Cannibals in the Ilenge Mountain
Thabile Nawe│University of KwaZulu-Natal
The Ilenge Mountain, notable for the mysterious dam located at its summit, is covered in mist at its peak even on sunny days. Historically, the mountain was known for its mystery, precariousness, and the folktales surrounding what lived within the mountain and its immediate vicinity. In eighteenth-century Zululand, locals reported sightings of strange, unidentifiable creatures that were a menace to community life. But, of course, if locals were found wandering in their territory, then there would be repercussions for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
The mfecane/difaqane period during the rise of the Zulu Kingdom under King Shaka kaSenzangakhona was a key era of turbulence, displacement, and migration in Zululand that influenced disintegration, community tensions, and conflicts between tribes which formed the basis for subsequent factional wars. Mfecane is an isiZulu word that means ‘crushing’ or ‘scattering’ that is also known as difaqane in Sesotho meaning ‘hammering’ or ‘forced migration’. During this period, between 1815 and 1840, Southern Africa witnessed intense social and political upheaval characterised by widespread warfare and mass migration where large established states (like Mabhudu, Mthethwa, and Ndwandwe) collapsed as powerful new states like the Zulu Empire emerged. The Zulu consolidated power through military conquest, where many tribes clashed with others, which caused mass migration. Many tribes sought refuge in distant regions, fleeing to Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and the Cape. Environmental factors of the mfecane contributed to the societal challenges too: land and resource scarcity, drought, famine, and starvation all caused major devastation to local communities in Zululand.
These challenges reached their height in the early nineteenth century when competition for arable land and grazing territory was on the rise. Accordingly, communities were pushed into increasingly desperate measures to find means of survival. Ubuzimuzimu (translated as ‘cannibalism’) prevailed along the western and southern regions of Zululand which were most badly affected by the famine, cattlelessness, and the social disruption associated with the mfecane period. Several reports of people being eaten by cannibals in caves or mountains circulated across the Zululand from the eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century. This had a significant impact on local communities as people grew more terrified, creating a state of panic and anxiety.
Cannibalism forms part of the oldest folklore of the Illenge Mountain (or ‘Job’s Kop’) region, situated near Pomeroy, Msinga, in a rural part of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Such folklore contained stories of a group of people eating human flesh in the mountain. Generally, these stories were shared amongst the locals and formed part of the oral traditions of communities near the Ilenge Mountain. This history is closely tied to the Mbhele clan who inhabited the Ilenge Mountain, which is believed to be their ancestral home. The Mbhele clan lived in isolation, quarantined from local tribes in Msinga, not under any form of kingship (like the other tribes in Msinga), but with a separate system of leadership. In terms of their lifestyle and livelihood, the Mbhele were mostly nomadic hunters and were not fully invested in stock farming. There was, however, one exceptional component of their lifestyle: cannibalism.
Cannibals formed part of the Mbhele clan in the Ilenge Mountain, but only a few of them that participated in this gruesome act. Sphalaphala, also known as Guqa, was not necessarily a leader of the Mbhele tribe, but he was well known and influential to those who turned to cannibalism as a last resort during periods of famine. However, he was not of royal descent despite his influence. It is said that Sphalaphala, Sompisi’s father, found pleasure in feasting on human flesh, and over time his siblings joined this habit as well, drawing a lot of attention as the group grew. His children also seem to have inherited the culture of cannibalism although Sompisi shied away from it.
Sompisi did not associate himself with the lifestyle his siblings and father had. In fear of his children being exposed and ultimately adopting this habit and culture of devouring humans, Sompisi fled Ilenge with his two sons, Ndlela and Gwajaza, and daughter, Bibi. They escaped and descended the mountain using isilulu (a hand-crafted boat) which they rode across the Mzinyathi River, running away from Sphalaphala and his family. Other family members and followers joined as well. Under Sompisi, the aMabhele that fled Ilenge found refuge and land from King Senzangakhona kaJama in the Zululand where they later became known as the ‘Ntuli’ clan. ‘Ntuli’, which means dust, is derived from the clouds of dust that erupted from the cattle stampede when Shaka’s warriors, under the wing of Chief Jobe Sithole, were executing their mission to drive out the cannibals from the mountain in 1828. It is from this event that aMabhele are linked to the Ntuli clan.
In Zululand, aMabhele pioneered this practice while other clans like aMangwane followed suit. Historically, they are known as ‘aMabhele aseLenge abonakala ngefu lezintuli, mazimuzimu enidl’bantu’ as recited in their clan praises which translates to ‘the Mbhele clan from eLenge that were seen through clouds of dust, cannibals that ate people’. They influenced many into this lifestyle, making cannibalism endemic. Evidence points to Job’s Kop, Drakensburg, Umzimkhulu, and the Umngeni, Umhlatuzana and, Umzumbe Rivers as locations where cannibalism occurred. Cannibals thrived in mountains, caves, forests, or riverbanks where they could easily conceal themselves. The Talana Museum in KZN holds evidence of cannibal activity in Zululand and Natal. Human remains and artefacts relating to cannibalism are preserved there, including cooking pots and three skulls, and they can be seen through special request.
