The Wages of Migrancy: Homestead Dynamics, Income Earning, and Colonial Law in Zululand, South Africa

Abstract

This article examines a court case in colonial South Africa at the turn of the 20th century. The plaintiff, Ugudhla, was a newly-wed residing in his paternal homestead. He wrangled with the defendant, his polygamous father, chief Matshana kaMondisa, over lineage property and marital prospects. Ugudhla, a migrant labourer from Nkandla, Zululand, felt entitled to decide family matters because his wages from the Transvaal mines had helped the household of his mother to pay government taxes and buy needed provisions during great scarcity. Ugudhla had acquired his wealth in the burgeoning mineral revolution. His income symbolised a different route to traditional power for men who valued wage earning as both a necessity and a choice in the nascent industrial era. The family tensions arising from migrancy caused disruption, including legal contests initiated by migrants who petitioned their magistrate to ‘emancipate’ them from their father's control. As upsetting as these court cases were they did not deter motivated members of a homestead from obtaining employment that buoyed domestic security and, crucially, enhanced personal options to fulfil their dream of ukwakha umuzi, building one's own homestead. Fuelled by discretionary spending, this ‘monetised’ dream had alienated Matshana from Ugudhla. Indeed, their rift would reveal how assertive migrants drew on opportunities of custom, capitalism and colonialism to pursue a life of accumulation and mobility that extended beyond mere survival.

Key words:

• labour migrancy
• wage earning
• native customary
• African marriage
• law
• homestead
• proletarianisation
• isibhalo/isibalo
• Natal
• Zululand

Acknowledgments

This article would not have been possible without crucial contributions from a range of scholars. I would like to thank Peter Delius, Laura Philips, Fiona Rankin-Smith, Deborah James and Keith Breckenridge for their trenchant criticism and helpful guidance. I also gratefully acknowledge the editorial interventions of Mike Kirkwood, Julia Gilbert, Sipho Mchunu and Dingani Mthethwa. Finally, I appreciate the two anonymous reviewers for providing useful comments.

Note on Contributor

Benedict Carton is Associate Professor in the Department of History, Africa Coordinator, African & African American Studies Program, George Mason University, USA. His publications include Blood from Your Children (University of Virginia Press, 2000) and Zulu Identities (Oxford University Press, 2009).

Notes

1. Many Zulu names and identities in this article reflect the 19th-century orthography in the primary sources.

2. The umXhapho formed in the early 1860s during King Mpande's reign: Testimony of Mabaso and Nduwana (15 December 1900) in Webb and Wright (eds); also see The James Stuart Archive of Recorded Oral Evidence Relating to the History of the Zulu and Neighbouring Peoples vol 1:231–232; vol 2:147–148 and vol 3:72.

3. Matshana's chieftaincy extended from Nkandla's Qudeni region into Nquthu division.

4. Nomvimbi's association with Indlunkulu, typically the household of highest rank in a polygamous homestead, did not signify that she was Matshana's principal wife or the matriarch around which women of his family gathered (i.e. isimane sibuthene endlunkulu). The inconclusive evidence in Ugudhla v MatshanaMondisa, particularly Matshana's testimony, alludes to Nomvimbi's status as an ‘ordinary’ wife who produced the ‘ordinary’ Ugudhla.

5. An official record of this legal showdown, including court testimony, can be found in ‘An Application by Plaintiff, against the Order of his Chief and Father, to Leave His Kraal and Ward’, Civil Record of the Magistrate in Native Cases, Nkandhla Division, Ugudhla vs MatshanaMondisa, Enclosure 1, 54/1903; Secretary for Native Affairs (SNA) Minute Papers (26 June 1905) SNA 1741/05, SNA Minute Papers (1/SNA) 1/1/323, Pietermartizburg Archives Repository (PAR), South Africa.

6. For an extended analysis of the Mpondo struggles to retain their ‘integrity’ in migrant compounds, see Moodie and Ndatshe 1994:22.

7. For origins of the name Somsewu ‘in the Basutu language’, see ‘Notes Relating to Theophilus Shepstone and the Shepstone Family’ (15 April 1910) Appendix 3, JSA 5:389.

8. In the Zulu kingdom, achieving heroic exploits as an individual warrior on the battlefield was a major way to attain material reward and social advancement (before labour migrancy); see Testimony of Mbovu (7 February 1904) JSA 3:28; Testimony of Dinya JSA 1:102; Testimony of Mkehlengane JSA 3:211, 214.

