African roots grow deep

It is often thought that rural life cannot afford villagers an opportunity for growth or access to the outside world. There is a litany of cries about this apparent absence of growth, and the lack of infrastructure is often seen as the reason that rural people cannot achieve greatness. The life of one Nelson Mandela, however, goes against this view.

During July 2018, people from across the world connected with Mvezo, the home of Nelson Mandela, a beautiful village overlooking the majestic Mbhashe River. That reconnection paid tribute to Mandela’s origin as a rural man.

Mbhashe River is significant in the lives of the Mvezo people in that even when there is drought, they are not severely affected by it. It is Mvezo that gave Mandela life. It is also Mvezo that introduced him to a world of injustices, intolerances and other antisocial attitudes and activities; it is where his father Mphakanyiswa has stripped of his authority as he would not bow to the whims and wishes of a white magistrate.

Mvezo is Madiba’s ancestral home. His umbilical cord was cut and buried there; this kept him glued to this hinterland even when his later political and economic conditions allowed him to completely excise his association with it.

Mandela traversed modernity and African tradition. However, he always remained true to his African roots. Madiba, a clan name used as an affectionate moniker, even when he became president, typified his bond with his traditional roots. His rural background never made him feel inferior; it became a weapon on which to rely.

His mother, Nosekeni, raised a boy who would become a great statesman. The rural life – playing stick games and learning to fend for himself – undoubtedly had a large part to play in this.

During the Treason Trial in the early ’60s, Mandela addressed the court dressed in African regalia. He enforced rural tradition even in a court of law. Aware that his trial would not be fair and just, and already a lawyer of the court who understood court etiquette, Madiba chose to defy the rules.

It was presumably the first time an accused had addressed the court in traditional regalia. Knowing that regent KingJongintaba dressed in traditional wear during Royal House proceedings, Mandela understood the effect his attire would have in court. He used this garb to fight against the imperialism and supposed superiority of Western laws. The imagery of that day does not depict a man on trial but a man in charge of the proceedings.

As Madiba negotiated modernity and African tradition, he stuck with his roots – despite the Western influences that were no doubt heavily channelled through his schooling. Educated in Christian institutions with their attendant philosophies of virtue and superiority, these experiences did not create tension with his traditional convictions. In fact, the more familiar he became with the Christian doctrine, the more he became rooted in his traditional beliefs.

These beliefs were solidified by SEK Mqhayi, a great South African poet of the early 20th century, who, when visiting the University of Fort Hare in the 1940s, entered the university’s hall in traditional regalia and carrying a spear that gashed the curtain. This, according to Madiba in Long Walk to Freedom, strengthened his African ethos. That action etched in his memories the understanding of African traditions.

Like any typical rural boy, Madiba respected traditions. When he was finally released from prison, one of the first places he visited was his rural homestead. He travelled there to spiritually connect with the departed family members who, owing to his imprisonment, he had been unable to bury; to pay his last respects, he continued with the rural tradition of visiting family graves.

He also chose the rural landscapes of Qunu as his final resting place. His burial there prompted world leaders to converge at his ancestral land, something they would not have done had the rural man not dictated it. It made people of the world want to connect with his rural roots.

Raised in a place where differences of any kind were amicably resolved through dialogue, Madiba modelled his life through that and volunteered his life to creating a world of justice for all. It was at Mqhekezweni where he learnt that leaders could be taken to task. It was also at Mqhekezweni where he experienced the meaning of leadership and how it was applied. He was part of everyday rural life growing up; this gave him foresight of and insight into events when he later became a leader.

The home Nelson Mandela lived in with his cousin Matanzima in Mqhekezweni, South Africa.

The early influences from Mandela’s life undoubtedly contributed to shaping him into one of the greatest statesmen the world has ever seen. His rural experiences also allowed him to defy unjust practices just like his father Mphakanyiswa did decades before him.

The village of Qunu, where Nelson Mandela grew up.

Mandela the rural man was a free spirit. A gigantic figure in world politics and new economic trends, and a father figure to many children of the world. And his rural politics and experiences continue to influence his contemporaries.