ISAACMAN, Allen. Madzi-Manga, Mhondoro and the use of oral tradition.

Madzi-Manga, Mhondoro and the Use of Oral Traditions-A Chapter in Barue Religious andPolitical HistoryAuthor(s): Allen IsaacmanReviewed work(s):Source: The Journal of African History, Vol. 14, No. 3 (1973), pp. 395-409Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/180538 .Accessed: 10/03/2012 17:46

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Journal of African History, XIV, 3 (I973), pp. 395-409 395 Printed in Great Britain

MADZI-MANGA, MHONDORO AND THE USE OF ORAL TRADITIONS-A CHAPTER IN BARUE RELIGIOUS

AND POLITICAL HISTORY'

BY ALLEN ISAACMAN

THE Barue kingdom played a prominent role in the pre-colonial history of south central Africa from its formation in the sixteenth century until its demise in I9I8. As the most important offshoot of the Mwenemutapa empire, the Barue controlled the very lucrative Sena-Manica trade system and served as the principal deterrent to Portuguese inland penetration. Despite such achievements, their history remains obscure. The paucity of archival data and the current restrictions on field research in Mozambique suggest that this situation will not be rectified in the near future.

One aspect of their history, however, is well documented-the inclusion of a baptism in the rites of investiture of the Barue king.2 The holy water for this ceremony, known in the local vernacular as madzi-manga, was brought from the town of Sena by a Portuguese official whose principal concern was to insure protection for the Portuguese merchants travelling to the Fair of Manica. This inland market lay just beyond the Barue frontier and provided much of the gold for the Zambezi valley-Indian ocean trading system.3 Implicit in the negotiations was the threat that the baptismal water would be withheld if the heir apparent refused to protect the commerce. According to previous historical interpretations, failure to receive the baptism would make the pretender ineligible to govern.4

Such an analysis of the ritual function of the madzi-manga ignores both 1 I would like to thank Eric Bhota and Stephen Mugomedza for their friendship and

invaluable assistance. Barbara Isaacman, Paul Lovejoy, Jan Vansina, and Stuart Wagner improved an earlier draft of this paper with their penetrating criticisms. Many of the conclusions were first presented orally at the Conference on African Religious History held in Lusaka, Zambia between 30 Aug. and 7 Sept. I972. The research for this study would not have been possible without the generous financial assistance of both the Graduate School and the Office of International Programs of the University of Minnesota.

2 The earliest reference to the madzi-manga dates from I794. (A.H.U., Moc., Cx. 30, Custodio de Araujo Braganca, i i Apr. I794.) The archival accounts are housed primarily at the Arquivo Hist6rico Ultramarino (A.H.U.) in Lisbon and at the Arquivo Hist6rico de Mocambique (A.H.M.) in Lourenzo Marques. Becauise of the presence of a Catholic priest among the Barue in the year I696, Caetano Montez has assumed that the practice of the madzi-manga dated from the end of the seventeenth century. (Caetano Montez, 'Coroacao dum rei do Barue em i8ii', Mofambique, XXVII (194I), I I7-2I).

3 For a general summary of this trade system see Allen Isaacman, Mozambique: The Africanization of a European Institution, the Zambesi Prazos I750-I902 (Madison, I972),

72-85. Hoyini Bhila is currently involved in an intensive examination of Manica history which should shed new light on this subject.

Caetano Montez, 'Coroacao dum rei do Barue', II7-2I; Isaacman, Mozambique, Iii-i2; Terence Ranger, 'Revolt in Portuguese East Africa-The Makombe Rising of I9I7', in Kenneth Kirkwood ed., St. Anthony's Papers-African Affairs, xv (London, I963), 58.

396 ALLEN ISAACMAN

the value structure of the Barue people and the complex religious and political processes which surround kingship. It fails to answer such funda- mental questions as (i) why the heir apparent was required to undergo the baptism, (z) whether the madzi-manga actually represented a new Christian ritual, a traditional rite of purification, or a syncretic religious practice, and

(3) what intrinsic qualities sanctified the water. Moreover, the function of the national guardian spirit, or senior mhondoro, in the investiture is con- spicuously absent. Since the senior mhondoro played a critical role in the selection and legitimization of the monarch among Shona peoples closely related to the Barue,5 evidence that the national guardian spirit did not perform these functions within Barue society would strengthen the argu- ment that they had undergone a profound religious and cultural con- version.

This paper seeks to re-examine the meaning and function of the madzi- manga through an analysis of the oral traditions of the Barue and their neighbours. It goes beyond a redefinition of the ritual to study the entire process of investiture, the role of the senior mhondoro in Barue society, and the exact nature of the relationship between the Barue and the Portuguese.

