The Zimbabwe district is very thickly populated by Makalanga. These formerly lived in natural strongholds on the summits of rocky kopjes difficult of approach, but now in almost every instance they have removed their kraals from their almost inaccessible eyries, and have built their villages on open country, without erecting any fences whatsoever for their protection. Thus, locally, Mogabe has left his hill fortress and caves, Baranazimba his strongly defended rocks, Lumbo his rock-pillar, and now these three kraals, as in many scores of other instances, are built in open country in absolutely indefensible positions, with no post, rail, or thornbush to bar approach. At night one can pass through almost any village unchallenged save by a Kafir dog. Large stores of corn are in their granaries. Their belongings are strewn about outside their huts, and everything is open to the spoiler. But the inhabitants sleep soundly, assured and content, because they recognise they are safe under the rule of a civilised Government.
MAKALANGA MOTHER AND CHILD, ZIMBABWE
THE MOGABE, HANDISIBISHE, CHIEF OF THE ZIMBABWE MAKALANGA
Slightly more than a decade since all was most terribly different. Tribe fought with tribe and village with village. Repeated Amaswazi and Matabele raids “wiped out” without warning and without mercy whole populations, capturing slaves, seizing the women, and killing, as was their practice, the old people and children. None dared to stir from his rocky fastness to cultivate his little patch of ground. Little wonder is it that the spirit of these people was broken.
To-day these Makalanga, who are essentially an agricultural race, have covered the erstwhile devastated country with their plantations, and converted these parts into the “Granary of Rhodesia,” and the leading grain-producing district of this part of Mashonaland. Standing on Zimbabwe Hill either at sunrise or sunset, one sees scattered over the open country scores of columns of smoke rising from the villages, each with its large area where the Makalanga work in absolute security, and one is forced to realise that untold benefit has undoubtedly been conferred upon the natives by the British occupation.
The Makalanga of Zimbabwe district are considered to be, in intellectual and physical qualifications, above many of their tribes elsewhere. In some respects they are marvellously intelligent and quick to perceive, shrewd, calculating, and clever, while in others they are astonishingly dull, so that it is almost impossible to get them to understand the simplest matter. They certainly evince far more feeling and sensitiveness, are more amenable to direction, and readier and more anxious to work, and are more honest and reliable than the average Matabele. Physically, they are as a whole somewhat shorter in height, are less robust, and have not the weight and strength of the Matabele, but their vigour and agility give them the greater advantage. Yet there are very many Makalanga in this district equal to any Matabele in height, strength, form, and endurance.
More than the French nation among Europeans, the Makalanga are distinguished for their taste, tact, and courtesy among the Kafir races of South-East Africa, only in their case the graceful movement, kingly walk, politeness, neatness, rhythm of speech, and poetic expression, are not the outcome of study, but are perfectly natural qualities bred in the race.
The contact of these people for many generations with the Portuguese is shown in their speech. This is a feature noticeable in all native tribes in Mashonaland, which were at any time located in or near Portuguese territory. As stated below, Mogabe’s people originally came from the direction of the border. The terminations of some of their words are as distinctly Portuguese as one may hear at Lisbon or Oporto. Their connection with the Portuguese caused them to follow the rule common to that and some other Latin nations, viz. the interchange of R and L. Selukwe thus becomes Serukwe, Belingwe Beringwe, Bulawayo Burawayo, while in almost every word used by their people further west containing L the latter is substituted for R. Locally they call themselves Mokaranga (mo is a Chicaranga plural prefix), “the people of the sun.” The Portuguese writers, De Barros (1552), Dos Santos (1570), and Livio Sanuto (1588), give their name as Mocaranga. Makalaka, the name of derision bestowed upon them by the tribes in Bechuanaland, is known to them, but is never used by them, nor is M’Holi (slaves), a title which some of the more degenerate Makalangas in Matabeleland have adopted as their personal and tribal name.