Respect for land seemingly absent at Mapungubwe

In this time of “take back the land”, the story of Mapungubwe is one of how the land reclaims itself, how civilisations come and go, of missed opportunities and of beer.

Also, the magic of history displaced by a failed attempt at mixing modern times with tradition. And all the while, poachers are waiting on the sidelines for the party to end.

It began in the hills of Mapungubwe, bordering on Zimbabwe and Botswana, with the rise and fall of what is believed to be the first indigenous kingdom in southern Africa, between 900 and 1 300AD.

And it was in this setting that elders this weekend performed Mophatlho, a spiritual invocation which seeks permission to enter a sacred space and asks the ancestors for protection and light.

The elders then went up Mapungubwe Hill to what is believed to be a royal grave site of three people, re-discovered in 1933, along with untold riches in gold beads, bangles, glass beads from the East and, of course, the gold rhino currently homed in the Pretoria Museum.

The three royal graves were surrounded by another 20 – people believed to be related to the royals.

A crowd of about 140 – a few paying guests, media ‘influencers’, community members and journalists – follow the elders up Mapungubwe Hill. Picture: Amanda Watson

A crowd of about 140 – a few paying guests, media “influencers”, community members and journalists – followed the elders to the important site and were urged to take a moment to let the significance of where they were sink in. In this age of selfies and chatter, however, strident voices echoed across the valley and space to immerse oneself in the past was scant.

Litter, too, becomes a problem, with plastic bottles strewn about the site.

The outing was part of South African National Parks’ Wild Lecture Series and the second to be hosted in Mapungubwe.

“It is important because it helps us understand the importance of Mapungubwe, said Hapiloe Sello, SANParks’ managing executive of tourism and marketing.

She said Mapungubwe’s status as a world heritage site should not be taken lightly.

“You’re talking about a civilisation that was so modern, one that lived in the 14th century and was already trading with the East, working with gold, steel. For me, it rewrote my history as a South African because I was not taught my people were that sophisticated,” Sello said.

Kara Heritage Institute executive director Dr Mathole Motshekga delivered a lecture on Mapungubwe’s “archeo-astronomical and cultural history and its significance for nation-building and social cohesion”.

In the bed of the dry Limpopo River under the night sky, guests were surrounded by armed rangers ready to fend off any animals not terrified by the violence of the amplified sound and light.

Motshekga offered his own interpretation of how modern-day religions, Africa and its people came to be. It was a challenging speech, if only for its seeming target of academia, and at one stage some elders shouted: “You lie!”

The sheer logistics of moving guests, staff, bands, food, drinks, fridges, mobile toilets and furniture and faux grass to a pristine bushveld spot are astounding.

And it all had to go that same night as, no more than 500m away in the Zimbabwe bush across the river, a fire twinkled where rangers believed poachers were waiting to come and take everything left behind.

After Motshekga’s lengthy, convoluted speech, arguments about what he could have meant lasted long into the night. And on the trips to the lodges, empty water, beer and wine bottles were slung into the surrounding bush.

It all begs the question: if heritage is tied to the land and if heritage and tradition demand respect, where does respect for the land come in?

Maybe, next year, Sello can find someone to answer it.

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