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4 September 2008

Protocol

In 2004 the Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal took a conscientious decision to locate heritage within the Office of the Premier. This related mainly to heritage promotion and heritage development. The Office of the Premier is best positioned to handle such a cross-cutting portfolio, because heritage holds the key to creating a national consciousness of nationhood and promote patriotism and social cohesion.

Heritage is globally recognised as consisting of the sum total of a people's cultural and environmental inheritance from the past. While heritage is too complex for a simplistic definition, one of the most outstanding authors in the field, S. Miller, in her article "An Overview of the Sector" published in 1999, states that the collective meaning of heritage includes such components as museums, historic houses, country parks, archaeological sites, collective memories, cultural and artistic productions, and even landscapes all of which are linked to the past. Miller goes on to state that heritage "provides symbols of continuity, icons of identity, as well as places for pleasure, enjoyment and enlightenment."

Thus it can be concluded that heritage is an area of knowledge generation where ideas of reality are permanently in action to give meaning to the past, the present and the future. In short, as Miller states, heritage is a springboard for future action and a catalyst for nostalgia, which maintains continuity through discovery and re-discovery, invention and re-invention, positioning and re-positioning. We need to continuously interrogate our past in order to make meaning of it, and create continuity in our present. This is what the foundation for identity and identity formation becomes.

In the past four years we have positioned our presentation of the heritage of KwaZulu-Natal under a conscientious theme and message that, through heritage, we tell the story of the Zulu people and the people of KwaZulu-Natal. We need to unpack the journey that was travelled by those who came before us, so that as we walk the journey ourselves we can learn from the lessons of the past and teach our children well. Heritage is about nation building.

The story of the Zulu people and the people of KwaZulu-Natal is long and complex. It is a story of journeys, treks, arrivals, resistance, attacks, counter-attacks, conflict; the resolution of conflict, the creation of the conditions of reconciliation, peace, democracy and development. It is a story of different peoples and cultures coming together to create a new society. It is a story in which the creation of a new society has meant that each of the components of the society has lost some of its traits and gained some new ones.

It is a story in which no one has stood still. It is a story in which cultural trade-offs has led to continuous discovery and re-discovery. It is a story of tangibles and intangibles. It is a story of intellectual and emotional discourse. It is a story whose long and winding journey has created Durban, known also by two names; eThekwini, or Pietermaritzburg, known also as uMgungundlovu oNdonga zibomvu, while at the same time invoking the nostalgia of the battles of Ncome, iSandlwana and the Bhambatha Rebellion; all moments which changed the course of history in our society.

We continue to tell this story in the year 2008, and recall past events which happened in the years ending with this magical number eight. And so we recall that as recently as in the past 90 years, one of the greatest sons of the world, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, was born. And so we recall that he met with his final arrest before enduring 27 years of incarceration on the soil of KwaZulu-Natal. His historic role on 27 April 1994 was to create conditions under which this story could be told by all of us as we now know it, death. This he did working with a collective set up by John Dube, Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Sol Plaatjie and Walter Rubusana on 8 January, 1912. He was acting in the spirit of a collective which, after Dube, has seen Sefako Magkato, Zaccheus Mahabane, Josiah Gumede, Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Dr A B Xuma, Dr James Moroka, Chief Albert Luthuli, Oliver Reginald Tambo, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, and Jacob Zuma, have all put the candle on the table as they seek to spread the light and tell the many versions of this story.

We go back thousands of years and be reminded by the rock art of the Drakensberg Mountains that the Khoi and the San people were once residents of this great Province. This they did while our African ancestors were still resident in the Great Lakes in Central Africa, before embarking on a long journey, starting from around 200 AD, which journey, lasting up to a thousand years took them through East Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, before they settled in present-day KwaZulu-Natal from around 1300 AD.

We continue to tell the story of the disparate kingdoms which settled here, the Abambo, the abaNtungwa and the abeNguni; and the great rulers who, until 1818, when Shaka defeated Zwide at Ukhalo lukaNomvemve on the banks of uThukela River, ruled these disparate kingdoms Zwide kaLanga of the Ndwandwe; Dingiswayo kaJobe of the Mthethwa; and Phakathwayo kaKhondlo of the Qwabe, among many.