9. Report SNA (August 1900) 23, 1/SNA 1/1/290, PAR. See also: Report Magistrate Krantzkop (1901) B34, Departmental Reports Natal 1899–1901, Natal Colonial Publications (1/NCP), 8/2/1; Statement Chiefs, Headmen and Homestead Heads, Umlazi, Min Assistant Magistrate Umlazi to Under SNA (25 October 1905) 2, 1/SNA 1/1/328; Testimony of Chief Mqolobeni (14 February 1907) Evidence Native Affairs Commission 1906–7, 1/NCP 8/3/76, PAR, 767; Testimony of Headman Tshwetshwe (13 April 1907) Evidence Native Affairs Commission 1906–7, 1/NCP 8/3/76, PAR, 855.

10. Testimony of Magistrate C Jackson, Weenen (4 February 1907) Evidence Native Affairs Commission 1906–7, 316, 1/NCP 8/3/76.

11. Bye-laws Borough of Durban, Part 4, Act 28, 1902, 6, Minute Paper, Chief Native Commissioner (CNC), January 1917, vol 212, CNC Minute Papers, 981-1050, 1/PAR.

12. Annual Magistrate Report, Lower Tugela Division, Natal Blue Book 1883, GG17, 7/1/3, 1/NCP, PAR.

13. Statement Chiefs, Headmen, Official Witnesses, and Kraal-heads (9 October 1905) 2–3, 1/SNA 1/1/328. Matshana's defence of wages as a source of income: Statement Chief Matshana, Nqutu (25 September 1905) 1/SNA 1/1/327 2576/05.

14. Statement Chiefs, Headmen, Official Witnesses, and Kraal-heads (9 October 1905) 2–3, 1/SNA 1/1/328.

15. ‘Extract from Papers SNA 2858/1897′ in Letter from SNA to Colonial Secretary (31 December 1897); Minute Paper Magistrate Mtunzini (15 October 1908) SNA 3128/08, 1/1/413, SNA Minute Papers, 1/PAR.

16. King Shaka's ally Jobe was amaSithole chief and father of Matshana kaMondisa: Testimony of Lunguza kaMpukane (11 March 1909) JSA 1:301; ‘Tribe of Abatembu’, Enclosure 1, Lieutenant-Governor Scott's Despatch 12 (26 February1864) in Annals of Natal, 1495–1845 vol 1, J Bird (ed) 1965 (Cape Town: Struik):144. Matshana's ancestor Jobe was not the father (also named Jobe) of amaMthethwa paramount chief Dingiswayo: Testimony Nhlekele kaMakana (2 June 1907) JSA 5:128. After 1858, Matshana maintained especially close ties with the independent Zulu royal house: Letter JW Colenso, Bishopstowe, to Sir Henry Bulwer, Pietermaritzburg (21 December 1877) Enclosure 2, 111, War and Colonial Department, Colonial Office: Africa, Confidential 141–7, 149, CO 879/12, Public Record Office (PRO), Kew, London, United Kingdom.

17. Civil Record of the Magistrate in Native Cases Nkandhla Division, Ugudhla vs Matshana Mondisa; Enclosure 1, 54/1903; SNA Minute Paper (26 June 1905) SNA 1741/05, 1/SNA 1/1/323, PAR.

18. Other armed men and their chiefs assisted Langalibalele and John Shepstone in the attempted arrest of Matshana: Statement of Umxakaza, n.d. (c. early 1870s) 52; Second Statement of Madhloi, Brother of Umbalo, n.d. (c. early 1870s) 54; Further Papers Related to the Late Kafir Outbreak in Natal, the War and Colonial Department, Colonial Office: Africa, Confidential 39–60, CO 879/6, PRO.

19. Statement of Umxakaza, 52, Further Papers Related to the Late Kafir Outbreak in Natal, the War and Colonial Department, Colonial Office: Africa, Confidential 39–60, PRO. Umxakaza's evidence has been evaluated with a particularly critical eye because he was allied with ‘Ungoza's tribe’, that is the chiefdom of Theophilus Shepstone's loyal headman/induna, Ngoza kaLudbana.

20. Statement of Umhlaba, Induna of Langalibalele, Ungwadhla, Headman of Langalibalele, and Sotenjwa, n.d. (c. early 1870s) 52, Further Papers Related to the Late Kafir Outbreak in Natal, the War and Colonial Department, Colonial Office: Africa, Confidential 39–60, CO 879/6, PRO.

21. First Statement of Madhloi, n.d. (c. early 1870s) 53; Statement of Umbalo, n.d. (c. early 1870s) 53; Further Papers Related to the Late Kafir Outbreak in Natal, the War and Colonial Department, Colonial Office: Africa, Confidential 39–60, PRO.

