Excursion to Zululand Historical Museum and Vukani Museum
Vukani Museaum
Nongqayi Rd
Eshowe
Tel: 035-474-5274
E-mail: vukanimuseum@lantic.net
Today our travels through the KwaZulu-Natal providence continued with a trip to the two wonderful museums in Eshowe. We were first warmly greeted by Aurelian Madqwni and Elizabeth Mazibuko, who introduced us to the fascinating history of Zululand through the displays within Eshowe’s Fort. The fort was built in 1883 after the Anglo-Zulu war as a training site for peace making police to end the civil war that erupted between those that supported the Zulu King and those that supported the British. The fort consisted of two buildings: a stable and a dining hall/kitchen. The 600 men stationed in Eshowe and their families lived in small huts around the fort. Each hut was built out of a moveable wooden frame covered in thatch. The main hut holds a living room divided into three sections. The front section is for men with women and children on either side of the middle, while the back section was allocated as a sacred place for the ancestors. Smaller sleeping huts encircle the main hut. Each wife is assigned to a hut based on their status in the family, with the first wife’s being the first to the left.
Aurelian also provided us with a brief history of the Zulu people. He started with King Shaka whose new strategies for warfare expanded the Zulu kingdom. Shaka had his warriors run barefoot to out race the opponent, use short spears to stab and retain the spear, carry large shields to protect themselves, and align in new formations for battle. With these ingenuities, Shaka was able to overtake and incorporate other tribes. His first major victory was in 1818 at KwaGqokii Hill where 6,000 Zulu warriors defeated the Ndwandwe army of 18,000.
After the death of Shaka in 1856, Dingade ordered the murder of all of his brothers so he would have the throne. One of the brothers, Mpande escaped the executions and was able to gain the throne for himself. Mpande’s thirty-two year rule was one of peace. Due to the lack of battles, the warriors, as well as Mpande, became fat. Mpande’s extreme weight caused health problems such as gout and arthritis, which made him bedridden. He was unable to move until a Norwiegen missionary fashioned a wheelchair to gain his favor and permission to stay in Zululand. Despite the decades of peace during Mpande’s reign, the bloodiest battle in Zululand history occurred upon his death. Mpande’s two sons, Princes Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi, fought near present day Mandeni. In five hours, over 20,000 people were killed including women and children. Eventually Prince Cetshwayo was named king.
The major conflict during Cetshwayo’s reigns was with the English in 1870. The British felt that the Zulu kingdom held too much power and forced a war by implementing provoking decrees. It required two British invasions to break the Zulu forces with the last battle on July fourth. During the second invasion the Zulu were betrayed by their only white chief, John Dunn, who was promised land and wealth if he helped the British. King Cetshwayo was eventually captured and removed to Cape Town. With the lack of a centralized king, the thirteen chiefdoms began a civil war. After watching his people being destroyed by each other through civil war, King Cetshwayo traveled to London for a meeting with Queen Victoria to ask permission to return to his people. Though he appeared in her court dressed in a fine suit and very civilized, Queen Victoria ordered a portrait made the depicted him as a savage king. The painter unfortunately did not know how an African king would dress and painted him wearing a bear tooth necklace and wrapped in bear fur. Fortunately the Queen did permit King Cetshwayo to return to Zululand and try to instill peace but another war erupted between him and his brother Zibhebhu for power. To stop the unsettlement which threatened British trading, they opened forts for training peace keeping police, such as the fort (now a museum) at Eshowe.
The British chose Eshowe due to its warm, inviting climate. There are three theories on the origin of the name. One is it comes from the word meaning “soft wind” that blows through the forest. The second that is was named after a plant common to the area. Third was the large number of tents around the town reminded them of mushrooms. Our tour guide preferred to believe the last.
Vukani, which means “wake up and get going,” contained exquisite crafts that awoke all of our curiosities. We were lucky to have the pieces shown to us by Mboli Thusini and her new assistant Sne Nene. A large part of the collection was baskets, handmade by area master weavers. The baskets were woven from indigenous plants such as ilala palm. Before creating the basket, the palms can be died a rainbow of colors using extracts from plants, for example iSizimane for black and uMsobo for purple. The museum holds a large collection of pieces by Reuben Ndwandwe, an international known artist. His pieces are known for their quality, intricate mathematical designs, and signature cross hatched lids. From Mboli we learned that the quality of a basket can be determined by how tightly the basket is woven at its origin, known as the embryo. Baskets are used by Zulu people for a variety of tasks, such as grain storage in the ground or to hold liquids. If the basket is meant to hold liquids it will first be soaked in water where the palms will swell making the basket leak proof.
