Traditional Leaders
Why kill all the Cattle?

BACK TO LESSON MENU

The cattle-killing movement of 1856-7 took place during difficult times. The war of 1850-53 had been long and disastrous; from 1854, lungsickness disease killed off many cattle and then in 1855 drought led to poor harvests. Many rumours and strange stories circulated among the people.

The prophecies of Nongqawuse, a teenage Xhosa girl, touched off a fatal response. On the banks of the Gxara River, she had visions of beautiful people who told her the dead would return with fat cattle. But first everyone had to destroy their crops and cattle. The Xhosa soldiers who died in the wars would then chase all the settlers into the sea. Peace and prosperity could return.

linkosi and the people divided over Nongqawuse's claims. Those who believed and obeyed her instructions were known as amathamba (the compliant ones) and those who rejected them were called amagogotya (the stingy ones). Sarhili, supreme Xhosa king, spearheaded the movement, especially in coastal areas. But his own brother never believed in it. Other chiefs, like Maqoma and his nephew, Sandile the amaRharhabe King, only started to support killing cattle near the predicted day.

When the prophecies failed to come true, those who had destroyed their entire food supply began to starve. Thousands died and social chaos followed as desperate people turned on their neighbors, stealing anything they could. Many sold everything they owned, while others sought work at any price.
The turmoil broke the power of traditional leaders. They watched as British officials carried off thousands of men, women and children to work in the adjacent Cape Colony. Chiefs could no longer impose order over their hungry people and had to follow every command from the colonial authorities.

To this day, people still remember whether their ancestors were amathamba or amagogotya. The prophecies left lasting bitterness amongst both traditional leaders and ordinary people. 'Believers' blame the failure on the non-cooperation of others. The 'non-believers' see those who participated as foolishly contributing to the permanent poverty of their nation. Many amaXhosa believe that the British themselves pretended to be the prophetic spirits.

---

Activity 14

Why kill all the Cattle?

Do you think anyone would listen to you today if told him or her to kill all their cattle, destroy their crops, wait for a red sun to get dark at noon and to expect the risen ancestors to destroy the unbelievers in our midst?

Maybe not, but conditions were really terrible in those days. Those prophecies sound weird today, but people just wanted things to be the way they used to be.

Ask your teacher or a knowledgeable person about examples in the last 30 years or so of prophecies by single individuals which led to the deaths of believers. You could even do a search on the internet (start with ‘cult massacres’ and see what comes up).

 

<PREVIOUS / NEXT >