THE ‘battle’ for Manzou Farm rages on with the political aspect of the saga taking centre stage, yet few are aware that the area deserves a place in the country’s history books.
On March 23 2007 it was gazetted by Government that the area be declared a national monument in terms of the National Museums and Monuments Act (Chapter 25:11).
This meant that it became a National Park and a National Heritage Site, which must be protected.
The place that has become popularly known as Manzou Farm lies in an area referred to as the Upper Mazowe Valley.
Therein are numerous places of historical and spiritual significance.
National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ) executive director Dr Godfrey Mahachi told The Patriot the area was occupied by some of the communities that were in the forefront of the First Chimurenga.
“This is the area that the legendary Mbuya Nehanda the spiritual leader operated from,” he said.
“This is the same area other First Chimurenga leaders like Mkwati passed through for the purposes of co-ordinating the uprisings.”
Dr Mahachi said there were physical reminders of the First Chimurenga that are directly associated with the activities of Mbuya Nehanda as she was guiding the uprisings.
“It was in the Shavarunzvi Hills where Mbuya Nehanda was resident and at Baradzanwa Hill where she was captured by the colonialists,” he said.
“In the area are places and hills where other spiritual mediums that came before Mbuya Nehanda resided.”
Dr Mahachi said that Mbuya Nehanda played a pivotal role in defeating the white settlers in the area.
“In actual fact it was because of Mbuya Nehanda’s presence in the area that the white community had settled around Mazowe was literally wiped out by those fighting the First Chimurenga,” he said.
“The evidence of the fighting between the locals and the colonial occupation force is there in the Upper Mazowe Valley.
“There are graves of the white people killed.”
During the colonial era Fort Alderson Monument, which was located in the Upper Mazowe Valley was gazetted a national monument to mark and protect the graves of the white people who were killed in Mazowe during the First Chimurenga.
Dr Mahachi said that background prompted the NMMZ to research on the history of the place.
“What we did not have was the flip side of the story which tells how these people were killed by the locals,” he said.
“That was the reason the Board felt it was important to do a research on the area and after our findings it felt it important to recognise it through declaring some parts of the Upper Mazowe Valley national monuments.
“By so doing we are recognising the contributions the communities living in the area made to the First Chimurenga.”
The white settlers documented and gave prominence to the capture and hanging of Mbuya Nehanda as that bit of history signifies their triumph over the locals during the First Chimurenga.
No emphasis was given in the past on the prior activities by Mbuya Nehanda and the Upper Mazowe Valley tells the story which the whites would have wanted Zimbabweans to suppress and forget.
By making the area a national monument Zimbabweans get the opportunity to learn more about the heroic deeds of inhabitants of the area.
“We are recognising the area as a cultural landscape because it’s historical value and it makes it possible for people to interact in a physical way with their history,” said Dr Mahachi.
“The Upper Mazowe Valley is part of a larger system as it is linked to many other important cultural shrines dotted around the country in areas such as Chivhu.”
To date, scores of Europeans flock to Matopos to pay homage to Cecil John Rhodes at his grave and the memorialising of the key areas in the Upper Mazowe Valley gives Zimbabweans an opportunity to honour one of their heroes.
Dr Mahachi expressed concern over the families that had illegally moved into the area and are into illegal gold mining.
“These families are degrading the landscape, poaching, cutting down trees and building illegal homesteads,” he said.
“The people are also going against the taboos of the area as they are not respecting the spiritual importance of the place.
“We are also witnessing the mushrooming of religious sects in the open spaces in the valley and their values are not in line with the values of the culture we are trying to preserve in the area.”
Dr Mahachi highlighted that there were communities that had been living in the areas that knew the history of the place and had been left to occupy some parts of the place.
The Patriot returned to Manzou this week.
Headman Pios Guvamombe who lives in Maringisa which falls under the Upper Mazowe Valley concurred with Dr Mahachi that the illegal residence were disregarding the laws of the place.
“There are certain dos and don’ts which the people are not adhering to,” said Guvamombe.
“This is a sacred place and some of the regulations include that people should not wear red clothing.
“When there is a quarter moon or when the moon is not visible people are not supposed to work in the fields.
“Every Thursday from midday and the whole of Friday people are not supposed to work in the fields as well but these ‘new’ people are not aware of these rules and operate willy-nilly.
Headman Guvamombe said if the illegal miners were not removed from the area they will end up conducting mining activities in the Shavarunzi and Baradzanwa Hills which are sacred.