It is a story of the great generals of the pre-colonial Zulu army; King Shaka kaSenzangakhona himself, Mdlaka kaNcindi Ntshangase, Ndlela kaSompisi Ntuli, Nongalaza kaNondela Mnyandu, Ntshingwayo kaMahole Khoza, Mnyamana kaNgqengelele Buthelezi, Mavumengwana kaNdlela kaSompisi Ntuli, Godide kaNdlela kaSompisi Ntuli, Somopho kaZikhala mthembu, Zibhebhu kaMaphitha Zulu, Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande, Prince Ziwedu kaMpande, Prince Mbilini kaMswati a daring Swazi guerrilla who fought and died for the Zulus while in exile among them in 1879.

It is a story of the great regiments of the Zulu army, which regiments were manned by brave men and sometimes women, whose sense of patriotism put state and nation above personal ambition – Umbelebele, isiPhezi, iNtontela, iziYendane, uDlangezwa, iziNyosi, uDlambedlu, iNdabakawombe, iSangqu, uThulwana, amaMboza, uDlokwe, uMxhapho, uDloko, iNgobamakhosi, uVe, uFalaza, uDakwakusutha, uVukayibambe so named by okaMsweli in 1912, uPhondolwendlovu, and female regiments iNgcugce, and uTiyane.

It is a story of pre-colonial women successes Mkabayi kaJama, Mthaniya kaZingelwayo Gazu, of the Sibiya people; Nandi ka Mbengi weNguge of the Mhlongo people; and Queen kaMsweli mother of King Dinuzulu the Queen of oNdini. Similarly it is a story of Queen Langazana daughter of Gubeshe Sibiya a leading wife of King Senzangakhona and Queen of eSiklebheni Palace who, for close to a century, was an influential figure in Zulu State affairs- born in the 1770s she died in 1884.

It is story of the great African conflicts for consolidation in the region, starting with the decisive clash between Zwide and Shaka at uKhalo lukaNomvemve on the headwaters of uThukela River in 1818; the oBhalule campaign of 1828, the battle of eNdondakusuka in 1856, and the Zulu civil war of 1884 to 1888. It is a story of the great Wars of Resistance against occupation and colonialism, sparked by the multi-faceted Zulu-Voortrekker War of 1838, and concluded by an even more complex Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. It is a story of the 1906 Bhambatha Rebellion against Poll Tax and colonial subjugation; and it is a story of colonial humiliation of Kings Dingane, Mpande, Cetshwayo, Dinuzulu and Solomon, and apartheid dismemberment of the dignity of Kings Cyprian and Goodwill.

In 2008 we tell a story of public behaviour of past Zulu Diplomatic missions, in case studies of Sotobe kaMphangalala of the Sibiya, sent by Shaka on a mission to establish diplomatic relations with King George of Britain, in 1828, and Vumandaba kaNtethi of the Khumalo, Phalane kaMdinwa of the Mkhwato receive the War Ultimatum from the colonial representative of Britain, John Shepstone, on 11 December 1838.

In 2008 we tell a story of colonial arrivals and the founding of Port Natal with blessings of Shaka in 1824, which arrival later produced the dynasties of Fynn, Ogle, Dunn and other Africans later classified as coloureds by the apartheid regime. We pose to note that this arrival was so mixed and full of contradictions it later produced Theophilus Shepstone and his brothers, Thesiger, Chelmsford and Duncan Mackenzie in one extreme, and Bishop Colenso, Harriette Colenso and Alan Paton in the other.

It is story of arrivals which in 1860 saw the ship named Truro, dock in Durban to off-load indentured labourers from India, and subsequent others un-indentured, who were to add yet another colour to the rainbow nation which would form after the storm. It was this arrival which was later going the add Mahatma Ghandi, Yusuf Dadoo and Monty Naicker, among others, to the long list of our inheritance.

Twenty-eight marks 180 years since the death of King Shaka. It cannot be an ordinary commemoration. Yes, in 2008 we pause to tell the story which marks 100 years since King Dinuzulu was tried and incarcerated in one of the most unfair of trials that our history has seen. And so we shall unveil his statue on 20 September and re-live his legacy.

