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

AN UNFORGETTABLE LONG JOURNEY

Countryside can be very inspiring , especially when one is taking a walk , but it can also be a little daunting when cattle are grazing near your path . Taking a head of cattle on a long journey can even be more challenging . One of the greatest benefits of living in the countryside , is that you get to live with or among a variety of animals , both domestic and wild . In my case , when I was growing up in the village we had cattle at home . My grandparents , who lived in Chwezi near Fort Louis , also had cattle , sheep , and chicken . So , growing up among animals , you unconsciously get to learn and understand the behaviour of each of those animal species that you're exposed to . That knowledge is vital , because it helps to harmonize your co-existence with those animals .
Wild animals , on the other hand , may be living in the same vicinity with you but they prefer to keep a safe distance between themselves and humans , for obvious reasons . They can be seen roaming around mostly in the evenings , when it's much safer to do so . It is usual , though , to come across a rabbit while walking in an uninhibited part of the village during the day .

I have shared with you , that I have a special friend by the name of Muzomuhle Dladla whose father was an Anglican priest who , in 1970 , got transferred to St Augustine's Anglican Parish in Masotsheni, my home parish.
Now , Archdeacon Dladla remained our parish priest for over 10 years . Besides being the spiritual head of our church, he had an unbelievable love and gift of farming. On his arrival in St Augustine's he was able to secure a few maze ploughing fields and a few cattle over time . His number of cattle grew so rapidly and became quite a sizable head . At the end of 1980 , he was due to be transferred to Ethalaneni parish in Nkandla . The blue removal truck," i Loli eluhlaza" , as it was affectionately referred to by the Diocese of Zululand clergy arrived to collect all the household items , but the head of cattle could not be part of the luggage. Rev. Dladla had already wisely pre- planned that his heard of cattle was going to be taken on foot to his new parish and my friend was going to assist his father to embark on this long trip with the heard of cattle to Nkandla. Being a close friend with Muzomuhle , it became necessary for me to assist him . Sbusiso Mbatha, who had become a very close friend of ours since we arrived in St Augustine's also volunteered to accompany us . This was going to be a over 80 kilometres distance trip , with a head of cattle among them with their calves.
As planned , we embarked on our long journey , using foot pathways in some instances , sometimes climbing hills and sometimes walking between mountains. As we descended one of the few hills we came across we walked past a certain village home which had some Zulu traditional function. The head of that household sent a messenger to call us. Muzomuhle's father ordered us to guide the cattle to stop and we headed to that homestead. On our arrival, we were welcomed with abundant food , water and sorghum beer. There is no "stranger " in the Zulu traditional culture , you extend hospitality to a passerby even if they are not known to you . When we were done with our feast , we were then asked who we were , where did we come from and to where were we headed. Once we were done with the logistics there we continued with our journey, by the late afternoon of our first day , we soon realized that the calves were struggling to walk and Muzi's father arranged with the nearby school to accomodate us with our heard of cattle inside the school yard. He then left to go back to St Augustine's to fetch his bakkie and we slept in his bakkie on that first night. We were so exhausted so much that , Sbusiso, our other friend didn't walk with us on the second day , his legs couldn't carry him any longer. It took us 2 days to reach Nkandla. We were overjoyed when we finally reached our destination. Ethalaneni parish was to be Muzomuhle's father's last parish before retirement . He eventually retired and by the time he retired he had built his retirement home in Emantshensikazi , which is also around the Nkandla area , so his last relocation had minimal stress. Muzomuhle has since become the head of his father's home after both his parents and his siblings passed on.