It was a blessing being raised in a small town close to KZN’s battlefields. Living so close to the places where thousands of brave men fought and died developed my passion for history. A love affair that has matured to the point where it dawns that real life is extremely complex. That man’s desire to simplify things, to conveniently pigeonhole the past, distorts reality.
I was reminded of this in my fascinating interview yesterday with GG Alcock as he told a story about one of the strangest chapters in his marvellous book, Third World Child. It involves the repatriation of the long dead Mchunu king’s spirit from Isandlawana, the site of the Zulu nation’s greatest military triumph.
GG Alcock’s near-kin from his home in the Msinga district, the Mchunus and Mthembus, were never subjugated by the Zulu royal house. So at Isandlwana 125 years ago, they fought for the British, dying alongside the redcoats. The story of how, more than a century later, the long dead Mchunu’s king’s spirit was repatriated goes beyond human understanding.
But the history of the Mchunu and Mthembu clans is also a reminder that there are few absolutes in life. To all the world, they look Zulu, speak the language and share the culture. But were also so different that they literally fought the Zulu to the death. In our nation’s more recent history, many now classified as “previously advantaged” have been forced to wrestle through life while those on the other side of the melanin barrier sailed through in luxury. One size does not fit all. Life is complex, full of pesky paradoxes. Like the Mchunus and Mthembus. We should embrace these, not try to simplify them. Not to do so cheapens our shared heritage.
Yesterday’s top stories
Jules Bianchi: Diffuse axonal injury explained
Protests at ABI – EFF and fired workers up in arms
Move over Zuckerberg – meet Liebmann and Rorke!
Felicity Duncan: What if the USA is the next Japan, and the S&P is in long-term collapse?
SA political leadership – yesterday’s humility has become today’s arroganc
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