We shall commemorate 40 years of the death of King Cyprian, father of the present Monarch who died on 17 September, 1968, the year of the passing on of American Civil Rights Leader, Martin Luther King Junior. And so we remember. The most important lesson from the story of the Zulu people and the people of KwaZulu-Natal is that it is the story that has shaped our identity, our icons and our character as a region and Province which is aware of it unity in diversity.

I now turn to introduce the programme of the month of September 2008. The highlight of the programme of course will be the unveiling of the statue of king Dinuzulu in Berea in Durban on 20 September. Heritage month programme is being delivered under the theme: "Telling the story of the Zulu People and the People of KwaZulu-Natal". It is a theme which brings the message of "Identity and identity formation and Unity through Diversity."

As we approach 2010 we need to ask ourselves: "What is the identity of KwaZulu-Natal? What is it that we have today and in our history which is uniquely KwaZulu-Natal? What are the unique characteristics of people from KwaZulu-Natal?"

During the African Renaissance week in May this year, we launched the KZN Family Tree Project. The stability of our families is critical to our identity. The motto of the KZN family Tree is: "Zaze futhi Uzisho." When people ask you and say, "Awuzisho Wethu," they are asking for your unique identity: Who are you? Where do you come from? Who are your siblings, your parents, your grand parents, your great grand parents and so on?

Unveiling Dinuzulu: 20 September, 2008

The Unveiling of the statue of King Dinuzulu will be done on this day. King Dinuzulu, son of king Cetshwayo, assumed Office in 1884, following the death of his father on 8 February, 1884. King Cetshwayo had died at 57 years of age. When Dinuzulu assumed the throne, Zululand was still an independent territory, with borders the uThukela, the Buffalo, the Uphongolo and the Indian Ocean.

Between 1884 and 1888 Dinuzulu reigned over a restless territory, characterized by a civil war between uSuthu and Mandlakazi. The authorities refused to recognize him as King of the Zulus, reducing him to a mere Chief of uSuthu. Soon after the annexation of Zululand by Britain in 1887, the Governor of Zululand, Arthur Havelock, arranged for an interview with the king set for 14 November of that year. In this encounter king Dinuzulu told Havelock that he – Dinuzulu -- and not the Queen was the rightful ruler of Zululand and successor to kings Shaka, Dingane, Mpande and Cetshwayo. To this Havelock provokingly replied:

"Such a thing is now impossible. Dinuzulu must know and all the Zulus must know that the rule of the House of Shaka is a thing of the past. It is dead. It is like water spilt on the ground. The Queen now rules in Zululand and no one else."

In 1889, following the 1888 Civil War between Usuthu and Mandlakazi, Dinuzulu was tried and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The trial was at Eshowe. His uncles Ndabuko and Shingana were each sentenced to fifteen years and twelve years respectively. He was exiled to St. Helena until he returned in 1898, the year Chief Albert Luthuli was born. St. Helena became an opportunity for transformation for the King, learning to read, write and play the piano. Coming back he established close ties with the likes of Dr JL Dube and Pixley ka Isaka Seme, so that at the formation of the ANC in 1912, he was appointed Honorary President of the ANC.

In 1908 he was once more put on trial following the Bhambatha Rebellion of 1906.The arrest and trial took the following chronology:

* 9 December 1907: Dinuzulu was arrested by Colonel McKenzie at 11h15 pm at Nongoma. McKenzie had come with 400 troops and police. The King was hailed for having surrendered without compulsion or bloodshed (Binns 1968:242). He was with Mankulumana, Mgwaqo and Ncaphayi.

* 23 December, 1907: The king appeared before uMngeni magistrate, Mr T R Bennet, for a preliminary hearing. Evidence was given by Siyekiwe, the wife of Bhambatha, and her son Ndabayakhe and daughter Kholekile.

* 7 January, 1908: After lengthy refusal by the authorities the king was allowed to meet with Harriette Colenso to discuss the case.

* 15 September, 1908: Names of the three judges were gazetted: Sir William Smith of the Transvaal acted as Judge President; Judge H G Boshoff of the Natal Bench, and Henrique Shepstone ex-Secretary of Native Affairs in Natal and brother of Sir Theophilus Shepstone. Henrique was a non-lawyer and had been instrumental in sending Dinuzulu to St. Helena in 1889. His appointment met with much protest.

* 3 November, 1908: Trial of key state witness Chakijana kaGezindaka, with whom the State had entered into some kind of "Plea bargain" if he testified impressively against Dinuzulu.

