Legends of the Victoria Falls (Part 1):
Spirits of the Falls
By Peter Roberts
This short feature looks at the local
cultural traditions and beliefs recorded by Dr David Livingstone and other
early travellers to the Victoria Falls - although the records of outsiders to
the region, they are the earliest written records which we have of these
'Spirits of the Falls' and important insights into the sacred island shrines on the lip of the Falls - cultural sites which are today largely forgotten.
Part Two now online:
Legends of the Victoria Falls (Part 2): Place of the Rainbow.
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A Journey Downstream
On 16th November 1855
David Livingstone was being escorted down the Zambezi
River by Chief Sekeletu, accompanied
by some 200 Makalolo assistants, on his way to the east coast of Africa and the completion of his epic transverse of the
continent from west to east coast.
Travelling downstream,
Livingstone was told of local belief in a river spirit-serpent (widespread
across central Africa):
“The Barotse believe that at a certain part of the
river a tremendous monster lies hid, that will catch a canoe and hold it
motionless in spite of the efforts of the paddlers. They believe that some of
them possess the knowledge of the proper prayer to lay the monster.”
(Livingstone, 1857, p.517)
Livingstone described the
journey in detail, made both by boat and also walking along the north bank in
sections to avoid the rapids, downstream to Kalai Island,
about 10 kilometres above the Falls.
“Having descended about ten miles [16 km], we came
to the island of Nampene, at the beginning of the
[Katambora] rapids, where we were obliged to leave the canoes and proceed along
the banks on foot. The next evening we slept opposite the island of Chondo,
and... early the following morning were at the island of Sekote,
called Kalai. This Sekote was the last of the Batoka chiefs whom Sebituane
rooted out... Most of his people were slain or taken captive, and the island
has ever since been under the Makololo. It is large enough to contain a
considerable town.
“On the northern side I found the kotla
[fortress/palace] of the elder Sekote, garnished with numbers of human skulls
mounted on poles: a large heap of the crania of hippopotami, the tusks
untouched except by time, stood on one side. At a short distance, under some
trees, we saw the grave of Sekote, ornamented with seventy large elephants’
tusks planted round it with the points turned inward, and there were thirty
more placed over the resting-places of his relatives.” (Livingstone, 1857,
p.517-8)
Mosi-oa-Tunya
Livingstone had little
idea of what lay ahead, other than a note on a rough map he had prepared on his
first visit to the Zambezi in 1851: “Waterfall of Sikota - called Mosi-ia-thunya
or smoke sounds (spray can be seen 10 miles distance).”
In mid-1851 Livingstone
and his travelling companion William Oswell had explored north into the
unmapped interior, eventually reaching a large river which Livingstone
correctly identified as the Zambezi, and previously
known only to Europeans by its lower stretches and great delta on the east
coast.
Befriending the Makalolo
Chief, Sebetwane, who held power in the region, they were told of a great
waterfall some distance downstream, although they did not travel to visit them
on this occasion. Livingstone later recorded:
“Of these we had often heard since we came into the
country; indeed, one of the questions asked by Sebituane [in 1851] was, ‘Have
you smoke that sounds in your country?’ They [the Makalolo] did not go near
enough to examine them, but, viewing them with awe at a distance, said, in
reference to the vapour and noise, ‘Mosi oa Tunya’ (smoke does sound there). It
was previously called Shongwe, the meaning of which I could not ascertain. The
word for a 'pot' resembles this, and it may mean a seething caldron; but I am
not certain of it.” (Livingstone, 1857, p.518)
In fact Livingstone had
spent the following years exploring in every other direction, before
eventually, in late 1855 he set off downstream with Sekeletu (Sebetwane's
successor) and his Makalolo companions for the east coast.
The rising spray at dawn (Photo Credit: Peter Roberts)
Scenes so Lovely
Guided to the Falls by a
local Leya boatman, Livingstone was enchanted by the beauty of the wide, island
studded Zambezi River, its forested fringes and exotic
wildlife
"After twenty minutes' sail from Kalai we came
in sight, for the first time, of the columns of vapor appropriately called
'smoke,' rising at a distance of five or six miles, exactly as when large
tracts of grass are burned in Africa. Five columns now arose, and, bending in
the direction of the wind, they seemed placed against a low ridge covered with
trees; the tops of the columns at this distance appeared to mingle with the
clouds. They were white below, and higher up became dark, so as to simulate
smoke very closely. The whole scene was extremely beautiful. The banks and
islands dotted over the river are adorned with sylvan vegetation of great
variety of color and form. At the period of our visit several trees were
spangled over with blossoms. Trees have each their own physiognomy. There,
towering over all, stands the great burly baobab, each of whose enormous arms
would form the trunk of a large tree, besides groups of graceful palms, which,
with their feathery-shaped leaves depicted on the sky, lend their beauty to the
scene...; but no one can imagine the beauty of the view from any thing
witnessed in England.
