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Tshivhangwaho Solomon Ntsandeni adds his voice to the history of the Vhavenda people and chieftainship quest.

New book an addition to Vhavenda history

 

In a slim book that had taken nearly four decades to research and just eight months to consolidate the material, Tshivhangwaho Solomon Ntsandeni (81) added his voice to the history of the Vhavenda people and chieftainship quest.

Ntsandeni, a resident of Shayandima, said the research process of his book, The Mphaphuli Dynasty in Crisis – The Vhavenda Royal Tradition Sacrificed on the Altar of White Imperialism, took a long time to complete, mainly because of the verification of information.

“It was quite exhilarating to experience the past and how it has influenced the present existence – the hardship of the Black people under Apartheid and all other struggles,” he said. “The present quest for land by mostly young people is one thing to marvel and wonder about, and get shocked at times because many of them care less about how to appropriately address the issue.”

In the book, Ntsandeni raises the controversial issue of chieftainship: that there had not been any chieftaincy which had not been fiercely contested, and that chieftainship was (and still is) not handed down to an “heir” because “vhuhosi a si gaku la mufumbu, a vhu netshedzhwi (kingship is not a lump of porridge, it is not simply an offering)”.

He states in his book that, before the interference of the Western administration in  chieftainships, no conclusive lineage to chieftaincy or kingship existed, but that those interested in becoming king had to first wage a war, and that the one who won would become king.

“I feel that the Vhavenda tradition was sacrificed by the white administration, in that today it has become common knowledge that this king will be followed by that prince (his son) and so on,” he said. “In the former days, the heir to the throne was kept a secret during his father’s reign. And chieftainship had to be contested especially by those who could satisfy some of the requirements. According to custom it was not necessarily the first-born son who became an heir, on whom the Whites concentrated.”

However, he writes: “Today it is not necessary to physically fight for succession. All I can say is that people should go to the bookshops and get themselves some copies of this book. It’s for students of history and, indeed, all those who want to know the past in order to understand how the present was shaped by it.”

The book can be found at Mbuye Christian Bookshop at Thohoyandou behind the Post Office; Mukona Bookshop (at Dr VS Ramasuvha’s surgery at Makwarela location), or directly from the author 082 363 9952 or 076 856 4809.

The Mphaphuli Dynasty in Crisis – The Vhavenda Royal Tradition Sacrificed on the Altar of White Imperialism.

 

Date:13 August 2018

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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