Nongqawuse; the South African Prophetess whose prophesy led to the death of

40000 people

By

Gloria Adrain

CONTENT

CHAPTER ONE
Early Life
CHAPTER TWO
The Prophesy
CHAPTER THREE
Believing the Prophesy
CHAPTER FOUR
Disbelief
CHAPTER FIVE
Hunger

CHAPTER ONE
EARLY LIFE

She was born in 1841 at the centani, eastern cape in South Africa. She was the
niece of Mhlakaza. She became an orphan at a very young age, her grandfather
was the councilor of Chief Sarhili. After the death of Chief Sarhili’s daughter who
was nongqawuse’s mother he went to the cape colony and familiarized with
Christianity.

Nongqawuse lost her both parents to the battles of the waterkloof, this was a war
between the Britain army and the Xhosa people. The loss of her parents to this
war made her more conscious of the existing tension between the British colony
and the Xhosa people. The colonial forces had initiated an onslaught of attacks on
the Xhosa communities from as early as the 1779. The cattles of the people were
inflicted by lung sickness.

As a result of the death of her parents she was raised by her uncle, Mhlakaza who
happened to be a very religious man, because this was her guardian it was just
natural that she would buy into his religious ideologies.

CHAPTER TWO
THE PROPHESY

In 1856 on one fateful morning Nongqawuse who was was 15 years old then and
Nombanda who happened to be 8 years old then went to guard the crops and
chase birds away from Mhlakaza’s field crops which were by the sea at the Gxarha
rivers mouth which is now known as the Wild Coast Area of South Africa.

When she returned she told her uncle that while carrying out her normal duties
that they had met two strangers whom she said were their ancestors and they
had pronounced that; the dead will rise, all the cattle that were alive need to be
slaughtered as the hands that reared them were contaminated, cultivating should
cease, new grains will have to be cultivated, new houses will be built, new houses
for cattle should be built, new sacks for milk be made, doors will be weaved by
buka roots and that the community members abandon witchcraft, adulterous and
incest.

Mhlakaza had his disbelief and then asked her to describe the people who gave
this message and upon describing he was able to recognize the description of one
person who was his late brother as he was a diviner himself. He beloved what she
had said and decided to let the royal officials know of her prophesy.

CHAPTEE THREE
Believing the Prophesy

After Mhlakaza had revealed to the royal officials Nongqawuse’s prophesy there
was still doubt and the rumor of the prophesy was already fast growing in the
community. The paramount chief who happened to be Chief Sarhili had to send
emissaries to carry out an investigation about the prophesy.

They were sent to go to the Gxarha river mouth to see things for themselves and
to ascertain the truth in the prophesy, the emissaries did not meet the strangers
that Nongqawuse said she had seen at the river mouth but they still believed that
she was saying the truth and her prophesy should be believed.

Sarhili sent out two of his councilors to go and notify the chiefs that were under
the colonial jurisdiction of the cattle killing and instructing them to kill their cattle.
Sarhili’s involvement in this and belief made this prophesy even more stronger as
many people in turn now believed that truly those were instructions from their
ancestors.

CHAPTER FOUR
Disbelief

The people who believed in this prophesy went on to kill their own cattle as the
awaited the manifestation of the prophesy. There were also some who did not
believe so they refused to kill their cattle and neglect their crops son farms.

Towards the end of 1856 so many cattle had been killed, the movement has gone
too far for people to turn back. There were so many adherent to these prophesy
by Nongqawuse and so many crops destroyed.

Time went by and there wasn’t any resurrection of the dead like the prophesy had
stated, there was an uproar as many of the believers began to blame the
unbelievers for the lack of fulfillment of the resurrection of the dead according to
the prophesy.
After a while rumors began to spread that the new people that were foretold by
Nongqawuse’s prophesy were the Russians. This was because at that time the
Russians and the British were currently fighting a war and the Russians were on
the winning side of the war. The believers said that these were the new people
prophesied about, there was also a belief that the Russians were black Pepple
who will soon be crossing the seas to come and save the Xhosa people from the
clinching fist of the Britain forces.

They also believed that the Russians upon arrival will drive the Britain who were
the whites into the sea and this will lead to the beginning of a new nation. There
were a few individual magistrates who tried to speak wisdom to the chiefs of the
foolishness of killing all the cattle ruining their crops.

CHAPTER FIVE
HUNGER

As the days progressed and no sign of the fulfillment of the Prophesy the
believers were enraged and blamed it on the unbelievers that they were the
reason that the fulfillment of the prophesy was yet to take place.

They also went as far as denying the unbelievers any form of help from the
colonial government and treated them like outcasts. In February 1857 the
starvation became more intense and there was anarchy in the land. Thrrr wasn’t
any particular date given for the beginning of the new world according to the
prophesy this made it even more depressing for the believers.

So many believers had killed their cattle without saving any for their feeding so
the hunger became more intense, there was no food and family couldn’t eat or
survive.

As the chief, Sarhili paid a visit to the Gxarha river mouth and had a lengthy
conversation with Nongqawuse and her uncle, Mhlakaza. When he returned from
his visit to the river mouth, he then announced that the new world was going to
begin in eight days. He said that on the eight day the sun would rise with a blood
red color and there would be a huge thunderstorm before the sun would set
again and then “the dead shall arise”
During these eight days more people killed their cattle in expectance for the new
world to come.

The eight day finally came and the sun rose just like any normal day, there want
any blood red run neither was there a thunderstorm on that day. The believers all
stayed in their house on the day fastened to their doors and waiting for the
prophesy to be fulfilled.

Hunger set in on the land even more intensely and so many people died it was
recorded that 40000 people died as a result of starvation because of lack of food

Nongqawuse was handed to Major Gawler by Chief Bomvana and she stayed at
his home for that period, his wife had a portrait picture of her taken along side
the mpongo priestess, Nonkosi which is the only picture of her in circulation up till
date

In 1958 she travelled to Cape Town and she and Nonkosi were taken as prisoners
to the Paupers lodge. There wasn’t any other mention of her again in the future
after the paupers lodge was broken in August her name wasn’t found on the
prisoners list. It seemed like she had gone under the radar.