South Africa...the land of milk and honey. A land with soil that births the
"flesh of the gods" shaped as gold. A royal land where the paws of the pride roam and the roar of the king echoes. A custodian of Nun where the Atlantic and Indian oceans converge. A land that is so close to izulu that you can reach out your hand and almost touch the throne of God. A land that buries inkaba introducing and deeply rooting a child to the soil. Ohh South Africa...you have forgotten who you are.
In the early 1900s the apartheid government implemented a plan to displace, disorientate and disfigure South Africa and her people. It was the era of the gold rush which saw the black man being dispossessed of their inherent land and plunged into the mines of eGoli. In 1912, the first ever 'native township' was established by a wealthy farmer known as Papenfus who named the place after his wife Alexandra. In Alexandra, black people were permitted to own land which catapulted the population to 30 000 by the next year. The government saw the sporadic growth of Alexandra and decided to draw a clear racial line in the sand. The Natives Land Act of 1913 was the first piece of segregation legislation that regulated and restricted the acquisition of land. Its implementation diminished available land to about 7% in reserves. Black people were prohibited from owning or leasing land outside of the reserve. It also limited transactions between the white and black races by forbidding black tenant farming on white owned land. Control measures were also put in place restricting the terms under which black people could occupy white owned land. This law stripped black people of their wealth thrusting them into the wage labour force. Conclusively, the theft of land and its rights thereof created a system of lack, dependence and nonidentity.
The apartheid system entrenched concentration camps at every corner of our land. From the dombolo dwellings in White City to the highlands of Umlazi and not forgetting the tin roofs of Khayelitsha. These spaces create a setting for a slow and unconscious death. These death chambers give off the illusion that you're living when you're barely alive. You're so focused on breathing today that there's no space in your lungs for a brighter tomorrow. No hope; no dreams. Without hope you're as good as a dead man walking. And as you walk in circles you lock eyes with another dead man...and another...and another. The space is the epitome of a ghost town draped in despair. Our eyes are filled with depression, anxiety and fear. Your spirit gets eroded because "all diseases are a violation of the spirit," Dr. Abraham Verghese, Oprah Super Soul. We try to heal our mental illness with alcohol 3 times a day or by injecting the cocktail drug nyaope into our veins. Some of us try to numb the emotional pain with painkillers, unaware that the oxycontin in painkillers has the same molecular structure as heroin. The poison is deeply woven into our psyche that we begin to call these spaces our homes. We proudly shout at the top of our lungs "ikasi lami" ignorant of the fact that the word "kasi" doesn't exist in our mother tongues. MaBlerh emphasizes how "we should not have an emotion attached to those places," in Castle Milk Stout Black Conversations. Nomzamo Mbatha shares the same sentiments in an interview on Wisdom & Wellness. "I grew up in Kwamashu and you grow up exposed to so much that is supposed to hold you back and hold you down. Nothing about the system of a township (and I say a 'system' cause it was built) was built for the prosperity of its people," she reiterates. The system ; a pack of hyenas that tears your flesh apart eating you alive.
We are the children of the soil; the ground we walk on molds us. Singabantu besintu nobuntu. "Ntu" within the African landscape means 'soul' or 'life force'. It is the harmonious existence with nature and the intrinsic oneness with all that is. We are connected to uNomkhubulwane and her elements. The connection is raised to a higher vibrational frequency through sacred utterances of direto tsa bagolo. Direto always encompass a totem and/or element of nature be it earth, fire, wind or water. From the soil we were created; to the soil we return. Hence our ancestors are referred to as abaphansi: the ones who have returned to the earth. In the olden days and in the rural areas today, land was given to all of her people. We never understood ownership when it comes to land hence the nonexistence of title deeds. The process of receiving land in the Nguni culture was based on a request to the nduna who in some cases would relay the request to inkosi. It is important to highlight that inkosi doesn't own the land but is just a mere custodian of it. The king is a conservationist of the land who acts under the authority of uNomkhubulwane and Nomkhubulwane reigns under Mvelinqangi.
The applicant would then get interviewed based on isibongo, imvelaphi as well as the family unit. Your potential contribution to the community is then assessed and more often than not the application is granted. A small token of appreciation would be given to inkosi in the form of livestock, harvest, money etc. and the family would get introduced to the community. Once introduced to the community, the ancestors are introduced to the land through umsebenzi called ukubethela. Ukubethela is a ritual where there's a placing of pillars around the parameters of the yard, Menzi ka Gudu on Unpopular Opinion. Once introductions are complete, the celebrations ensue where the neighbours are invited and an animal is slaughtered. The land will have isibaya which contains the wealth and prosperity of the family and acts as umsamo wekhaya where the family has interspiritual conversations no gogo no mkhulu. When a new baby is born, the baby is introduced to abaphansi by having inkaba yakhe buried esibayeni. Isibaya becomes the anchor of the bloodline where every individual's identity is rooted. Thus, the land is a sacred space for rites of passage and traditional rituals.
So how do we start breathing life into these ghost towns? First step is allowing God to use you as a vessel of the kingdom. This means to be firmly rooted in your purpose. Thus, becoming "tangible representations of a dream realized," Nomzamo Mbatha. Remember, the devil doesn't flinch at mediocracy but is alienated by the manifestation of God's vision. The second thing is to tap into who we are, ubuntu. Living our purpose in a way that is founded on the principle that I am blessed to be a blessing unto others. Understanding that money doesn't belong to anyone but to the kingdom. In doing so, we will allow the flow of money to circulate amongst us freely opening our hearts to gratitude and abundance. Thirdly, diminishing this social construct that "money is the root of all evil" so that we may attract it. When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, [S]He instructed them to eat from all the trees in the garden but one: the tree of knowledge. All means abundance, abundance means quality of life and the genesis of quality of life is founded on money. Lastly, intentionally attack all systems. The systems of capitalism and consumerism by taking back our buying power and breaking free from the shackles of debt. Did you know that "halaal" has got nothing to do with religion and everything to do with creating an isolated market? The ideology is simple: identify, trust and support. We need to create our own halaal system that extends beyond naming our businesses in our native language. I believe we can use these principles to reclaim and restore what is ours.
Land expropriation without compensation goes far beyond any political agenda, its spiritual warfare. In the bible, the entire old testament is about war, war over land. The time has come for us to change our perspective and break off from the false narrative that the bible is just folktale that occurred centuries ago. We need to use it as an instrument of war against the enemy. Let the full armour of God cover you; with your helmet of salvation, shoes of peace, shield of faith and sword of the spirit. And knowing who we are and embodying it boldly. By being deeply rooted to the soil carrying okhokho bethu in our spirits. For "I come as one but stand as ten thousand," Maya Angelou. We are the sons and daughters of kings and queens. The melanin in our skin is an extension of our reign. Remember! A king never bows down to a peasant.
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