Kaguvi
Sekuru Kaguvi[1] (Kagubi,[2] Kakubi), was a svikiro (medium), a nationalist leader in pre-colonial Zimbabwe, and a leader in the Shona rebellion of 1896-1897 against European rule (the First Chimurenga). The soubriquet "Kaguvi" was given to him because he was said to speak for the traditional Shona spirit Mwari. When the rebellion collapsed, Kaguvi was charged with the murder of a policeman (whom he had accused of collaborating with the colonial authorities), found guilty and hanged.
Some Ndebele historians say that the form "Kaguvi" is a bastardization of his name by Europeans, and that his real name was "Kakubi Ncube", and he ensured together with Nehenda that the Shona would uprise at the same time as the Ndebele's for the first Chimurenga
The name "Kaguvi" is also given to a man called Gumboreshumba (c1870-1898), who claimed to speak for the original Kaguvi's spirit. Gumboreshumba was one of the many people who claimed to be mediums of famous First Chimurenga persongaes during the so-called Second Chimurenga. Gumboreshumba (meaning: "lion's paw"), lived in Chikwaka's village by Goromonzi Hill, Zimbabwe. He had four wives, one of whom was Chief Mashonganyika's daughter, the other three were received from a headman named Gondo. It is alleged that he was known as a supplier of good luck in hunting and that he was able to speak to trees and rocks. He was believed to be the spirit husband of the other great Shona svikiro, Nehanda.
Notes
- ↑ "The Trial of Mbuya Nehanda and other Chimurenga Revolutionaries". Zimbabwe News. 13 (1). 1982. p. 14. as cited in Lyons, Tanya (2004). Guns and Guerilla Girls: Women in the Zimbabwean National Liberation Struggle. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-59221-167-8.
- ↑ The form Kagubi has a "b" being substituted for the "v", due to differences in pronunciation between Shona languages language and Bantu languages.
Sources
- Rasmussen, R.K., and Rubert, S.C., 1990. Historical Dictionary of Zimbabwe, Scarecrow Press.