According to tradition, the origin of the madzi-manga is inextricably related to the formation and perpetuation of the Barue kingdom. Some time between the end of the fifteenth and the early part of the sixteenth century, the ancestors of the Barue separated from the nascent kingdom of the Mwenemutapa. They migrated from Chedima to their present home- land and established themselves at Missongue (see map). The Barue claimed that this region was uninhabited and that their leader and first king Kabudu Kagoro6 became the rightful owner of the land. Kabudu Kagoro embodied the most basic qualities of Barue society. He is remem- bered as a brave warrior, judicious leader, and compassionate person. At his death he was reputed to have taken a secret medicine which provided him with supernatural powers and prepared him for his new role as senior mhondoro of the Barue nation.7 These events clearly antedated the settle- ment of the Portuguese in the lower Zambezi valley.8

5 For the role of the mhondoro cults among Shona peoples related to the Barue see D. P. Abraham, 'The Roles of Chaminuka and the Mhondoro Cults in Shona Political History', E. Stokes and R. Brown eds. The Zambesian Past (Manchester, I966), 137-70; Michael Gelfand, Shona Religion (Cape Town, I962), 5-50.

6 The oral traditions were collected in interviews with Chief Makosa, I2 July I972;

Chief Dendera, I8 July 1972; Stephen Mugomedza, 19 July 1972; Samacande, 2i July I972; Tsoro, 26 July I972; Sherin, 3 I July 1972; Sande Nyandoro, I Aug. 1972;

Mushando, 2 Aug. I972; Kaitano, 7 Aug. I972. (These interviews will be deposited in the Isaacman Collection, A.S.A. Center for African Oral Data, Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana). In addition to these interviews Mr. Hodza of University College, Rhodesia, who has done extensive fieldwork among the Barue and related Shona peoples, provided the author with important insights into Barue history. Kabudu Kagoro is also remembered in the traditions by the name of Chipapata.

7 Interview with Sherin; personal communication with Mr Hodza, 7 Aug. 1972.

8 The first Portuguese settlements in the Lower Zambezi date from the middle of the sixteenth century.

USE OF ORAL TRADITIONS 397

Zambezi R. ZUMBO ZUMBO

THE SHONA-RELATED PEOPLES

CHEDIMA (TAVARA)

TFETE

Maz t f // lMISSONG U E

SENA

SENA

Indian Buzi R. Ocean

\ 9 9 / ffi t f S~~~~~ ~~OFALA

* Z1MBABWE

As the national guardian spirit, Kabudu Kagoro provided the vital link between man, the earth and the moral order. The Barue believed that breaches in the moral code, especially murder, incest, and thievery, ultimately created a disequilibrium in the natural order.9 This generally took the form of divinely inspired droughts, famines or pestilence, although other natural hardships were often explained in such causal terms. These difficulties could only be resolved through the direct intercession of Kabudu Kagoro, since the Shona supreme diety Mwari was considered inaccessible to mortals.'0

Kabudu Kagoro acted through an earthly medium who resided at the shrine centre located on Mount Guru. Any member of Barue society, regardless of age or sex, could become the host for the spirit of Kabudu

9 Interviews with Sherin and Sande Nyandoro. 10 Interviews with Chief Makosa, Sherin, and Sande Nyandoro.

398 ALLEN ISAACMAN

Kagoro. Once an individual became possessed, he remained svikiro until his death, whereupon the spirit of the senior mhondoro returned to the neighbouring forest region. The Barue believed that the spirit resided in a lion until a new svikiro had been chosen, a period which varied from several months to several years. When an individual became frenzied and roared like a lion, it was interpreted as the first sign that a new svikiro had been selected. During the trances and convulsions, which recurred with regu- larity, the person asserted in an uncharacteristic voice that he was Kabudu Kagoro. In subsequent states of possession the claimant underwent rigorous tests on the most esoteric and sacred aspects of Barue society to prove his authenticity. If successful, the new svikiro's life became shrouded in an elaborate series of ritual prohibitions which, together with his retreat to Mount Guru, set him apart from Barue society.11

The svikiro of Kabudu Kagoro periodically received delegations from the royal court seeking his advice and assistance. These interviews occurred most frequently at times of natural disaster. During prolonged droughts, Makombe dispatched representatives who carried with them sacred black cloth, a gourd filled with Kabudu Kagoro's favourite snuff, and two hoes symbolizing the Barue dependence on the senior mhondoro. Kabudu Kagoro communicated through his svikiro who remained in a trance throughout the entire seance. He explained how the Barue had violated the moral order and assured them that if they atoned in a prescribed manner, the crises would end.12

Kabudu Kagoro also played a vital role supporting the institution of kingship and preserving the integrity of the nation. Annually, his svikiro provided Makombe with a royal torch which was used to rekindle the fire of every chieftaincy in the kingdom.'3 Carl Peters described this ceremony as it was transmitted to him by Barue elders in i896:

Every year at the time of the winter solstice (in June) old Quarra Quate [svikiro of Kabudu Kagoro] is carried from Senlangombie to Misongwe in order to superintend the big sacrificial festivities for Kabulu Kagoro. The sacrifices are offered in meat, goats, and grain. This yearly festival of the whole clan is cele- brated at the burial-place of the chiefs; particular religious adoration is given also to certain mountains, hills, and rocks ... [which] are the favourite places for sacrifices to the Deity. Great religious importance attaches to fire. Every year at the national sacrifice all the fires in the country must be extinguished, and re- lighted from a sacred fire which Quarra Quate keeps in the house of Kabulu Kagoro, and which Macombe hands over to his people. It seems that the idea is prevalent that the ordinary fires have been sullied by daily use, and have to be renewed from this pure source.14

The fire symbolized both national unity and the preeminence of Makombe.

