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Operation Restore Legacy: The spiritual dimension…may peace and tranquility prevail

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IN my previous articles in The Patriot, I discussed the futility of ethnic branding to divide Africans in general, and Zimbabweans in particular.
I showed that so-called tribes like Manyika, Zezuru, Karanga and Korekore are figments of the whiteman’s imagination as they have no legitimate ethnic basis.
Small-minded politicians with no national vision have sought to build political support bases by invoking tribal identities that have no basis in the history of those concerned.
For example, many authors have suggested that ‘Karanga’ could very well apply to most of the so-called Shona peoples of Zimbabwe based on documented Portuguese literature. How Karanga has degenerated into a ‘hate speech’ and denigration term is difficult to explain.
Many people use the term ‘ChiKaranga’ to mean ‘chivanhu’, that is ‘African ways’ or practices.
Even the term ‘Shona’ is a creation of foreigners.
The lesson: Let us avoid promoting divisions among ourselves by invoking baseless ethnic labels.
More historians should dig into and reveal our correct history.
Dr Aeneas Chigwedere seems to be alone in these historical trenches.
Historians must stop regurgitating biased garbage from colonialists and do proper research to reveal our true past.
Why did all these different ‘tribes’ become united and peaceful during ‘Operation Restore Legacy’?
The most striking feature of the events that occurred when people went out in thousands to celebrate the departure of the former president from power, was the peaceful nature of all the events.
It is important to note that the police were nowhere to be seen as members of the armed forces kept the lowest of profiles, making no attempt to control the crowds.
And yet there was near absolute peace.
Thus when one would have thought there would be chaos in the streets, instead there was peace!
At other times when law enforcement agents have legitimately moved to control and direct crowds, trouble has reared its ugly face with numerous incidents of violence and even looting of shops and over-turning and burning of cars.
That is how it happens all over the world.
But this time, Zimbabweans chose to be disciplined, to be orderly, to be brotherly, to shun unnecessary violence and to celebrate jubilantly the new political dispensation.
How do we explain this peacefulness among literally thousands of Zimbabweans teeming all over the streets in celebratory mood?
Even the criminals who almost invariably would take advantage to steal, pick pocket and loot, seem to have chosen to be good citizens.
My argument is where physical human intervention cannot explain the turn of events, the answer must lie in the spiritual dimension of our earthly existence.
We have numerous examples where we have invoked the intervention of our ancestral spirits to intercede on our behalf to bring peace and liberation to the suffering masses.
Those in the Christian faith have conducted prayer meetings for peace.
The ultimate authority to whom all these prayers are directed is the one and only Musikavanhu.
Let me refer to a few examples where the intervention of our spiritual forefathers and Musikavanhu can be used to explain the turn of events.
Last year’s good rains were a result of incessant prayers by a number of traditional religious personalities.
While everyone can and should pray, there are certain individuals in our populations, who are ‘chosen’.
They have what is called divine mystic powers. They are mystics.
Through dreams and visions, they are in communication with the spirit world, all the way up to the Creator, God.
Their prayers are readily transmitted to Musikavanhu.
We must recognise that there are many who have prayed hard for the peace that we witnessed. And as we all know, God answers prayers.
In the traditional way, we say ‘midzimu yandiona’ when things go well, or when our prayers are answered.
They prayed in caves, they prayed on top of mountains, they prayed in various ‘holy’ places as the spirit moved them.
And Musikavanhu, God, in response to the prayers and intercessions of the living and those made through all our great ancestors such as Murenga, Chaminuka, Kaguvi, Nehanda and many others, responded and stretched the hand of peace over Zimbabwe bringing peace and tranquility.
We have numerous examples of these pacifying phenomena.
In 2013, during the harmonised elections, Zimbabwe’s detractors rubbed their hands in gleeful anticipation of a chaotic election where Zimbabweans from across the so-called political divide would tear each other apart.
It did not happen. The people of Zimbabwe were so peaceful.
The hands of Murenga, Chaminuka, Nehanda, Kaguvi, Mzilikazi, Lobengula and other great ancestral spirits and ultimately the hand of the one and only God, lay upon the people and peace and tranquillity prevailed.
Numerous attempts have been made to divide the Ndebele and Shona-speaking people of Zimbabwe, but these diabolical machinations have not succeeded.
Why, because our ancestral spirits and Musikavanhu have intervened to say children of the same family should not destroy each other.
We see ZAPU and ZANU uniting to form the Patriotic Front in 1976 and the Unity Accord of 1987.
As it happens, there used to be only one political party for blacks in then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), ZAPU, led by the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo.
All our present and past leaders were members of ZAPU.
Differences in terms of strategies to be used to liberate the country led to a split which gave birth to ZANU.
But as the war went on, we see the two sides who shared a common history and destiny coming together to strengthen their common liberation struggle.
It was the ancestral spirits of our great land uniting the people.
My argument is all these interventions are inspired by our ancestral spirits, themselves great mystics able to communicate with uMdali/Musikavanhu, God.
Our history has it that our ancestral spirits explored the land across the Zambezi and saw that it was rich in minerals other natural resources.
They then shepherded their descendants into present-day Zimbabwe under the leadership of ancestral spirits like Nehanda, Chaminuka and others.
The strong enduring spiritual identity and leadership of our people has persisted to date.
That is why the people of Zimbabwe have a saying that: “Nyika ino ndeyevadzimu” (This land belongs to our ancestors).
Operation Restore Legacy conducted by the army was directly inspired by the same traditions of spiritual intervention in the affairs of the people.
The peaceful features of the operation are directly influenced by the same traditions of spiritual interventions by our forefathers to ensure peace and tranquillity among their succeeding generations.
Many Zimbabweans are aware that at all the traditional courts (matare) of our spirit mediums (masvikiro), it is taboo to bring any item that is red, be it clothing or artefact.
The spirits strictly shun red which is associated with blood which in turn portends violence.
Only women who have entered menopause are allowed to perform tasks such as brewing ceremonial beer at these matare.
Those who have spilled blood in combat or otherwise are also excluded from entering the holy shrines of masvikiro.
These taboos against ‘red’ objects demonstrate the strict abhorrence for bloody conflict or violence by our ancestral spirits and their desire for peace.
That will explain why our ancestral spirits would do everything possible to totally suppress violent behaviour.
That I contend, is the main reason why we saw peaceful elections in 2013 and peaceful demonstrations with no law enforcement agents in sight during Operation Restore Legacy.
That legacy is as much the people’s as it also belongs to our spiritual forefathers.
Zimbabweans must remember that our great ancestors Nehanda and Kaguvi have been recognised by the United Nations for inspiring our liberation struggles, resulting in the changing of our history from colonialism to independence.
Second, both the First and Second Chimurenga were officially authorised by the great spirit Murenga Sororenzou himself speaking at the Njelele Shrine in the Matobo Hills in Matabeleland South.
Murenga authorised the wars where blood was spilled but only for a specific good cause, the liberation of our motherland.
Let all Zimbabweans know that this our Zimbabwe is truly the land of our ancestors who continue to exert positive influence on historic events.
May peace and tranquility prevail all times!

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