ST AUGUSTINE'S MASOTSHENI ? IS IT JEALOUSY OR JUST BEING TERRITORIAL?

ST AUGUSTINE'S MASOTSHENI ? IS IT JEALOUSY OR I'M JUST BEING TERRITORIAL ?

I love my village St Augustine's Masotsheni , do I sound  territorial , naive or jealous ? I suppose I'm just being true to this special feeling that is embedded in my heart . If you feel that I am being territorial , as in territorial relating to the ownership of a particular place or to a Zoological understanding of territorial , which refers to an animal defending its place of existence , perhaps I am territorial to some extent . I hope I am not going to sound naive or selfish , like I have just said , I love St Augustine's Masotsheni , with all my heart .

MY REAL NAME

I was born in the Southern tip of Africa , in this area called St. Augustine's Masotsheni . The naming  of a  baby , is one of the
important rites of passage in life . In traditional African society , the naming ceremony announces the birth of a newborn , introduces a child to his or her extended family and larger community , and above all , it confers a name on the child . Traditional African names often have unique stories behind them . There are other factors that come to play in the naming of a newborn , for an example , children may be named following the order in which they were born in a particular family , circumstances of the birth of the child , circumstances of the family and community , important events etc.

My grandmother , my father's mother , wanted to name me , Mthetheleli ( meaning the one who forgives ) , but my mother suggested Mlungisi and convinced my grandmother that both these names have almost the same meaning . I think my mother just did not like the other name , because these names do not necessarily share the same meaning . I ended up with Mlungisi . Over and above my first name , my father gave me two more names , James and Russel . This was like a norm in the past for children to be given additional English or Afrikaans names . In some quarters , the additional names are referred to , as Christian names .
I remember President Nelson Mandela , in one of his documentaries , when he was asked about how he got his name Nelson . He said that his new teacher had asked him to give her his name when he started school , she would not settle for an African name , so she , there and then , named him Nelson .

In my village , most people have both African and Western names , and they use them interchangeably . I also prefer to use my names interchangeably . I love all my names because my parents gave them to me ,
and most importantly , they give me a unique identity as an individual . It was very common during my school days , to use an english name at school and your African name at home . It was equally common for children who go to school with you ,
to use your english name even at home , when calling you . I therefore take no offence whatsoever , when someone call me either Mlungisi or James at any given time . Some people call me Mlu , using the first three letters of my name Mlungisi , others call me Lungi , using middle letters , again of my name Mlungisi , while others call me James . My sisters call me , Jay taken from my name James . My other contemporaries call me Bond , as in James Bond . I like all my names equally , and I like it when they are used interchangeably .
I therefore do not have one real name , but three real names , of which two of them and their abbreviated versions are in full use .

Covd 19 pandemic has revealed , in so many ways , how much the nations of the world love their unique countries and I think that bears testament to the fact that , one's habitual space is special and "sacred" .
COVID 19 , 'CO' stands for corona, 'VI' for virus , and 'D' for disease . The Covid 19 virus is a new virus linked to the same family of viruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and some type of common cold . As of yesterday , the 5th June 2020 , South Africa had conducted 850871 corona virus tests , 43434 positive cases identified , 23088 recoveries , 908 deaths , and 2642 new cases . The numbers are, of course , growing each days , some countries overseas are mostly affected by the virus . In the past month , several countries had gone on lockdowns to reduce the rapid spread of the virus infections , and this limited movement of people within each country and all borders were closed , except for cargo . Since our world has become a " global village" , we get know of what is happening around the world almost instantly . For all this time that various countries had been on the lockdown , over the world news I have never picked up any news that suggests, in any slightest way , that any individual or group , have hated being lockdown in their own country. I have witnessed , in the world news , however , and have heard of people who had pleaded with their respective countries to assist , repatriate them , to comeback to their countries and be lockdown in their own country . Does this sound territorial or sensible ? I prefer to be lockdown in my own country as well .

Masotsheni , covers an area of about 8.42 km2 . with a population of just over 3, 888 . ( Census 2011) . There are just over 785 households in this village . According to the 2011 statistics , we had about 53% of females and 47% males in Masotsheni . This village is composed of 94% of IsiZulu speaking people and 4% of Sesotho speaking people .
I was born and bred in this village . My grandfather (my father's dad) Rev.Berechia Zigode, like my other grandfather ( my mom's dad) , was also an Anglican priest . For sometime, he served under the Revd William Lee , who later became the bishop of Zululand , in St Augustine's Mission parish ,Masotsheni . This is how my parents got to know Masotsheni . Obviously , they liked the area , and had decided to settle in Masotsheni later on . I am the only one , in my family who was born in Masotsheni though , the rest of my siblings had long been born before we arrived in this village .
This village had been lucky to have one of the best Missionary High Schools , St Augustine's High School , which in its early days , had quite a sizable number of highly qualified British teachers among its staff .

Charles Johnson Hospital

The Revd Charles Johnson , some years earlier after the famous Isandlwana battle , had established an Anglican Mission at Masotsheni , near Isandlwana . This site had been chosen as a sign of penitence and reconciliation . Revd Charles Johnson was a remarkable man indeed . With his wife , Margaret , the daughter of Canon Jenkinson of Springvale Mission in Natal , Father Johnson would hold a clinic after services and respond to simple medical needs . It is said that he pulled many a tooth , sometimes being rewarded by gaining a Christian convert . He died at the age of 77 years after being at Masotsheni for 48 years . He was succeeded by William Lee  .
Revd Lee had concluded that a health service was necessary based upon the pressure of " continuing and never- ceasing dribble of sick folk " coming to the mission for help .

Money was of course in short supply , however , Mrs Lee was able to place two beds in an outside building , she found and recruited a Zulu nurse , Sanna Mbatha , who had trained at St Mary's KwaMagwaza Anglican Mission hospital near Melmoth . She called the little clinic , St Augustine's Hospital . She also requested the help of Dr Bessarabia , the district Surgeon in Nqutu .
It became clear that if the hospital was to grow , it had to be moved to the village of Nqutu . In 1935 , Revd William Lee , who later became the bishop of Zululand , bought a stone building in Nqutu , and grandly called it the Charles Johnson Memorial Hospital . After 85 years of its existence , Charles Johnson Memorial Hospital is still growing strong . Incidentally , I was born in this hospital , and three of my children as well.

Communal Life

What about the communal life in my village ? Largely , African society is rooted in community ,in togetherness " Ubuntu" ( humanity) , my village is no exception . Social isolation is an unthinkable phenomenon for us . Our communal values underscore the culture of this small village . In terms of our communal values , there is an African saying , that if you shoot a zebra in it's black stripe , the white stripe also dies , and if you shoot it in its white stripe the black stripe dies too , togetherness is at the core of our existence as a community . Time changes , situations change and technology changes , but foundations of who we are cannot be allowed to change . Rather , we need to adapt ourselves to the new world , led by our young generation who need to create the path to bring the best of our history .
St Augustine's Masotsheni , like all the other villages in the previous KwaZulu government territory , is being administered by the Ingonyama Trust , I will touch on this Trust in the next segment .