11 Interviews with Chief Makosa, Chief Dendera, Stephen Mugomedza, Samacande, Tsoro, Sherin, Sande Nyandoro, and Kaitano. 12 Ibid.

13 Interviews with Chief Makosa, Stephen Mugomedza, Samacande, and Sherin. 14 Carl Peters, The Eldorado of the Ancients (London, 1902), 125-6.

USE OF ORAL TRADITIONS 399

Failure to fulfil this ritual obligation was tantamount to treason. The guilty chieftaincy would not only be subject to harsh reprisals, but would no longer benefit from the magic smoke which was believed to protect the local polities from external threats.15 The Barue also received secret potions and other forms of supernatural assistance from Kabudu Kagoro which enabled them to defeat their enemies in time of war.16

Kabudu Kagoro's most important function was to select the proper claimant to the Barue throne and to confer spiritual legitimacy upon him. Since this selection was complicated and prolonged, the deceased king's senior adviser, the Mukomowasha, automatically became interim ruler. At the appropriate time, the svikiro descended from Mount Guru and indi- cated to the Mukomowasha and royal councillors whom Kabudu Kagoro had designated as the rightful heir. The traditions universally agree that Kabudu Kagoro selected the most qualified candidate, without concern either for the individual's genealogical position or the size of his following.17

In practice, the transition from one king to the next rarely occurred in so smooth a fashion. If, for example, Makombe died during a period when Kabudu Kagoro lacked an earthly medium, a decision had to be deferred until a new svikiro had been chosen. Postponement for an extensive period of time increased political instability.18

Prolonged and violent succession struggles presented a more common deterrent to the orderly transfer of power. Barue traditions contain numer- ous accounts of armed confrontations between aspirants to the throne.19 Data from the nineteenth century clearly indicate a high turnover of kings, the active involvement of numerous claimants in court intrigue, and pro- longed conflicts. Between i8i i and 1845, for example, a minimum of six succession crises occurred.20 While most seem to have lasted about two years, at least four years passed before the selection of Makombe Bingo's successor in the 1830S.21 For about half of this thirty year period, therefore,

15 Interviews with Chief Makosa, Samacande and Sherin. 16 Interviews with Chief Makosa, Stephen Mugomedza, Samacande, Tsoro, Sherin,

Sande Nyandoro, and Mushando. 17 Interviews with Chief Makosa, Chief Dendera, Stephen Mugomedza, Samacande,

Tsoro, Sherin, Sande Nyandoro, Mushando, and Kaitano. 18 Interviews with Chief Dendera, Samacande and Sherin. 19 Interviews with Chief Dendera, Samacande, Tsoro, Sherin, Sande Nyandoro, and

Kaitano. 20 The material on succession crises is drawn from the following primary sources:

Montez, 'Coroacao', I I7-27; A.H.U., Moc., Cx. 65: Ant6nio Joze de Almeida to Jose Francisco Alves Barbosa, undated; A.H.U., Moc., Cx. 66: Jose Francisco Alves Barbosa, 2I Sept. i82o; A.H.U., Moc., Cx. 72: Ant6nio de Avarijo to Jose Francisco Alves Barbosa, 25 Oct. I822; A.H.U., Mogx, Mayo 8: Jose Luis Rodrigues to Francisco Henriques Ferrao, 22 Apr. I829; A.H.U., C6dice I3I5, fol. 403: Francisco Henriques Ferrao to Paulo Joze Miguel de Brito, 5 Oct. I829; A.H.U., Moc., Maco I4: Joaquim Mendes de Vasconcelos e Cirne to Conde de Brito, 28 July I830; A.H.U., C6dice I480, fol. 2:

Fernando Carlos da Costa to Anselmo Henriques Ferrao, 5 Jan. I844. 21 The sketchy nature of the archival data precludes the establishment of a fixed date,

although it seems likely that a new Makombe was selected either in I830 or in I831. Makombe Bingo died in I826.

400 ALLEN ISAACMAN

the Barue kingdom was badly divided by factions. After the long and suc- cessful reign of Chipapata a similar pattern developed during the last quarter of the century.22

Both a structural weakness within the system of succession and the option of Kabudu Kagoro to ignore the genealogical position of the claim- ants tended to exacerbate these political rivalries. Garbett's description of the customary pattern of descent among the Korekore, from whom the Barue royal family is descended, helps explain the proliferation of claim- ants common to both societies.

When a man who has established a chiefdom dies, each of his sons, provided that he is not incapacitated by mental or physical infirmities, ought to succeed in turn. On the death of the last of the filial generation, the eldest sons of the founder's first son ought to succeed, followed by the eldest surviving son of the founder's second son, and so on. After all the eligible men of this generation have succeeded, the title ought then to drop a generation and rotate in the same way among the descent groups established by each of the founder's sons in order of seniority.... Assuming that senior sons marry and have children before their younger brothers and given the fact that with polygamy there may be a consider- able difference in age between them, the difficulties that arise within only three generations of the establishment of a title are considerable.23

If strictly followed, this cycle would have gradually excluded some of the senior branches whose members died off before they became eligible to rule. To avoid being eliminated, sections of the Barue royal family ignored the prescribed rules of succession and actively sought to place one of their members on the throne.24 Consequently,

When the king died, all the princes (of different dynasties, many of which were remote) claimed to be the legitimate heir, and the people divided themselves into factions, which resulted in a cruel war of long duration, in which all our territory and commerce suffered until one of the pretenders having defeated all the others emerged victorious.25

The universally held conviction that Kabudu Kagoro would select the most qualified claimant, regardless of his familial position, served as a justi- fication for this intense competition.

