MLANJENI

Mlanjeni (literally “River Man”) (circa 1830-August 28, 1853) was a Ciskei prophet of the Rarabe Xhosa. He played a key role in the frontier war of 1850-53, which is often called “Mlanjeni’s War.”

Before the war, Rarabe Xhosa was suffering from white incursions from Cape Province to the West. Mlanjeni maintained that the ancestors had told him that Xhosa setbacks were due to sacrilegious transgressions and that matters could be remedied by abandoning witchcraft and the practice of theft and engaging in ceremonious practices. His reputation grew, and he was credited with the power to turn British bullets into water. He refused any payment and laid a curse on those who disobeyed him.

A British attempt to arrest him failed. After this, he supplied Xhosa warriors with a charm made from the plumbago plant, reputed to render them invulnerable. He then called for the slaughter of all dun-coloured cattle. Several chiefs, including Sandile, supported the hostilities against the British.

The scorched earth policy of the British, under the leadership of Harry Smith, resulted in the defeat of the Xhosa, although Mlanjeni himself died discredited shortly before the hostilities ended. Rumors of his survival continued throughout the 1850s. The rumors also said that those who had been killed in the war had been resurrected and were fighting the British under the name of “Russians” (an allusion to the Crimean War of 1853-56).

KEITH IRVINE