Nongqawuse’s Grave
Nongqawuse was a Xhosa prophet born in 1841 near the Gxarha River. According to the historian, Jeffrey B. Peires, Nongqawuse’s parents were victims of the Eight Frontier War (1850 – 1853). She was very young when they were killed. As an orphan, Nonqawuse was raised by his uncle, Mhlakaza. Her grave is located about 10km south-east of Alexandria, within a small grove of trees. Nonqawuse was a prophetess who is accused of having caused much devastation among amaXhosa. She informed her uncle, Mhlakaza, that she was told in a vision that amaXhosa must destroy their crops and kill all their cattle, which represented their source of wealth and food. She saw herself as a medium of communication between ancestors and the people. The compensation from such prophesised actions, she promised them, would be that all European settlers would be swept into the sea. A new life, defined by houses, cattle, and other benefits, awaited them.
However, none of what she promised ever materialised. Her actions resulted in the famine of 1856-1857 (see Stapleton 1991; Mostert 1992; Bradford and Msokoli 2008). As many as 300 000 people died and 400 000 cattle killed. There was enough evidence that the prophecy is failing to materialise. This failure was initially explained based on the refusal by some who did not believe her prophecy. Even when this failure was unfolding, the practise of destroying crops and killing cattle continued. Because of anger among people, Nonqawuse was given to Major Gawler of Fort Murray, with whom she stayed for some time. In October 1858, Nongqawuse was taken to Cape Town via the Alice Smith ship. She was supposedly prisoned at Paupers’ Lodge, but there was no official record of her presence there. After her supposed release, she lived on a farm in the Alexandria district of the Eastern Cape, which is where she was buried in 1898 following her death. At present, Nongqawuse’s grave is visited by school groups, and this happens under the supervision of SANParks.
The legacy of Nonqawuse is complicated. Some scholars have viewed her as victim, a child that was manipulated by her uncle, Mhlakaza. He could have used her young age, pre-puberty, to argue that her purity is what made ancestors to speak via Nonqawuse. Her approach to Mhlakaza must have been informed by the fact that she did not have the authority to spread the word, hence the communication of such prophecy through Mhlakaza. Her uncle subsequently interpreted and organised her prophetic accounts, before informing local Chiefs. It is telling that there are no historical accounts of her direct words. Rather, her legacy is only told through observations and experiences from others. Other scholars have argued that Nonqawuse was potentially a victim of incest, thus the emphasis on the cessation of cultivation (deemed as work for females) and the appeal to stop witchcraft, adulty, and ancestry.
GPS Waypoints: 33°42'01.6"S 26°29'40.7"E