The practice of recognizing the Mukomowasha as interim ruler provided a modicum of continuity and stability during succession crises. As the

22 From I 88o until I9I8 the Barue Kingdom was involved intermittently in a series of succession crises which pitted the royal branch of Chipapata against the descendants of Chibudu. The situation was complicated by internal rivalries within both major sections of the royal family. This subject will be treated at length in an article the author is now writing examining the political history of the Barue kingdom during the nineteenth century.

23 G. Kingsley Garbett, 'Religious Aspects of Political Succession among the Valley, Korekore (N. Shona)' in Stokes and Brown (eds.) Zambesian Past, I52.

24 Interviews with Chief Dendera, Samacande, Sherin, Sande Nyandoro, and Kaitano; Ant6nio Candido Pedroso Gamitto, 'Successao e Acclamacao dos Reis do Barue', Archivo Pittoresco, I (I857-8) 28-9; Joao de Azevedo Coutinho, A Campanha do Barue em I902

(Lisbon, I904), 40. 25 Gamitto, 'Successao e Acclamacao', 28.

USE OF ORAL TRADITIONS 401

principal administrative and judicial adviser, the Mukomowasha enjoyed the prestige and possessed the necessary skills to carry out the policies of the deceased Makombe. Since members of the royal family were expressly forbidden from holding this hereditary position, the Mukomowasha could not possibly usurp the throne or manipulate his new position in favour of one of his heirs. As one of his prime functions, he periodically besought the svikiro of Kabudu Kagoro to render a decision so that order might be restored to the kingdom.26

Despite the prolonged and intensive struggles, once Kabudu Kagoro had selected the new Makombe, all the fighting ceased; the various pretenders came to Missongue to participate in the investiture and swear loyalty to the heir apparent.27 As part of the coronation he drank a magic potion which had the power of donhodzo-cooling the heart. By drinking the potion the new king inherited wisdom, strength and compassion, those qualities which Kabudu Kagoro was believed to have possessed when he governed the Barue.28

The magic potion was known as madzi-manga, a term with a double meaning in the local vernacular. Literally, it connoted incompletely fer- mented millet beer. Symbolically, it referred to water which ties, binds or unites, and it is this meaning which is most germane to the Barue political process.29

Historically, the madzi-manga came from the Sena-Gorungosa region, an outlying province of the kingdom.30 Local elders advanced three separate, but not inconsistent, explanations of this phenomenon. Some recalled that it was in this region that Kabudu Kagoro had received the sacred magic which transformed him into the senior mhondoro upon his death.31 Others indicated that Sena was considered to be a holy area, since the grave of an early Barue king is located there.32 This may refer to the burial place of Kabudu Kagoro, although the traditions remain incon- clusive. As further proof that the Barue considered the town of Sena and its immediate environs sacred, the area was never sacked during military confrontations with the Portuguese. The most commonly held explanation was that Sena remained sufficiently far from Missongue to prevent

26 Interviews with Chief Makosa, Chief Dendera, Samacande, and Sande Nyandoro; Coutinho, A Companha, 40.

27 Interviews with Chief Makosa, Chief Dendera, Samacande, Tsoro, Sherin, Sande Nyandoro, and Kaitano.

28 Interviews with Chief Dendera, Samacande, Sherin, and Sande Nyandoro. 29 Ibid. 30 Interviews with Stephen Mugomedza, Tsoro, Sherin, and Mushando; personal com-

munication with Mr Hodza on 8 Aug. 1972.

31 Personal communication with Mr Hodza on 8 Aug. 1972. Other informants noted that Kabudu Kagoro received secret medicines just prior to his death which transformed him into a mhondoro, but they did not indicate that this occurred in the Sena region.

32 Interview with Tsoro. Information collected previously from informants in the Sena region of Mozambique corroborates that the Barue considered the homeland of the Sena to be sacred and therefore immune from military attack. (Interviews with Gimo Tito on 9 Aug. I968, and Esmail Mussa Valy, io Aug. I968.)

402 ALLEN ISAACMAN

competing members of the royal family from jeopardizing the designated king and the nation by placing evil medicine in the water.33

Whatever the explanation, all traditions agreed that after the water arrived at Missongue, select individuals added finger millet and let it ferment for several days. Then the svikiro of Kabudu Kagoro placed chiefly medicines into the brew, and the heir apparent consumed the entire potion. This act marked the conclusion of the rites of investiture. By cooling the king's heart, the potion ensured that he would govern firmly, but justly, and would protect the nation against internal and external threats.34

These traditions represent part of the highly idealized Barue historical charter. As such, they are subject to distortions and manipulations which enhance and legitimate the relative position of the Barue. This type of functional adaptation is common to oral traditions.35 While a detailed analysis of the testimonies falls outside the scope of this paper, it is useful briefly to note those distortions which directly impinge on the problem under examination.

