The Historiographical Development of the Concept “mfecane” and ...

Arbousset introduced a three-period hypothesis for the greater Caledon Valley
area. Firstly, there was the time of peace, before the mid-1810’s, in which
Mohlomi ruled over all the Sotho-speaking people of the area. Secondly, there
was a period of unprecedented destruction which began in 1821/2 when the
Ndwandwe and the Zulu, under the “monster” Shaka, pushed the Ngwane and
Hlubi states into that area. Among the local terms for these invaders from the
lowlands, according to Arbousset, was the word Lifakani, meaning ‘those who
hew down’ 18 with their battle axe. The two intruder states from Natal dislodged
the Mantatees (Tlokwa) from their homeland. Each of these three states then
marauded through the whole area, causing devastation and depopulation, and
driving some communities to cannibalism. Moshoeshoe’s fledgling chiefdom
was attacked at Butha-Buthe by the Tlokwa state in early 1824, with the
Morena being forced to move further south-west to the mountain fortress of
Thaba Bosiu. Defending it against the Ngwane, Zulu and Ndebele states, as
well as against groups of local chiefdoms and cannibals, he was able to offer
security to many traumatised chiefdoms who flocked to join his growing state for
protection. Once the worst was over, so the story continues, Griqua and Kora
raiders, armed and on horseback, pounced on the severely weakened
chiefdoms and caused further destruction. The third period began with the
arrival of the French missionaries in mid-1833, amidst the suffering inflicted by
these raids. They were seen as having brought succour to the people and as
having restored peace to the land. 19
With this first mention of cannibalism, which is seen as a direct result of the
destruction wrought by the Natal invaders, a new element is introduced into
mfecane history. Stories of cannibals were accepted as credible by Europeans,
including missionaries, as cannibalistic practices were congruent with the
European “Image of Africa”. While Europeans in general felt that cannibals
represented the lowest degradation of the human condition, missionaries in
particular regarded it as evidence of the spiritual corruption of Africans which
they believed they had witnessed in Africa. This literary device was thus used to
18 Ibid., 134.
19 Ibid., 286-305.
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