speaks about her ultimate sacrifice to present and future generations, showing that her resistance to colonialism was not only about those three famous words: ‘mapfupa angu achamuka.’

“Before uttering those inspirational words, Nehanda Charwe had tormented white settlers in ways that shook the colonial authorities to the core.

“In addition, the stories also celebrate other heroes from the First Chimurenga like Chief Chingaira, Chief Chinengundu, King Lobengula and others who led their people in fighting against the invading white settlers.

“Quite a number of these fascinating stories came from archival documents, in the form of court documents from 1898, memoirs, letters, newspaper articles and books written by white settlers confessing the torrid time they faced as Shona and Ndebele people revolted against colonial rule.”

The other stories were drawn from academic research papers and journal articles written by renowned Zimbabwean scholars and historians.

“So as you can see, this book is not one long narrative on Nehanda Nyakasikana.”

The book is divided into chapters with each one dedicated to telling different stories.

“This style was necessary because we wanted the book to be interactive and appeal to people of all ages. In short, the editor came up with stories that de-silence Mbuya Nehanda’s silenced history,” said Native Host.

After compiling the bulk of the stories, Native Host then identified renowned international writer, Ankomah, the former editor of New African Magazine, as the chief contributor to the book.

“To us, Mbuya Nehanda was not restricted to Zimbabwe only, she was the face of African resistance against colonialism and so as the chief contributor, Ankomah, through very thought-provoking and incisive articles, defined Mbuya Nehanda from a broader African perspective.

“There is no doubt that Ankomah is a connoisseur in the ‘Writing Back to the Empire’ project that seeks to de-westernise African history.

“In this project, African history is written by African writers from an African perspective.

“In truly refreshing Pan-African style, Ankomah managed to situate Mbuya Nehanda in the African context in ways that will show many that indeed Africa is the cradle of humankind.

“Of course, as Native Host, we also tapped into Ankomah’s immense knowledge and experience in the publishing industry.

“With Huni as the editor and Ankomah as the chief contributor, during meetings, we would jokingly call them the ‘Two Bad Superstars.’

“Indeed, this was a case of iron sharpening iron and that combination worked wonders.”

To give the book an academic feel, the preamble was written by Dr Nyakudya, a senior lecturer in History, Heritage and Knowledge at UZ.

In addition, the popular poem, Nehanda Nyakasikana, was translated into Ndebele by Mr Gopo, a translation/interpreting lecturer in the Languages, Literature and Culture Department at the UZ.

Alliance Francaise, Harare translated the same poem into French.

“Since our main aim in this book is to ‘catch them young,’ we identified two youngsters whose invaluable contributions will see this book appealing to the younger generation,” said Native Host.

“Through these two youngsters, we wanted to give the youths a voice to speak to fellow youths.

“We identified, Macjeff Tinotenda Chigudu, a student in Architectural Technology from the Harare Polytechnic, to come up with illustrations and artistic impressions of some scenes from the country’s history and his work will blow many people’s minds.

“As for the book design and layout, we identified Wellington Ziduche, whose work speaks for itself. The front cover of the book is enough testimony to show that Welly is a cut above the rest.

“During the research process, we worked closely with the executive director of the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Dr Godfrey Mahachi.

“We were assisted by the leadership at the National Archives of Zimbabwe and several other academics and African traditionalists.

“In the end, we had a solid team that complemented each other to produce this gem of a resource and library book that we think will be a must-have for all schools, colleges and universities in Zimbabwe and beyond.”

Native Host are now working on the logistics to avail the book onto the market.