Nontetha

The Prophetess Nontetha Nkwenkwe (c. 1875 - May 20, 1935) was a Xhosa woman who lived in colonial South Africa and began a religious movement that caused her to be committed to asylums by the South African government from 1923 until her death.

Life prior to 1918

Nontetha Nkwenkwe was born approximately 1875 and grew up near King William's Town in what is now the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. She was of Xhosa descent, and settled in Khulile village, now part of Nkonkobe Local Municipality. She served her community as an herbalist (ixhwele). She had ten children, five of whom lived to adulthood. Her husband, Bungu Nkwenkwe, died while searching for work.^[1]

She was familiar with Methodist Christianity, and although she did not join a church, her children were baptized and she learned Methodist hymns that she would later teach her followers.^[2]

Prophet

Nontetha fell extremely ill during the 1918 flu pandemic. While ill, she had visions causing her to believe that God was punishing her people for their sins. When she awoke, she preached of her vision to local people, who were devastated by a death rate of nearly 10% from the pandemic. She preached a syncretic fusion of Christian and African beliefs, including a belief that a Doomsday was approaching, and that society must be purified by eliminating social ills such as lying, stealing, and adultery. She criticized the disunity of the Xhosa people, who were loyal to individual chieftains rather than the society as a whole. She also made predictions, such as predicting a locust swarm (which occurred in September 1923) or that she would be arrested twice, first for a short period and later for a long period.^[3]

By 1922, she had gained a large enough following to come to the attention of the South African government. Officials grew nervous, having recently dealt with other insurgencies such as the 1921 Bulhoek Massacre, and they believed Nontetha may have been preaching anti-white rhetoric. She was arrested in late 1922 and released in January 1923 on the condition that she halt her preaching activities.^[4]

Incarceration

Nontetha continued to preach despite the terms of her release, and she was re-arrested in April 1923. She was committed to a mental asylum at Fort Beaufort until December 1924. During this time, her followers were able to visit her, and she remained connected to her movement.^[5] Nontetha was transferred to Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital, where she would remain the rest of her life. Her followers were no longer permitted to visit her, even after completing the lengthy journey.

Nontetha died on May 20, 1935 of liver and stomach cancer. Her family was notified by telegram, but by the time they were able to respond, she had been buried in an unmarked grave.^[6] Her followers expressed their hope that one day Nontetha's remains would be returned. In 1997, Robert Edgar and Hilary Sapire began to assist in locating Nontetha's grave, and her remains were reburied at her home in Khulile village in 1998.^[7][8][9]

See also

• Bulhoek Massacre
• Nongqawuse

References