Nongqawuse's disastrous false prophecy

A grave in the Alexandria district of the Eastern Cape is believed to belong to an infamous prophetess who in the mid-1850s convinced many Xhosa to sacrifice their cattle and crops

- Mike Burgess

In April 1856, an orphaned Xhosa teenage girl, Nongqawuse, was scaring birds from crops near the Gxara River in today’s Eastern Cape district of Centane when two ‘strangers’ (ancestors) allegedly appeared and issued her with an instruction. She was to tell the Xhosa people that if they sacrificed their cattle and grain while abandoning witchcraft, their ancestors would rise from the dead and sweep the white settlers and the Mfengu into the sea.

By early 1857, however, it was obvious that the prophecy had been false: not only had the ancestors failed to rise, but vast quantities of grain and cattle had been destroyed. This triggered a catastrophic famine that is still recalled with sadness.

THE PROPHECY TAKES HOLD

Nongqawuse is said to have been orphaned during the 8th Cape Frontier War (1850-53) fought between the British and the Xhosa. She then went on to live under the guardianship of her uncle Mhlakaza amongst the Gcaleka Xhosa near the Gxara River.

Mhlakaza had spent time in the Cape Colony, where he had learned the Christian concepts of resurrection and sacrifice. Fired by these beliefs, he ended up playing a key role in facilitating the spread of Nongqawuse’s prophecy.