The assertion that Kabudu Kagoro and his followers were the first to inhabit the Barue homelands is articulated in all the oral testimonies. Such an allegation serves to legitimate Kabudu Kagoro's ownership of the land, and to explain the preeminent position of the royal nyanguru clan vis-a-vis the other peoples who were subsequently incorporated into the kingdom. Both archaeological evidence from this general region and the oral tradi- tions of the neighbouring Sena, Tonga, and Tavara indicate that agri- culturalists, most probably descendants of the present day Tonga, had resided in this region well before the arrival of the Barue.36 The significant role of the Mukomowasha in the Barue political process reinforces this conclusion. The senior councillor, whose position was hereditary, always belonged to the Tonga Tembo clan.37 The Barue refer to the Mukomo- washa as their brothers-in-law who originally provided them with wives. Barue invaders probably utilized a series of marriage alliances, combined with the assurance of Tonga representation on the royal council, to gain a privileged position over the relatively weaker local inhabitants. Over time, Barue preeminence came to be explained in terms of the principle of first arrival.

The actual events surrounding the selection of a new king are also

33 Interviews with Stephen Mugomedza, Sherin, and Mushando. 34 Interviews with Chief Dendera, Samacande, Stephen Mugomedza, Tsoro, Sande

Nyandoro, and Mushando. 35 See Jan Vansina, Oral Traditions: A Study in Historical Methodology (London, I965),

76-I 13. 36 Most of the archaeological evidence comes from sites in neighbouring Rhodesia. Work

by Garlake, Fagan, Philipson, Robinson and Summers clearly establishes the presence of agriculturalists before the invasion of the Korekore and the subsequent Barue migration. Interviews with Joao Crist6stomo, i8 July I968; Conrado Msussa Boroma, 28 July 1968; Jasse Camalizene, 6 Aug. I968; and Chacundunga Mavico, 27 Sept. I968.

37 Interviews with Chief Makosa, Chief Dendera, Samacande, Tsoro, Sherin, Sande Nyandoro, and Mushando.

USE OF ORAL TRADITIONS 403

depicted in a highly idealized form which does not conform to historical reality. The protracted succession crises and long delay in designating a new heir suggests that the svikiro of Kabudu Kagoro did not necessarily choose the claimant who possessed the desired human qualities, but adroitly assessed which candidate enjoyed the widest support and was most likely to be victorious. The decision could then be rationalized, so that a large following became an outward manifestation of the desired characteristics, which only Kabudu Kagoro could discern in his ultimate wisdom. Similarly, many rulers did not meet the rigorous standards of kingship which were inextricably related to the romanticized representa- tion of Kabudu Kagoro as founder and culture hero of the Barue kingdom. Buried in the oral traditions are specific indications that Chibudu, who governed in the middle of the nineteenth century, was cowardly, and that the last king, Nongwe-Nongwe, was both indecisive and weak.38 In both cases, contemporary written accounts corroborate these conclusions.39

The assertion that a ruler who imbibed the madzi-manga could not be overthrown is also specious. While the selection of Kabudu Kagoro legiti- mated a new king and placed him in a relatively strong position, fear of alienating the senior mhondoro was not sufficient to prevent court intrigue. There are several well-documented instances of successful coups whose leaders Kabudu Kagoro ultimately recognized. In i844 or I845 Chipapata overthrew Chibudu,40 and fifty years later Hanga killed Samacande. Both usurpers reigned for a long period, and Barue traditions have tended to drop out the men they replaced.

Despite these limitations, the oral traditions provide the basis for a total reinterpretation of the function of the madzi-manga. Rather than represent- ing the baptismal water of an alien religious system, the evidence suggests that the madzi-manga was the historic medium through which the sacred qualities of kingship were transmitted. Having drunk the treated potion, the Barue believed that Makombe lost all his mortal frailties and acquired a superhuman character. Traditions collected at the end of the nineteenth century noted that Makombe is 'enwrapped with godly glory' and that 'in the scale from Mlungu (Mwari) through Kabudu Kagoro (he) is the third who receives religious honour'.41 Thus, the madzi-manga served the same ritual function as the Lunda belief in bulopwe, the royal medicines of the Kuba, and the Ashanti golden stool.42 In all these cases the king received

38 Interviews with Chief Dendera, Samacande, Sherin, and Sande Nyandoro. 39 A.H.U., Codice 1480, fol. 2: Fernando Carlos da Costa to Anselmo Henriques Ferrao,

5 Jan. i844; A.H.M., Fundo do S6culo XIX, Governo Geral, Cx. 2. 37: Manuel de Abreu to Rodrigo Luciano de Abreu, 4 July i845. Numerous accounts of Nongwe-Nongwe can be found in the Rhodesian National Archives A3/i8/38/I-5.