The Vukani Museum also held a large number of clay pots. The pots are made by collecting clay from two different rivers. The clays are dried and ground to form a powder and mixed together in correct proportions. The powders are then reconstituted with water. The coiling method was employed to shape the hand rolled coils of clay into all forms of pots. The clay is then smoothed with a flat river stone and designs are carved into the outside not only to add to the beauty but provide grip when carrying the full pot. The pots are then dried over a fire of grass to strengthen them. Pots that are used for traditional Zulu beer are blackened to show respect for the ancestors. These pots are fired a second time over hard wood or dung to give them their characteristic black color and polished with animal fat. Today pots are often blackened with shoe polish to be sold to tourists.
Other pieces of art found at the museum include wood carvings, tapestries, and beadwork. The beadwork is found in many different forms from clothing to whips. Beads where often used to send messages and display information. For example beadwork was used as love letters where colors represented specific messages:
Red= passion
White= purity
Yellow= jealousy
Green= lonely love
Black= anger
Pink= work harder
Over time the beadwork on clothing grew to tell information such as what village you were from, whether you were a virgin, or if you were looking for a husband. Beads were also used on the Sangoma’s whip. A sangoma is an honored fortuneteller of sorts for the Zulu people who is called to the position by the ancestors. The sangoma’s duties include telling future through the use of poems, advising, and determining individuals’ illnesses. To connect with the spirits they would use a whip made of a beast’s tail and a handle covered in beadwork. Other examples of beadwork include Iwisa lokusina (dancing stick), Idauathi (an anklet with meaning similar to a wedding ring), and aprons.
My first overall impression of the museum was how different it was from the average museum in the United States. The fort appeared to be in slight disrepair with displays not up to the quality expected at a well funded museum. Even with the lack in resources, the exhibits were informative with the knowledgeable curator that guided us through the displays. The same is true for the art museum, where Mboli was not only well-informed but also possessed a love for the art of her people and the history that it represents. The fact that the tradition of making the functional and beautiful pieces are still being passed down from generation to generation is a symbol of their importance in the Zulu culture. It is impressive how women of this generation are using their talents of basket weaving and pot making to generate income during the difficult periods of impoverishment. The information that we gained at Eshowe has provided us another glimpse into this interesting and rich culture.
Kerianne Sherwood
Today we visited the Dlinza Forest Aerial Boardwalk in Eshowe (for more information, call 035-474-4029 or visit www.zbr.co.za/boarwalk). Mana, our tour guide, began our tour with a brief history of the forest. This forest was named after Chief Sibiya who was buried here where the forest and mankind merge. The Dlinza Forest was named after him since “Dlinza” in Zulu means “grave.” There is also a clearing in the woods called Bishop’s Seat Picnic Spot, named after Bishop MwCarter from England. The Bishop loved nature so he would come to this clearing to meditate.
Dlinza forest is one of the few natural forests in South Africa. I thought it was amazing how this forest is still preserved, despite the fact that it is located in the middle of Eshowe. When visiting Dlinza, tourists can either take a 1.3-kilometer walk (about 30 minutes) or a 1.8-kilometer walk (about 40-45 minutes). Since our group did not have enough time to go on one of the walks, we were only able to take the boardwalk (127 meters) up to the tower (20 meters high). The tower looks out over the forest and offers a spectacular view of not only the trees, but also the distant landscape. Everyone in our group was able to take a picture on the tower, and since many of us had MSU shirts on, we decided to take a group picture with the treetops as our background.
The Dlinza forest is a host to 80 species of butterflies, 65 species of birds, and over 130 species of trees. The animals living here include blue duikers (similar to small antelopes), red duikers (large antelopes), bushbucks, wild pigs, and verve monkeys. We were only able to witness a couple of blue duikers chasing each other…possibly because we were all very loudJ Mana informed us that they were playing together and claiming their territory.
Here are some additional tidbits about Dlinza Forest:
Crown eagles feed on vervet monkeys
Wild pigs only come out at night
Blue duikers feed on green leaves and mushrooms
Although our trip to Dlinza was rather short, I think everyone was able to appreciate the natural beauty of the forest. Our trip made me very excited to travel to Hluhluwe Game Reserve and observe more (and larger) animals!