* 19 November, 1908: The trial of Dinuzulu starts and ends with sentencing on three counts from the original 23. His lawyer, W P Schreiner, brother of well-known author Olive Schreiner travelled fro Cape Town for the case. He noted that the case had political and constitutional issues.

On the preliminary trial Robert Samuelson, legal assistant for the defence, wrote:

"The preliminary examination at most of which I attended in my capacity of assisting Counsel for defence, was an eye-opener as to what could be done to defeat justice. Among many questionable things that were done and which made my blood boil, was that the witnesses were ordered to sit with their backs to Dinuzulu, while they were examined, and when Mr Jellicoe (British advocate solicited by Harriette) objected, he was told by the presiding officer that if he did not shut up he would be bundled up with his papers". Quoted in Binns 1968.

Dinuzulu was sentenced in 1909, and sent to the Newcastle prison. In 1910 General Botha, the new Union Premier, and in a gesture of reconciliation, released him and sent him to the farm Uitkyk, KwaThengisangaye near Middelburg, Mpumalanga province, where he died on 18 April, 1913.

Before he died he said: "Bury me with my fathers at Nobamba", which wish was honoured. Nobamba is at eMakhosini Valley. So, eMakhosini is very important in our heritage and identity formation. This is the same valley where in the old uMgungundlovu onduku zibomvu, King Dingane's capital palace, a multi-media centre which uses technology to tell the story of the Zulus and the story of the people of KwaZulu-Natal, is being built and which I will be opening soon.

King Dinuzulu Choral Music Eisteddfod

This is a build-up to the unveiling of the statue. It is also an exhibition of one of the legacies of King Dinuzulu, music. The king was exiled to St Helena Island where, among others, he learned to read and write, play the piano and speak English. As author Stephen Taylor (1994: 272) puts it:

"Dinuzulu had a private tutor appointed to him, Magema kaMagwaza, the historian and convert of Colenso, who taught him to read and write. The heir to Shaka's kingdom also learned to play the piano…" On Dinuzulu's return from St. Helena a British traveller, C J Watts, wrote to his friends:"

"I was at Nongoma when Dinuzulu arrived from St Helena in 1898, a fine well built figure (he was then thirty years old), dressed in a shooting suit of that period: He entertained his visitors at the Usuthu in good style and was able to rattle off some tunes on his piano." Quoted from C T Binns (1968)

Dinuzulu composed many traditional amahubo songs. He saw music as a form of medium for mass protest.

Among the many traditional amahubo songs, can be noted "Wayihlaba Wema Nayo", which records the brief relation Usuthu had with the Transvaal Commando in 1884, where General Botha was a member, and " Sangena ko Bhevula" which records the June 22, 1888 fight between USuthu and Mandlakazi. On his return from prison in 1898 he befriended Dube, Seme and other Amakholwa, themselves proponents of choral music. By associating with the piano and Kholwa Choral music traditions, King Dinuzulu opened a new era of cultural transformation among the Zulus, at the top of which was choral music, if you listen to the songs of R.T.Caluza (1895 -1969) and A.A. Kumalo of Edendale. In 1912 when the ANC was formed in Bloemfontein, King Dinuzulu was appointed honorary President of the movement.

In 2006, I inaugurated the KZN Premier's Choral Music Heritage Project, whose aim is to record history and heritage through the medium of choral music. Choral music is able to absorb a lot of text in its lyrics. The 2006 Eisteddfod was branded "The Bhambatha/Ghandi Choral Music Eisteddfod"; in 2007 it was branded "The Chief Albert Luthuli Choral Music Eisteddfod," and in 2008 "The King Dinuzulu Choral Music Eisteddfod". The Eisteddfod is to be held in Pietermaritzburg where Dinuzulu was jailed during the trial in 1908.

An Exhibition, also telling the story of the life and times of King Dinuzulu will be opened at the Local History Museum on the 20 September 2008. Artist Jerry Pooe has written a stage play which also depicts the life and times of king Dinuzulu. The show is to be staged by the Playhouse Company from 22 to 28 September 2008.

Reed Dance

The Reed Dance was revived by King Zwelithini in the 1980s. It will take place at eNyokeni Royal Palace on 13 September 2008.