40 A.H.U., C6dice 1480, fol. 2: Fernando Carlos da Costa to Anselmo Henriques Ferrao, 5 Jan. x844; A.H.M., Fundo do Seculo XIX, Governo Geral, Cx. 2. 37: Manuel de Abreu to Rodrigo Luciano de Abreu, 4 July i845; Coutinho, A Companha, i7.

41 Peters, The Eldorado, i26. 42 See Jan Vansina, Kingdoms of the Savanna (Madison, r968), 73-4; Jan Vansina, 'A

Comparison of African Kingdoms', Africa, xxxiI (i962), 324-35; A. Kyerematen, 'The Royal Stools of Ashanti', Africa, xxxix (I969), I-9.

27 AH XIV

404 ALLEN ISAACMAN

supernatural powers which ideally assured the preservation and well- being of the kingdom.

While the ritual purification which Makombe underwent bears certain similarities to the Christian baptism, suggestions that the madzi-manga provided the basis for a syncretic religious system are totally unfounded. The holy water served merely as a substitute medium through which to transmit the sacred qualities which historically underpinned kingship. That the water came from a region which the Barue considered to be sacrosanct facilitated its use during the rites of investiture which otherwise remained unchanged.

The acquisition of the baptismal water did offer the Barue heir apparent a number of tangible political and economic advantages. The madzi-manga served as a symbol of his pre-eminence vis-a-vis the various pretenders, provided the basis for future diplomatic and military assistance from the Portuguese, and assured his subsequent control over the Sena-Manica trade routes. It was these benefits which made the madzi-manga so desire- able, and intensified the competition among the claimants.

Within the context of the very intense rivalries for the throne, the madzi- manga became a symbol of achieved political power. Desperate members of the royal family cajoled, begged, threatened, and even attempted to bribe the Portuguese representative in order to obtain the water or prevent a rival claimant from doing so.43 In the final analysis these diversionary tactics yielded few results. The Portuguese stubbornly refused to accede to the demands of the various claimants, but preferred to wait until one victor emerged on the battlefield. In this respect their interest converged with that of the svikiro of Kabudu Kagoro, who also deferred any decision until the strength of the respective contenders could be assessed.44 Both Kabudu Kagoro's choice as well as the candidate of the Portuguese, therefore, reflected existing political realities.

The Barue believed that the water came from the king of Portugal, whom they envisaged as a great, if distant, power. By having a representative from Lisbon indirectly involved in the ceremony, Makombe gained external legitimization from a highly prestigious source. More importantly, the presence of a Portuguese ambassador provided the new ruler with a de facto alliance which a shrewd leader could translate into real political and mili- tary assistance against internal opposition and external threats. In 1752, for example, Makombe received military assistance from the Portuguese in Sena against dissident members of the royal family, which helped him to

43 A.H.U., Mog., Cx. 65: Ant6nio Joze de Almeida to Jose Francisco Alves Barbosa, undated; A.H.U., Mo0., Cx. 72: Ant6nio de Avarijo to Jose Francisco Alves Barbosa, 25

Oct. i822; A.H.U., Mo9., Mago 8: Jose Luis Rodrigues to Francisco Henriques Ferrao, 22 Apr. I829; A.H.U., Mo9., Ma9o 4: Joaquim Mendes de Vasconcelos e Cirne to Conde de Basto, 28 July I830; A.H.U., C6dice 1480, fol. 2: Fernando Carlos da Costa to Anselmo Henriques Ferrao.

" Gamitto observed that many of the victors were very distant members of the royal family who were able to attract large followings (Gamitto, 'Successao e Acclama9ao', 28.)

USE OF ORAL TRADITIONS 405

crush the revolt.45 Thirty years later, a Portuguese military force proved instrumental in defeating two surrounding chiefs, Cuava and Chincoma, who threatened the kingdom.46 The Portuguese provided similar assistance against the Nguni invaders during the second half of the nineteenth cen- tury.47 Although the actual military aid often came from the prazero community, the Portuguese government, whose own forces were generally too impotent to provide any meaningful assistance, sponsored and approved of these ventures.48

The presence of a Portuguese representative at the royal court also offered a number of economic benefits. As part of the ritual which pre- ceded the investiture the ambassador was expected to provide the heir apparent with a substantial amount of exotic cloth, as well as with coral, beads, spices, guns and powder.49 While it is difficult to determine the significance of the weapons, cloth was particularly important as a trading item and status symbol. The gifts further enhanced Makombe's position among his lieutenants, to whom part of it was redistributed.

The negotiations prior to the coronation provided the future king with an opportunity to reaffirm his power to tax all commerce passing through his territory.50 This prerogative was extended to all the amambo, or Barue land chiefs, throughout the kingdom. Since the Fair of Manica provided a major supply of gold for the lower Zambezi-Indian ocean trading system, the taxes Makombe and his principal subordinates collected probably constituted a substantial source of wealth.

The agreements reached between successive Barue sovereigns and the Portuguese never compromised the autonomy of the kingdom. Nor did they lay the basis for the incorporation of the Barue kingdom into Lisbon's informal empire. The accords dealt solely with questions of commerce and taxation and concluded with an affirmation that Makombe would protect the caravans in exchange for certain privileges and payments.

