A night at the Nkosini

Commemoration of this year’s International Mountain Day (IMD) was held in Ntcheu, where Inkosi ya Makhosi Gomani V led a hike up the Muonekela Hill where the Maseko Ngoni supreme ruler is involved in environmental protection. On the eve of the trek, the chief hosted participants to a night of fun at the royal palace, Nkosini. KONDWANI KAMIYALA spent a night at the homestead. He recounts:

Friday, December 8 2023. It was a little after 8 in the night that I arrived at the headquarters of the Inkosi ya Makhosi Gomani V at Lizulu in Ntcheu. The Nkosini is some 300 metres from the M1, at least 58 kilometres from the Ntcheu Boma.

For those not in the know, Lizulu is a short for Lizwe la Zulu—Land of the Zulu. It is also said that Tsangano is a corruption of Umhlangano, a place where people meet.

Being a Friday, at 8:00pm the night was still young at Lizulu, given that the following day is a market day, which brings traders from far and wide.

It is one of these traders, Charles Makila, who is also a farmer, who directed me to the royal homestead, made that fact clear, as we passed through drinking joints with blaring music as revelers went about their business.

“Traders come from far and wide. Some come to sell or buy stuff from here. On my part, I come to sell vegetables like zitheba and green pepper which I cultivate not far from the boma,” said Makila.

If the trading centre was a hive of activity, the Nkosini was a burst of activity. You could feel it, even from a distance. The unmistakable Ngoma chants and steps, men whistling while women were clapping their hands and ululating, singing in unison songs that were at once provocative and authoritative.

As the Ngoma dance ensued, some of the participants set for the hike to commemorate the 2023 International Mountain Day (IMD) were at the kitchen getting their dinner, while others were in the tents strewn across the lawn.

Soon, the bonfire was lit and people sat around it. They waited with patient expectation for the arrival of Gomani 5, currently in the 11th year of his rule since he was coronated at the age of 16, after the death of his father Kanjedza Gomani IV in 2009.

Born Mswati Willard Gomani, he took over the chieftaincy after a two-year regency by her aunt Rosemary Malinki.

“Bayethe Ngwenyama! Bayethe Gumede! Bayethe Nkosi!” an Impi, one of the elders accompanying the king shouted to announce the arrival of the King.

All those around the fire stood up after those words signifying Gomani as a chief as powerful as the lion and the last authority in the land.

Newly-elected Athletics Association of Malawi president Kondwani Chamwala, who is one of the leaders at Team Adventure was directing the events. With a tongue-in-cheek manner, he set the participants to be free and enjoy the food, roast beef and drinks, which included locally brewed masese.

“The one who is going to sleep tonight is a baby,” said Chamwala, before introducing Everton Kamangire, an Impi who traced the Maseko Ngoni lineage.

The narrative felt like you were having the oral version of DD Phiri’s From Nguni to Ngoni or KD Phillip’s Onani Angoni.

The Maseko Ngoni lineage, said Kamangire, dates back from around the mid-1830s when they were led by Ngwane when the Maseko’s left together with other clans to escape constant raids referred to as Mfecane. Ngwane died before they crossed the Zambezi.

Kamangire traced the kings from Magadlela to Gomani V, through Maseko Mputa, Chidyaonga as regent, Chikuse, Gomani I, Phillip Gomani II, Willard Gomani III and Kanjedza Gomani IV.

“Right now the Maseko Ngoni are found in South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi. In Malawi, they are spread across all the regions of the country with over 20 Amakhosi,” said Kamangire.

He also cited the clashes with the colonialists, which culminated into the arrest of Gomani III, who was detained together with other local freedom fighters against the federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

“He was incarcerated at Kanjedza Prison in Blantyre. Hence, his son’s name was Kanjedza,” said the Impi.

Such a history, it came as no surprise when Gomani V announced that plans were under way to establish a Maseko Ngoni Cultural Village at Nkolimbo Village, where the Umhlangano Cultural Festival is held annually. It is here that the grave of Gomani I is located.

“Apart from the cultural village, we are also working out a syllabus for the Ngoni language. It is worth noting that many Ngonis don’t speak the language and for those who do speak, at times we have troubles with honorifics and other grammatical points,” said the chief when he took the floor.

After his talk, which included much of the works he is doing in conservation on Muonekela Hill, Gomani opened the dancefloor.

“Let us dance Ngoma. This is a dance where some of you will realise that you have two left feet not a left and right foot. Let us all enjoy. And, by the way, I am married. You will see my wife in the morning,” said the chief.

So from Ngoma, some of the participants trekked to local and international music. The programme indicated that the 10-kilometre trek to Muonekela Hill would start at 5.30am. It was around 4.30am that some of the hikers went to have a bit of rest before the three-hour trek.

It wasn’t until way after eight that the participants left the Nkosini. Restoration  works on the mountain began in 2015, but it wasn’t until 2018 that Gomani V became involved.

Chibwana Youth Organisation president Acton Masauko recalled that it was a hustle to involve the king to make the process greater. He said they started out as a small group and each member was contributing K200, which they used to buy seedlings. At the time, pine seedlings were at K50 each.

As time went, the youth started doing piecework in people’s gardens and using the money to buy more seedlings. But, they felt that was not enough as their capacity was low, and people were still creating bushfires. That was when they decided to approach Gomani.

“Getting to the Ngwenyama was not easy. Some of those around him, felt there was nothing tangible we could tell the chief. They denied us all the chances for us to meet him. It only took one Impi who made it smooth for us to meet the Ngwenyama.

“When we went to the Nkosini, sweat was running down my armpits. I could not speak. But, eventually I gathered enough courage and presented our case. That was the beginning of greater things,” recalls Masauko.

When the Ngwenyama got on board, we saw other players coming in. The forestry department came in with 1 200 seedlings the other year. Then came the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment with their own donation. On the 2023 IMD, a Christian organisation Emmanuel International donated 2 000 seedlings.

“His involvement has borne fruit. Chiefs in the area have established by-laws. Noone can encroach into Ngwenyama’s protected area,” said Masauko.