The KwaZulu–Natal Heritage one-day seminar

On 22 September we will assemble the best intellectual and practical brains in the Province to spark a debate on the heritage of Kwazulu-Natal. The Aim of the one–day seminar is to create a forum for intellectual inputs on the Heritage of KwaZulu–Natal. We need to create a clear synergy between our quest for identity through heritage and the rural tourism development initiatives of which eMakhosisni is a case study. The Seminar will be held at the Sinodale Centre in Pietermaritzburg.

King Shaka Memorial Day

King Shaka passed on 180 years ago. It is therefore not an ordinary Commemoration. The commemoration will take this into account. A statue, which now is at research and planning stages, is to be built on the banks of uThukela River as part of the "City Within A City" Project at eMacambini, on the North Coast.

The Multi Cultural Music and Dance Programme

The programme aims to project the various cultures and traditions of KwaZulu–Natal in a single project. This project will put all the cultures and traditions of the Province on display. Its highlight will be a stage production addressing Xenophobia, multi-culturalism and family trees. This will take place in Ladysmith on 27 September, 2008. I am glad that struggle veteran and hero of the cultural Amandla Project, set up by Oliver Tambo in exile to communicate the messages of the liberation Movement through artistic productions, is performing today with his group – Amandla, which features members of the original cast of AMANDLA like Muntu Ngobese, who was code-named DRUM in exile. I am also glad that Ladysmith Black Mambazo is here performing today. They have represented our heritage and identity all over the world.

The South African Traditional Music Awards (SATMA) will be held on 27 September 2008 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC, in Durban.

Other projects later in the year

The Commemoration of the British Ultimatum delivered by John Shepstone and received by a delegation led by Vumandaba ka Ntethi of the Khumalo, who was induna of Umcijo and induna of Nodwengu; Phalane ka Mdinwa of the Mkhwanazi – who was induna of Dlangezwa; Mawundula ka Mamba brother of Masiphula ka Mamba - who was a royal induna; Gebhula, who was induna of KwaGqikazi and once a favored messenger of king Mpande; and Mabilwana kaMhlanganiswa – who was induna of kwaGingindlovu. This was typically the personnel of a Zulu diplomatic mission.

In fact this delegation interacted and debated with the colonial delegation as is evident from Vumandaba's words.

Quotes" "I have heard where the boundary is to be .The King will be disappointed with this." Vumandaba ka Ntethi, remarking about the boundary award, 11 December, 1878.

" The Zulu King, in his desire to do all that was expected of him has given those who were charged with witch craft every chance of proving their innocence, by placing them first at one kraal, then at another, then at another" Vumandaba objecting to the Ultimatum.

Quotations from K I Smith (2006) Select Documents: A Zulu War Source Book

Commemoration of the Legacy of King Dingane

King Dingane has been misrepresented by some white historians as a murderer, overlooking that he had actually been invaded. The happenings of 1838, from the letter of Piet Retief (January 1838), to the killing of Piet Retief on 6 February, to the Zulu attacks on the Voortrekkers on the Drakensberg foothills (17 February, 1838), to the Battles of uThukela, (17 April, 1838) Thalane, (10 April, 1838) Port Natal (24 April, 1838), Second Zulu Expedition to the Voortrekkers on the Drakensberg (13 August, 1838), Ncome (16 December, 1838) to Bhongoza Cebekhulu’s triumph at Ophathe ( 27 December,1838), will be revisited and properly recorded, as well as the Breaking of the Rope in 1839 and the Battle of Maqongqo in January 1840.

Conclusion

The heritage Programme of September 2008 will go a long way towards giving meaning to the role of heritage in the advancement of reconciliation, peace, democracy and development. Heritage itself is now seen as the key element of Tourism and Local Economic Development. When early next year we launch the Provincial Movement of Local Heritage Forums, it will be the biggest assembly of the people of KwaZulu-Natal all seeking to discover and re-discover themselves, as well as position and re-position themselves through constructing their family trees; authenticating their local geographic lace-names, re-constructing their local histories and honouring their local heroes; as well as setting up an agenda in which the Tourism industry can be truly transformed as those whose cultures are being commodified take charge of the commodification process. Our identity as Zulu people and the people of KwaZulu-Natal is in our hands.

I thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
4 September 2008