22. John Shepstone's role in the Matshana ‘affair’ is pithily discussed in ‘Notes Relating to Theophilus Shepstone and the Shepstone Family’ (15 April 1910) Appendix 3, 389; more than a half-century later, John Shepstone was loath to elaborate on his 1858 encounter during his 28 March 1912 interview with a Natal doyen of native affairs, James Stuart JSA 5:307.

23. Elements of Colenso's Matshana Enquiry were in pamphlet form in 1874: Letter CJ Bunyon, Colonial Office, to Earl of Carnarvon, London (2 May 1874) 1; Letter, Lt-Governor Benjamin Pine, Cape Town, to Earl of Carnarvon, London (3 May 1874) 2; Solicitor Shaen (representing Bishop JW Colenso), London, to Earl of Carnarvon, Colonial Office (1 June 1874) 2–3; Enclosure 1, 4 & 5, Further Papers Related to the Late Kafir Outbreak in Natal, the War and Colonial Department, Colonial Office: Africa, Confidential 39–60, PRO.

24. Letter JW Colenso, Bishopstowe, to Sir Henry Bulwer, Pietermaritzburg (21 December 1877); Letter Sir Henry Bulwer, Pietermaritzburg, to Lord Bishop Colenso, Bishopstowe (26 December 1877); Enclosure 2, 11; War and Colonial Department, Colonial Office: Africa, Confidential 141–7, 149, PRO.

25. Solicitor Shaen (representing Bishop JW Colenso), London, to Earl of Carnarvon, Colonial Office (1 June 1874) 3, Enclosure 5, Further Papers Related to the Late Kafir Outbreak in Natal, the War and Colonial Department, Colonial Office: Africa, Confidential 39–60, PRO.

26. Testimony of Magidigidi (7 May 1905) JSA 2:87.

27. Ibid.

28. Umnyama as a malevolent force upsetting patriarchal order: Mpatshana and Nsuze (30 May 1912) JSA 3:323; Matshana may have learned from his father how to rid the amaSithole chieftaincy of ruinous enemies. Jobe had executed umthakathi in an effort to remove dangerous malefactors who were said to be weakening his political power: Testimony Lunguza kaMpukane (14 March 1909) JSA 1:313.

29. Letter Resident Commissioner, Eshowe, to Governor, Pietermaritzburg (17 April 1894) 213, Letters Dispatched, 1892–1896, vol 44, 1/ZA; Zululand-Lands Delimitation Commission, 1902-4, 8th Interim Report (27 August 1904) 33, 1/NCP 8/3/65; PAR.

30. In 1903, the Nkandla magistrate calculated 50 per cent more women in his division: Report Magistrate Nkandhla, 73, Natal Departmental Reports 1903, 1/NCP 8/2/3. In 1904, the Mapumulo and Kranskop magistrates estimated the same ratio: Report Magistrate Mapumulo, 6; Report Magistrate Krantzkop, 33; Natal Departmental Reports 1904, 1/NCP 8/2/5.

31. Report under SNA (20 July 1906) iii, Natal Departmental Reports 1905, 1/NCP 8/2/6. At the turn of the 20th century, migrant movement towards Durban and Pietermaritzburg had gained momentum. In 1901, for example, 22,000 Africans lived in Durban and Pietermaritzburg; by 1904, the total number had risen to 33,000: Population Statistics, Statistical Yearbook Natal 1901, 13, 1/NCP 7/3/8.

32. Annual Report, Magistrate of Weenen, 1893–94, B5, Natal Departmental Reports 1893–1894, 1/NCP 7/4/1; Min Magistrate Lower Tugela (8 January 1895) LTD 910/94, 1/Stanger (SGR) 4/1/5.

33. Annexure A and Annexure C, Magistrate's Notes (1 July 1897), Deyi v Mbuzikazi, SNA Minute Paper 1962/1897, 1/SNA 1/1/278.

34. Report by the Chief Magistrate and Civil Commissioner on the Native Population of the Province of Zululand for the Years 1899, 1900, and 1901, 1, Ministerial Department of Native Affairs Blue Book on Native Affairs 1901, 8/2/1, 1/NCP, 1/PAR.

35. This article was submitted before the author could obtain Jeff Guy's recent Theophilus Shepstone and the Forging of Natal. The interlocutor who managed communication across this ‘segregated’ divide, according to Guy, was the father of native customary law, Theophilus Shepstone (McClendon 2010).

