PHOTO :CITE
BY Mkhokheli Zibengwa
Preparations for this year's edition of King Mzilikazi Commemorations slated for the 9th of September 2023 at Mhlahlandlela (22km along old Gwanda Road) are now at an advanced stage.
The Commemorations which started in the year 2000 are aimed at Honoring and Celebrating the life of the Ndebele monarch King Mzilikazi kaMatshobana who passed away in 1868.
These Commemorations are held annually Worldwide & in Zimbabwe they are organised by Mthwakazi kaMzilikazi Cultural Association(MMCA).
One of the founding members of these Commemorations Phinda Ndlovu said:
"We founded the commemorations in the year 2000 with an aim of remembering our King who was one of the best monarchs in the World, King Mzilikazi kaMatshobane.As the elders we sat down and suggested that the commemorations will be held at Mhlahlandlela which was King Mzilikazi's capital.We are also inviting well wishers who can assist us to develop that historic and sacred place"
"King Mzilikazi was the leader of the rainbow Ndebele nation and because of that, these commemorations are not for the Khumalo or the Nguni people only, but for all the people found in Zimbabwe.This year we are advising parents to bring their children so that they get to learn their culture, we are doing these kinds of initiatives to promote our culture," said Ndlovu
In Bulawayo, every year these celebrations usually start with a march from Matshobana to City Hall via Nguboyenga, Mzilikazi and Lobengula street.Explaining why this march is done Prince Leo Zulukandaba Khumalo said:
"We do the march to advertise our initiative and show the people of Zimbabwe that we are there.There was another suggestion that was raised that how about we do the march 2 days or a day before the commemorations so that we use it to mobilise and tell people about the commemorations"
Adding to Prince Leo Zulukandaba Khumalo's point Bishop Ndumiso Khumalo said:
"When we are talking about Matshobana suburb we talk of an important place which was named after our father Matshobana who was the father of King Mzilikazi, so we usually start our march there because it's a place of great significance.This is where our crown started, which is why our march start from Matshobana suburb.Some of the places they pass by when doing the march are also important places, like "igceke lenxwala", that place closed by the last King, iNkosi Lobengula. When passing there, they remind the nation and the ancestors that there should be a King to open the grounds for the great national ceremony.
To be Continued.....
