Abstract
ABSTRACT
This Design Proposal focuses on the Nghunghunyani Information and Cultural Centre in the former
capital of the Gazankulu homeland, Giyani in the Limpopo Province and seeks to establish a place of
remembrance that would honour and redefine the Vatsonga Machangana people's combined
heritage. As a Xitsonga-speaking South African citizen from Limpopo, I'm frequently asked if I
identify as Mutsonga or Muchangana, and if the words are synonymous. There is still much confusion
in South Africa regarding who or what Shangaan or Tsonga is and why we have a double barrel
identity. As a Xitsonga speaking South African citizen I suffer from a doubled consciousness.
W.E.B. Du Bois, an American sociologist and author, defines double consciousness as the struggle
that African Americans face in maintaining their black culture while assimilating to the
dominant white society. He further explains double consciousness as the idea of having two selves
within one person. The conflict between one's inner feelings and how the outside world perceives
them is reflected in double consciousness (Gingras, 2010).
The formalisation of the Vatsonga-Machangana double barrel identity began in the late 1950s,
when Vatsonga-Machangana became recognised as a nation following Hosi Adolf Sunduza II Mhinga's
vigorous resistance from 1958 to 1962 to establish a distinct homeland free of Venda and Pedi
domination (Maluleke, 2016). The term Shangaan is still used interchangeably with Tsonga; however,
it is crucial to note that these two tribes had completely different origins. The Vatsonga are an
ethnic group comprised of dispersed
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, independent clans spread across southern Africa. The Vatsonga people of South Africa have a mixed
origin. They are descended from Tonga/Copi, Tswa, Kalanga, Rhonga, Ndau, Nguni, Mbayi, and/or
Sotho, with most maintaining a direct link to other tribes in Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, or Swaziland, with the Xitsonga language having over 5 dialects (Maluleke, 2016). The
Shangaan/Amashangaan/Machangani, a clan of Zulu fugitives who were of Ndwandwe ancestry and were
led by Soshangane, settled among the Vatsonga and began picking up the Xitsonga language around the
beginning of the nineteenth century (Niehaus, 2002).
The South African democratic administration, which assumed office in 1994, made reconciliation the
guiding principle for the development of new national and regional commemorative tales which
intended to erase apartheid's legacy. The Limpopo Provincial Government committed a total of R6
million in 2004 to the construction Warrior Kings Monuments (WKM) (Thotse and Grabler, 2014). These
regional commemorative tales in Limpopo province provide information about warrior leaders who
fought resistance fights against European settlers or Boers who attempted to seize land from
indigenous populations. The warriors included kings such as Makhado, Malebogo, Mokopane,
Sekhukhune, and the last King of the Vatsonga Machangana group, Nghunghunyani, whose sculptures
can be found in public areas in several towns in the Limpopo Province (Mabale, 2007).
The Nghunghunyani Information and Cultural Centre is a space used to celebrate Nghunghunyani Day.
The day commemorates the life and contributions of King Nghunghunyani of the Vatsonga-Machangana
tribe who reigned from 1884 till his imprisonment by Mouzinho de Albuquerque,
the Portuguese governor of the Gaza military district in 1895 (MacGonagle, 2008). The
Nghunghunyani day is also aimed at uniting the Vatsonga-Machangana tribe members who now desire to
be recognised as separate ethnic groups rather than the double barrel identity
(Vatsonga-Machangana) that was made official by the Gazankulu government as a result of
the Tsonga language being used interchangeably with the Shangaan language from the 1960's till
present. This design proposal will examine the future landscape of the Nghunghunyani
Information and Cultural Centre site and the commemoration event to question the site's
design, performance & contextual response. The construction of King Nghunghunyani's statue in
Giyani, Limpopo has sparked controversy, and the community has reacted with rejection and
disapproval. There are suggestions that the VaTsonga and Machangana have separate ethnic
communities in the region, which would indicate that some groups do not recognize King
Nghunghunyani as he did not conquer all Tsonga tribes (Mabale, 2007). The local Tsonga-speaking
chiefs and communities had initially opposed the government's erection of the statue, which is why
this matter is a source of contention and controversy.
While some Vatsonga-Machangana people consider King Ngungunyani to be a hero, others perceive him
as a Zulu tyrant who subjugated their people and governed the Tonga tribes brutally as he is the
direct descendant of king Soshangani who led the amaNdwandwe tribe out of Zululand in the 1800's.
The project considers speculative ways in which the existing site can be transformed into a
counter-memorial space. The project proposes to challenge historical narratives, give a voice to
those whose stories have been marginalised or excluded, and raise awareness and understanding of
the event being commemorated using collective memory as a design tool.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• ·How do we commemorate a 'hero' who also emerges as a villain in a same narrative (depending on
who tells it) in the same setting?
• ·Is it possible to create a commemorative space that would be locally appropriate and that would
meet the regional demands of the people of Giyani7
• ·Is it possible to create a commemorative space that would be appropriate for both the Vatsonga
and the Machangana tribes?
• ·Is a statue of a single yet controversial figure suitable for commemorating the
Vatsonga-Machangana tribe's heritage?
• Why and how should we commemorate the heritage of the Vatsonga-Machangana7
• ·Why should the commemoration of the Vatsonga-Machangana ethnic minority be in the spatial
context of Giyani, Limpopo on that specific site7
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