36. The Code also assigned the Native High Court jurisdiction to fine anyone who undermined the legitimacy of a chief: Minutes of Interviews with Native Chiefs, 1914–1925, 1, Miscellaneous 1914, 1/SNA I/9/4. This source discusses the 1890s' legal practices of African chiefs and divisional magistrates.

37. For African accounts of isibhalo, see Testimony of Chief Tshutshutshu (13 April 1907), Evidence Native Affairs Commission 1906–7, 1/NCP 8/3/76, PAR, 852; Testimony of Chief Hlangabeza (13 April 1907), Evidence Native Affairs Commission 1906–7, 1/NCP 8/3/76, PAR, 853.

38. Statistical Summary, Natal Statistical Yearbook 1904, 1/NCP 7/3/11:3. Natal Agriculture Department Annual Report, Natal Department Reports 1902, 1/NCP 8/2/2; Director's Report, Natal Agricultural Department Annual Report, Natal Department Reports 1902, 1/NCP 8/2/2:3, 41. Population Statistics, Natal Blue Book 1901, 1/NCP 7/3/8:13. Betrayed Trust, 105–40.

39. Report Natal Native Commission 1881–2, 12, 1/NCP 8/3/19.

40. Testimony of Kumalo (16 December 1900) JSA 1:237.

41. Testimony of Ndukwana (15 July 1900) JSA 4:267–8; Report Natal Native Commission 1881–2, 13, 1/NCP 8/3/19; Testimony of Induna Class (30 January 1882), Evidence Natal Native Commission 1881(–2), 1/NCP 8/3/20, 333; Testimony of Umnini (15 February 1882) 193, Evidence Natal Native Commission 1881(–2), 1/NCP 8/3/20.

42. Testimony of Mbovu (7 February 1904) JSA 1, 28; Testimony of Sibindi (11 April 1907), Evidence Natal Native Affairs Commission 1906–7, 846, 1/NCP 8/3/76.

43. ‘Shepstone Downpour: The Paying of Bride-Price’, 4–5, uBaxoxelele: Incwadi ye zindabaza Bantu bakwa Zulu, naba se Natala, etc, File 79, James Stuart Papers, Killie Campbell Library, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; AT Bryant (1905) A Zulu-English Dictionary. Pietermaritzburg: P Davis & Sons:35.

44. Testimony of Umnini (15 February 1882), Evidence Natal Native Commission 1881(–2), 193, 1/NCP 8/3/20. See also Testimony of SO Samuelson, Under SNA (18 October 1906) 7; Testimony of Chief Sibindi (11 April 1907) 844; Testimony of Chief Zimema (3 June 1907) 892; Evidence Native Affairs Commission 1906–7, 1/NCP 8/3/76.

45. Testimony of Joko (1 February 1882); Testimony of Chief Domba (31 January 1882) 354–6; Evidence Natal Native Commission 1881(–2), 1/NCP 8/3/20.

46. An application by Plaintiff against the order of his Chief and father, to leave his kraal and Ward, Civil Record of the Magistrate in Native Cases, Nkandhla Division, Ugudhla vs MatshanaMondisa (29 June 1903) Enclosure 1, 54/1903, SNA Minute Paper (26 June 1905) SNA 1741/05, 1/SNA 1/1/323.

47. Minute Administrator Native Law, Umsinga (2 February 1893) ANL 214/93, 1/SNA 1/1/167.

48. Homestead heads anointed a younger son when older sons failed to comport themselves. The heir typically inherited his patriarch's privileges and property.

49. Testimony of Sigedhleni Kraal of Chief Matshana Mondisa, Nkandhla (10 June 1905) 3–6; Native High Court Civil Appeals in Matter Ugudhla vs MatshanaMondisa; Min. Magistrate Nkandhla (26 June 1905); 1/SNA 1/1/323.

50. Chart Monthly Registration in Labour Districts, Territorial Average Registration and Increased Percentage, Development of Native Labour from the Principal Sources of Supply, Minute Secretary for Native Affairs, Pretoria, to SNA, Pietermaritzburg (30 March 1910) NA 1069/10/427/10, 1/SNA 1/1/460 1154/10; Statement Number Native and Other Coloured Labourers Employed in Labour Districts of the Transvaal on the 31st May 1907, and 31st March 1909, Natal & Zululand, 1/GNLB vol 3, 1/TAB, Transvaal Archives, Pretoria.

51. Natal Mercury 25 September 1909.

52. Ilanga lase Natal 21 September 1909.