According to oral tradition, there was also evidence of human remains where cannibals were sighted. Sometimes, locals would come across a large pot filled with human and animal body parts with bones surrounding it. In some instances, they caught cannibals in the act. Beyond oral tradition, physical evidence of cannibal activity also exists in the region, such as Itshe lama Zimu which translates to ‘The Rock of Cannibals’. This rock was found in Freiburg farm (overlooking Pomeroy, located in Msinga’s Local Municipality) where captives were hamstrung on top of the rock hindering their escape. Oral evidence in the James Stuart Archives (an archive collection of more than 200 isiZulu speaking oral interviews on Zululand history) provided the knowledge that Hlaphalule and his followers were known to have utilised the huge rock to capture people who passed around Ilenge. Hlaphalule was considered a chief of the cannibals in Ilenge during the 1830s following the departure of Mahlaphahlapha, who was the ruler of aMabhele in the 1820s. Mahlaphahlapha belonged to one of the aMabhele lineages, although it is not clear which one, but he was the most prominent figure associated with cannibalism after Siphalaphala. It is believed he eventually fled Ilenge to Lesotho where he continued feasting on people. Hlaphalule, on the other hand, was more fearsome and passers-by had to pay tribute in the form of people, hence Itshe lama Zimu was used for this specific purpose, and locals were well aware of this. Access to this rock is also available through special request at the Freiburg farm.
Another example which lends weight to the argument that cannibalism was rife during these times; was that body parts harvested through cannibalistic acts were sometimes used for witchcraft to strengthen kings or chiefs before or after battles. For instance, King Matiwane of the aMangwane clan sucked the gallbladders of dying victims in battles to absorb the strength of his rivals, which was a relatively commonly held belief.
To abate the acts of cannibalism, King Shaka ordered Chief Jobe Sithole of the Sithole tribe in Msinga to herd the royal cattle to lands surrounding the Ilenge Mountain to annihilate the cannibals. However, the cannibals clashed with Sithole and his herders resulting in some casualties and several herders slain and dismembered in 1828. The Zulu army regained strength, and the mission came to life again under King Dingane kaSenzangakhona, between 1830 and 1840. King Dingane had to consolidate power first after assassinating his half-brother, King Shaka, in 1828, hence the delay in destroying Hlaphalule and his followers. As a result, many cannibals were killed and slaughtered. It was only then that Chief Jobe relocated near Ilenge Mountain and established homesteads.
As a result, the Ilenge Mountain became known as Job's Kop after Jobe Sithole, the chief of the Sithole tribe who owned this territory as King Shaka’s ally. As one of the oldest indigenous tribes in uMsinga, the Sithole tribe controlled most of the Msinga area (uThukela and Buffalo Rivers) following King Shaka granting Chief Jobe this vast area including the eastern slope of Ilenge Mountain. This caused a slight rift between Chief Jobe and Chiefs Ngoza Mthembu and Macingwane Mchunu of the Mthembu and Mchunu tribes in Msinga as they were King Shaka’s rivals. This animosity, however, only came to fruition after the British colonial government’s demarcation of Msinga into a reserve resulting in the Sithole tribe to relinquish their territory to the newly incoming Majozi tribe placed by Sir Theophilus Shepstone (Secretary for Native Affairs) in Msinga in 1869. Tribal conflicts continued in the later nineteenth century due to the tension between the Sithole and Majozi tribes which ultimately led to the Sithole tribe being completely pushed off Msinga while the Majozi tribe proceeded to replace them.
As such, cannibalism contributed immensely to the chaos and upheaval of the mfecane period, while its annihilation provoked tensions between tribes in Msinga as Chief Jobe was the only chief tasked with the execution of cannibals in Ilenge, and henceforth rewarded with land. Cannibalism did not only exacerbate violence, but it also shaped conflict and factional wars within Msinga that spanned from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century, which in turn lingered into the early twenty-first century and Msinga is known for the violence and bloodshed that permeated the region. As it was mostly transmitted through oral tradition, the history of cannibals in Msinga is not extensively documented, but we can be sure that cannibals brought turmoil, horror, and atrocities to Msinga. Today, Msinga has negative connotations such as ‘battleground’ or ‘war zone’ attached to it. It is perceived as a gravesite because of the blood spilt over the prolonged history of factional fighting and cannibalism in the Ilenge Mountain.
Further Reading:
Alex Coutts, The Cannibals of KwaZulu-Natal: Fact or Fable? (Dundee, 2018).
AmaBhele National Association, A Short History of AmaBhele (Wordpress, 2012).
Carolyn Hamilton. ‘“Zoolacraticism” and “Cannibalism”: A discussion of historical disposition towards the “Shakan” model of social order and political rights’, Social Dynamics, 21.2 (1995), 1-22.
Musa Hlatshwayo. “Nomadic Cannibals” Ilanga Newspaper’s Historical take on Amabhele (Archive & Public Culture Research Initiative, University of Cape Town: 2012).
Musa Hlatshwayo. Ukwehla Ngesilulu: Origination in KwaZulu-Natal (Archive & Public Culture Research Initiative, University of Cape Town: 2010).
Thabile Nawe holds a Master of Arts degree in History at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is currently a recent PhD candidate at the same institution. She currently teaches undergraduate modules at UKZN in the Historical Studies Department. Social and oral history are one of her fields of academic interests. Ms. Nawe also has areas of interest in culture and heritage as she previously worked at uMsunduzi Museum in the Research, Information, and Collections Department. Currently, she is working on a Peace Route Project on Msinga’s past conflicts. She’s also an avid reader who enjoys fictional literature.