It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have
been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” (Livingstone, 1857, p.519)
This last passage has
often been misquoted in reference to the Falls themselves, but it was the
stretches of the river upstream which first captured Livingstone’s imagination.
Livingstone was guided to
a small island on the very lip of the Falls. Scrambling through vegetation to
the sudden edge Livingstone struggled to understand the scene which lay before
him:
“I did not comprehend it until, creeping with awe
to the verge, I peered down into a large rent which had been made from bank to
bank of the broad Zambesi, and saw that a stream of a thousand yards [915 m]
broad leaped down a hundred feet [30.5 m], and then became suddenly compressed
into a space of fifteen or twenty yards. The entire Falls are simply a crack
made in a hard basaltic rock from the right to the left bank of the Zambesi,
and then prolonged from the left bank away through thirty or forty miles of
hills... the most wonderful sight I had witnessed in Africa.” (Livingstone,
1857, p.520)
Livingstone was perhaps
deliberately cautious in his estimates, adding: “Whoever may come after me will not, I trust, have reason to say I have
indulged in exaggeration.” He seriously underestimated the scale of the Falls,
which span 1,708 metres (5,604 feet or 1,868 yards) and drop up to 108 metres
(355 feet).
Of the Falls he would
later write that it “is a rather hopeless task to endeavour to convey an
idea of it in words” (Livingstone and Livingstone, 1865, p.252).
Above the Falls, seen from Livingstone Island (Photo Credit: Peter Roberts)
Sacred Island Shrines
On this first visit
Livingstone recorded that three sites at the Falls were used by the three local
Leya chiefs for offerings to the ‘Barimo,’ but identifies only one of these
sites - now known as Livingstone Island, recording the following in his
'Missionary Travels' on his first arrival and sight of the Falls from this
island on its very edge.
“At three spots near these Falls, one of them the
island in the middle, on which we were, three Batoka chiefs offered up prayers
and sacrifices to the Barimo. They chose their places of prayer within the
sound of the roar of the cataract, and in sight of the bright bows in the
cloud.
“They must have looked upon the scene with awe. Fear
may have induced the selection. The river itself is to them mysterious.
“The words of the canoe-song are,
"The
Leeambye! Nobody knows
Whence it
comes and whither it goes..."
“The play of colors of the double iris on the
cloud, seen by them elsewhere only as the rainbow, may have led them to the
idea that this was the abode of Deity. Some of the Makololo... looked upon the
same sign with awe. When seen in the heavens it is named 'motse oa barimo' -
the pestle of the gods.
“Here they could approach the emblem, and see it
stand steadily above the blustering uproar below - a type of Him who sits
supreme - alone unchangeable, though ruling over all changing things. But, not
aware of His true character, they had no admiration of the beautiful and good
in their bosoms. They did not imitate His benevolence, for they were a bloody,
imperious crew, and Sebituane performed a noble service in the expulsion from
their fastnesses of these cruel 'Lords of the Isles' [Sekute and the other Leya chiefs]
“Having feasted my eyes long on the beautiful
sight, I returned to my friends at Kalai, and saying to Sekeletu that he had
nothing else worth showing in his country, his curiosity was excited to visit
it the next day." (Livingstone, 1857, p.523-4)
To the local Leya this
island was known as Kazeruka, whilst the first Conservator of the Falls, F W
Sykes, later recorded that it was also known as Kempongo, meaning 'Goat' Island
(Sykes, 1905).
View from the Western or Devil's Cataract (Photo Credit: Peter Roberts)
Guiding Spirits
Livingstone had earlier
expanded on the concept of the Barimo, which he interpreted as the 'gods or
departed spirits' and its relationship to the rainbow, as recorded when
witnessing a solar halo.
“Another incident, which occurred at the confluence
of the Leeba and Leeambye, may be mentioned here, as showing a more vivid
perception of the existence of spiritual beings, and greater proneness to
worship, than among the Bechuanas. Having taken lunar observations in the morning,
I was waiting for a meridian altitude of the sun for the latitude; my chief
boatman was sitting by, in order to pack up the instruments as soon as I had
finished; there was a large halo, about 20° in diameter, round the sun;
thinking that the humidity of the atmosphere, which this indicated, might
betoken rain, I asked him if his experience did not lead him to the same view.
‘Oh, no,’ replied he; ‘it is the Barimo (gods or departed spirits), who have
called a picho [meeting]; don’t you see they have the Lord (sun) in the
centre?’” (Livingstone, 1857, p.121)
Livingstone documented
many references to the Barimo during his travels, identifying a common tradition widespread across the regions north of the Zambezi.