The oral and written data challenge both the assumption of a subordin- ate-superordinate relationship between the Barue and the Portuguese, and the claim that the latter used the madzi-manga to achieve this preeminent position. Apart from an indeterminant period in the seventeenth century, when the powerful prazero Antonio Lobo da Silva conquered the king- dom, the Barue remained totally outside the sphere of Portuguese

45 A.H.U., Mo0., Cx. 3: Jose Francisco de Oliveira, ii Apr. I752. 46 A.H.U., Mo9., Cx. i8: Joao de Almeida et. al., undated. 47 The famous prazero Gouveia was able to gain a preeminent position in Barue society

in part by assisting them against the Nguni invaders. 48 In the case of Gouveia the Government initially supported his efforts until they

realized that he was forging a personal empire independent of Lisbon (see Isaacman, Mozambique, I47-50).

49 A.H.U., Mog., Cx. 30: Cust6dio de Araujo Braganga, ii Apr. I794; A.H.U., Mo9., Cx. 3I: unsigned letter from the King of Barue, 2 Feb. 1795; A.H.U., Mo9., Cx. 48: Ant6nio Joze Costa e Almeida, 2I Sept. i8o8; A.H.U., Mo9., Cx. 65: Ricardo da Costa Soares to Jose Francisco Alves Barbosa, 3 July i820; A.H.U., Mog., Pasta I3: Galdinho Joze Nunes to Gov. de Rios de Sena e Tete, I8 Jan. I854.

60 Ibid.

406 ALLEN ISAACMAN

control.51 In fact, there are only two other documented cases of Europeans who sought to gain hegemony over the Barue kingdom. In I769 an impor- tant prazero unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow Makombe and to replace him with a slave chief who worked on his estate.52 A little more than a century later, the powerful prazero Gouveia tried to manipulate a marriage alliance with Makombe Chipapata to guarantee that his heir would eventually gain the throne.53 Both attempts were totally divorced from official Portuguese policy, and like the earlier success of Lobo, were un- related to the madzi-manga.

Even if Lisbon had intended to integrate the Barue kingdom into its informal empire and expected that it could use distribution of the madzi- manga as a powerful weapon, the Portuguese lacked the military force to put such a policy into practice. Throughout the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries, the Portuguese military presence in the Zambezi Valley was virtually non-existent. Their army generally consisted of less than one hundred poorly armed and poorly trained soldiers, incapable of defending even select Portuguese centres.54 This impotence nullified what- ever advantages might have accrued from their possessing the holy water. On those rare occasions when Portuguese officials sought to withhold the baptismal water, the Barue responded by cutting off all commerce between Sena and the Fair of Manica.55 In the middle of the nineteenth century, when the Fair was no longer a major trading area, the Barue applied direct military pressure to compel the Portuguese to forward the water.56 Over this I5o-year period, local officials generally recognized that it was in their interest to provide the water as quickly as possible in order to limit the disruptive impact of a protracted civil war on both the caravans and the crown estates on the Barue frontier.57

51 Manuel Barretto, 'Informagao do Estado e Conquista dos Rios de Cuama, I667', Records of South East Africa, ed. G. M. Theal, (Capetown, I899) III, 488. Neither the short- term conquest of the outlying regions of the Barue state by Antonio Lobo da Silva nor the presence of a Catholic priest in the kingdom during the year I696 challenges the Barue traditions which date the madzi-manga back to the death of Kabudu Kagoro. While it is possible that the traditions transposed the origin of this practice to an earlier period (e.g. the death of Kabudu Kagoro) there is no evidence that the circumscribed Portuguese presence in the kingdom resulted in the use of the baptism as part of the installation of the king as was the case of the Muenemutapa during the seventeenth century. In the latter situation, the Portuguese presence was quite significant and there is ample evidence of the conversion of several rulers. The situations were, therefore, not at all analogous and the end products were distinctly different.

52 A.H.M., Fundo do Seculo XVIII: Miguel Jose Pereira Baio, 8 July 1768. 53 Isaacman, Mozambique, I47-50. 54 Ibid, 98. 55 A.H.U., Mog., Cx. 30: Cust6dio de Araujo Braganga, ii Apr. I794; A.H.U., Mox.,

Cx. 48: Ant6nio Joze Costa e Almeida, 2I Sept. i8o8; Gamitto, 'Successao e Acclamasao', 28-29.

56 A.H.U., Mog., Cx. 65: Vicente Fiscira de Souza et. al., undated; A.H.U., Codice I3I5, fol. 403: Francisco Henriques Ferrao to Paulo Joze Miguel de Brito, 5 Oct. I829; A.H.U., Codice I480, fol. 2: Fernando Carlos da Costa to Anselmo Henriques Ferrao, 5 Jan. I844.

57 While there are documented cases of Portuguese officials who sought to withhold the madzi-manga to gain a better bargaining position, they quickly shifted their tactics when the Barue applied economic or military pressure.