“The same superstitious ideas being prevalent
through the whole of the country north of the Zambesi, seems to indicate that
the people must originally have been one. All believe that the souls of the
departed still mingle among the living, and partake in some way of the food
they consume. In sickness, sacrifices of fowls and goats are made to appease
the spirits. It is imagined that they wish to take the living away from earth
and all its enjoyments. When one man has killed another, a sacrifice is made,
as if to lay the spirit of the victim. A sect is reported to exist, who kill
men in order to take their hearts and offer them to the Barimo."
(Livingstone, 1857, p.434)
When he finally reached
the east coast in April 1856, Livingstone met a Portuguese official who appears
to expand on various native names for Livingstone's Barimo and the traditional
beliefs of the Zambezi
Valley - but reminding us
of several centuries of Christian Portuguese influence from both east and west
coasts of the continent.
“As Senhor Candido holds the office of judge in all
the disputes of the natives and knows their language perfectly, his statement
may be relied on that all the natives of this region have a clear idea of a
Supreme Being, the maker and governor of all things. He is named 'Morimo,'
'Molungo,' 'Keza,' 'Mpambe,' in the different dialects spoken. The Barotse name
him 'Nyampi,' and the Balonda 'Zambi.' All promptly acknowledge him as the
ruler over all. They also fully believe in the soul's continued existence apart
from the body, and visit the graves of relatives, making offerings of food,
beer, &c When undergoing the ordeal, they hold up their hands to the Ruler
of Heaven, as if appealing to him to assert their innocence. When they escape,
or recover from sickness, or are delivered from any danger, they offer a sacrifice
of a fowl or a sheep, pouring out the blood as a libation to the soul of some
departed relative. They believe in the transmigration of souls; and also that
while persons are still living they may enter into lions and alligators, and
then return again to their own bodies." (Livingstone, 1857, p.641-2)
Nature's Nursery
Livingstone returned to
the island the following day in the company of Sekeletu and several Makalolo.
"Sekeletu acknowledged to feeling a little
nervous at the probability of being sucked into the gulf before reaching the
island. His companions amused themselves by throwing stones down, and wondered
to see them diminishing in size, and even disappearing, before they reached the
water at the bottom." (Livingstone, 1857, p.524)
Livingstone spent most of
this second day planting and garden of coffee and fruit trees which he hoped
would grow under the spray of the Falls.
"I had another object in view in my return to
the island. I observed that it was covered with trees, the seeds of which had
probably come down with the stream from the distant north, and several of which
I had seen nowhere else, and every now and then the wind wafted a little of the
condensed vapor over it, and kept the soil in a state of moisture, which caused
a sward of grass, growing as green as on an English lawn. I selected a spot -
not too near the chasm... but somewhat back, and made a little garden. I there
planted about a hundred peach and apricot stones, and a quantity of
coffee-seeds. I had attempted fruit-trees before, but... they were always
allowed, to wither, after having vegetated, by being forgotten. I bargained for
a hedge with one of the Makololo, and if he is faithful, I have great hopes of
Mosi-oa-tunya’s abilities as a nurseryman. My only source of fear is the
hippopotami. When the garden was prepared, I cut my initials on a tree, and the
date 1855. This was the only instance in which I indulged in this piece of
vanity. The garden stands in front, and were there no hippopotami, I have no
doubt but this will be the parent of all the gardens, which may yet be in this
new country.” (Livingstone, 1857, p.524-5)
Fortunately Livingstone's
garden of non-native trees did not grow, the hippopotami doing their job as
nature's caretakers made sure of that - although one can only wonder what the
Leya thought of his 'cultivation' of their sacred island shrine. It is
interesting to note that Livingstone specifically mentions hiring a Makalolo
'gardener' to tend the island, rather than one of the local Leya - his Leya
boatmen presumably having nothing to do with this enterprise.
Today conservationists and
ecologists would also frown at the thought of planting non native species in
such a pristine natural wilderness (and indeed great amounts of effort every
year go into controlling 'alien' invasive species such as Lantana) - and ugly the carving of initials into the bark of trees
is also rightly to be discouraged.
View from Western End showing glimpse of Main Falls (Photo Credit: Peter Roberts)
Return to the Falls
Livingstone returned to
the Falls in 1860, revising his translation of the traditional name:
"Mosi-oa-tunya is the Makololo name, and means
smoke sounding; Seongo or Chongwe, meaning the Rainbow, or the place of the
Rainbow, was the more ancient term they bore." (Livingstone and
Livingstone, 1865, p.250)
On this visit he recorded
that both the islands along the edge of the Falls were used for traditional
ceremonies and as a place of spiritual offering and respect. Cataract Island,
also known by its traditional name of Boaruka (or Boruka) Island, signifying
'divider of the waters,' is the second and larger of the two islands which line
the Falls, and is located at the western end of the Falls, dividing the Devil's
Cataract from the Main Falls.