USE OF ORAL TRADITIONS 407

The impending 'partition of Africa' dramatically altered this situation. As early as the i86os Lisbon recognized the need to conquer and pacify the Zambezi region in order to thwart growing British interests in the area. To accomplish this, it introduced large numbers of troops and modern weapons which radically altered the balance of power vis-a-vis the Barue. The Portuguese believed that a show of force in conjunction with their control of the madzi-manga would leave the Barue with no alternative but to capitulate voluntarily. In their belief that Christianity had become a fundamental part of Barue culture, Lisbon offered to establish a number of mission stations throughout the Barue homelands as an added incentive to recognize Portuguese sovereignty.58 Negotiations were pursued with vigour after the Congress of Berlin in I885, but, to their dismay, the Barue refused to accept such an agreement.

In the clearest manifestation of their religious autonomy, the royal family, in conjunction with the svikiro of Kabudu Kagoro, proclaimed that future investitures would be conducted totally independently of the Portuguese. The Barue continued to obtain the water from the sacred Sena-Gorungosa region unbeknown to the Portuguese. In short, they reverted to the historic source which they had used prior to their involve- ment with the Portuguese. At least two kings, Samacande and Hanga, were invested in this manner.59

The Barue refusal to accept the holy water shattered any illusion of empire which the Portuguese might have retained. From i885 to I900 the Barue played an increasingly active role in the resistance struggle against the Portuguese. They armed and aided various Sena and Tonga chief- taincies, assisted the Makanga rebels, provided sanctuary for Cambuemba, and made alliances with Shona peoples on the Rhodesian border. Simul- taneously, they laid the basis for the large-scale confrontation with the Portuguese which occurred in I90I. Although badly defeated, the Barue regrouped and conducted several smaller anti-Portuguese campaigns, which culminated in their leadership of the colonial rebellion of I9I7. As in the case of the earlier war, the Barue sought unsuccessfully to forge a multi- ethnic confederation, capable of forcing the Europeans out of their traditional homelands.60

Located in the archives of Portugal and Mozambique are a number of documents which describe the transmission of holy water from Sena to Missongue. Researchers have drawn two major conclusions from these

58 Arquivo de Companhia de Mocambique, no. 332I, I892-I898. This valuable private archive, located in Lisbon, has been totally ignored by historians conducting research on central Mozambique.

59 It is very possible that Nongwe-Nongwe was also invested in this way. There is some disagreement among my informants on this point, and additional research is needed to resolve the question.

60 The author is currently completing a study of the Tradition of Resistance in Central Mozambique which focuses on the role of the Barue in the anti-colonial struggle.

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primary data which colour the historiography of the Barue and their relations with the Portuguese. From a religious perspective, the madzi- manga has been treated as an example of Portuguese cultural penetration, somewhat analogous to the syncretic religious system which underpinned kingship in the Kongo during the sixteenth century.6' More importantly, historians have argued that the dependence of the Barue on the baptismal water compelled them to enter the informal empire of the Portuguese.

Unfortunately, the description of the ritual function of the madzi-manga in the primary accounts is totally inaccurate. The major concern of the Portuguese representatives was to safeguard the caravans which traversed the Barue homelands. They channelled all their energy into this diplo- matic function, paying little attention to the internal organization of the society with whom they were negotiating.62 Moreover, since all foreign officials at the capital were expressly forbidden from attending the sacred rites of investiture,63 they lacked any first-hand information about the ceremony. In contrast to the plethora of very precise data on diplomatic relations, the passing references to the coronation were generally vague, contradictory, and culture-bound. The accounts explained the use of the madzi-manga in religious terms familiar to the authors-as a Catholic baptism. Such distortions in the archival data explain the specious con- clusions which historians have drawn.

Through an analysis of oral traditions it has been possible to reconstruct an alternative explanation of the ritual function of the madzi-manga which is consistent with both the value structure of the Barue people and the historical development of the kingdom. Rather than serving as the mech- anism by which the Barue king entered the Catholic Church, the madzi- manga was the medium through which the sacred qualities of kingship were transmitted to successive rulers. As such, it clearly antedated the arrival of the Portuguese and existed totally outside the western religious system. From the death of Kabudu Kagoro until the demise of the Barue state, the madzi-manga remained central to the institution of kingship. The coronation of Samacande and Hanga and the subsequent wars of resistance testify to the resilience of the indigenous practice and its immunity from external manipulation. Previous failures to appreciate the significance of the madzi-manga point to the pressing need for the extensive and critical use of oral traditions if we are to begin to reconstruct pre-colonial African history.

SUMMARY

This study seeks to redefine the ritual significance of the madzi-manga through the use of Barue oral traditions. It goes beyond a redefinition of the ritual to study the

61 Vansina, Kingdoms, 45-58. 62 Isaacman, Mozambique, III-I2; Montez, 'Coroa9ao', II7-21; Ranger, 'Revolt', 58. 63 The informants universally agreed that attendance at this sacred ritual was limited to

members of the royal family, spirit mediums and venerated elders.

USE OF ORAL TRADITIONS 409

entire process of investiture, the role of the senior mhondoro in Barue society, and the exact nature of the relationship between the Barue and the Portuguese. It concludes that the madzi-manga represented neither a Catholic baptism nor a syncretic religious practice, as has been previously argued. Rather, it was the traditional medium through which the sacred qualities of kingship were trans- mitted.