"The sunshine, elsewhere in this land so
overpowering, never penetrates the deep gloom of that shade [in the rainforest]. In the presence of the strange Mosi-oa-tunya,
we can sympathize with those who, when the world was young, peopled earth, air,
and river, with beings not of mortal form. Sacred to what deity would be this
awful chasm and that dark grove, over which hovers an ever-abiding 'pillar of
cloud'?
“The ancient Batoka chieftains used Kazeruka, now Garden Island,
and Boaruka, the island further west, also on the lip of the Falls, as sacred
spots for worshipping the Deity. It is no wonder that under the cloudy columns,
and near the brilliant rainbows, with the ceaseless roar of the cataract, with
the perpetual flow, as if pouring forth from the hand of the Almighty, their
souls should be filled with reverential awe. It inspired wonder in the native
mind throughout the interior.” (Livingstone and Livingstone, 1865, p.258)
Livingstone again planted
out a garden on the island, noting that the care of trees was a 'civilizing
influence.'
“The hippopotami had destroyed the trees which were
then planted; and, though a strong stockaded hedge was made again, and living
orange-trees, cashew-nuts, and coffee seeds put in afresh, we fear that the
perseverance of the hippopotami will overcome the obstacle of the hedge. It would require a resident missionary to rear
European fruit-trees. The period at
which the peach and apricot come into blossom is about the end of the dry
season, and artificial irrigation is necessary... When a tribe takes an interest
in trees, it becomes more attached to the spot on which they are planted, and
they prove one of the civilizing influences.” (Livingstone and Livingstone,
1865. p.259-60)
Despite the failure of
these attempts, the island became widely known as Garden Island
and a popular destination for early European visitors to the Falls, with
several of those that followed in Livingstone's footsteps visiting the island
and adding their initials to the 'Livingstone Tree.'
Livingstone again later
repeated the cultural association between the rainbow and departed spirits.
“The rainbow, in some parts, is called the 'pestle
of the Barimo.'” (Livingstone and
Livingstone, 1865, p.542)
It is clear Livingstone
identified a widespread cultural belief across the region associating the
rainbow with the spirits of the departed ancestors (a variation of a common
theme in many cultures), and no doubt the Falls, where the rainbows daily play
across the mists of the spray, thus held special significance for the local
Leya. It is also evident, from the writings of Livingstone and others, that the
islands along the line of the Falls, played a central role in this cultural reverence.
The French Christian
missionary François Coillard, who visited the Falls in 1878, recorded:
“One can scarcely gaze into these depths for a moment,
or follow for an instant the tortuous and restricted current of this river,
without turning giddy. The beholder's first impression is one of terror. The
natives believe it is haunted by a malevolent and cruel divinity, and they make
it offerings to conciliate its favour, a bead necklace, a bracelet, or some
other object, which they fling into the abyss, bursting into lugubrious
incantations, quite in harmony with their dread and horror.” (Coillard, 1897
p.55)
Catherine Winkworth
Mackintosh, Coillard's niece, travelled to the Falls in late August 1903 and
recorded:
“At the edge of the cliff... the long grass was
knotted into bunches, an act of prayer or thanksgiving for a safe journey on
the part of numerous natives towards the Spirit of the Falls.” (Mackintosh,
1922, p.71)
References
Coillard, F. (1897) On the
threshold of Africa - A Record of Twenty Years Pioneering among the Barotse of
the Upper Zambezi. Hodder and Stoughton,
London. Download pdf (opens in new window)
Livingstone, D. (1857)
Missionary travels and researches in South Africa. London. Download pdf.
Livingstone, D. and
Livingstone, C. (1865) Narrative of an expedition to the Zambesi and its
tributaries and of the discovery of the lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858-1864.
John Murray, London. Download pdf.
Mackintosh, C. W. (1922)
The New Zambesi Trail ; a record of two journeys to North-Western Rhodesia
(1903 and 1920). Unwin, London. Download pdf.
Sykes, F. W. (1905)
Official Guide to the Victoria
Falls. Argus Co., Bulawayo.
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Peter Roberts is an ecologist, conservationist and
freelance researcher and writer with a special focus on the Victoria
Falls region. He is author of several books on the history of the
Falls, including 'Footsteps Through Time - a history of Travel and Tourism to the
Victoria Falls' [First published in July 2017, revised third edition April
2021]. See the Zambezi Book Company website for more information.
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Cataract Island Under Threat of Tourism Development
The sacred island sanctuary and protected wildlife refuge of Cataract Island is threatened by the recent launch of tourism tours and activities to the island, endangering not only its fragile ecology but also the wider status of the Falls as a World Heritage Site.
Read more: Fears Grow Over Falls World Heritage Status
UPDATE: Online petition launched: Keep Victoria Falls Wild - Stop commercialization of Cataract Island and Surrounding majestic wild areas (Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe). Please sign and share...
