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Mr Thilivhali Zakaria Mukwevho-Neluvhola, photographed in front of the sacred mountain.

“The ancestors are angry”

 

A few weeks ago, Limpopo Mirror published a story about a mysterious creature that has been terrorizing the community at Chavani and neighbouring villages. The creature, described as a “powerful four-legged creature with white teeth” allegedly attacked more than 25 people, normally just after sunset and before dawn.

Since the incidents happened, rumours have started that the creature was attacking people because the ancestors of the Neluvhola-Vhakwevho family were angry about the torching of the Luvhola Mountain, just next to the village. In an exclusive interview one of the family members, Mr Thilivhali Zakaria Mukwevho-Neluvhola, said that a similar inexplicable thing happened in 1976, “when part of this mountain collapsed and killed many people in the village of Chavani. That happened after some boys went to the mountain and collected some artefacts they found lying there.”

He explained that the family had been forcibly removed from the mountain by the former government. “The ancestors of all Venda people inhibit this mountain. As a family, we are tasked with communicating with these ancestors, so that things can be calm in Venda. We even tried to advise people not to go the top of the mountain, but they ignored us.  Some even come here for night prayers, which are against the wishes of our ancestors.”

He said the fact that the mountain "is now left naked” after its torching also angered the ancestors. “The bush is a blanket for the ancestors," he explained while taking us on a tour around the mountain after introducing our journalist to his ancestors. According to him, workers from a funeral parlour once came across a giant snake in the mountain after they had ignored the warning not go to the mountain except for working on its surface where a family member was being buried.

He also explained that his forefathers used bees to defeat their enemies during ancient times, hence the name Luvhola - bee sting.

When asked what type of creature was attacking people, he said he could not tell what it might be, “because [the] ancestors are spiritual. When you talk about [the] ancestors, it is not something that you can see. It is spiritual. When they are angry, they react in different ways, coming in different formats," he says.

He also added that family members had never experienced bad things on the mountain, except for hearing stories from people who had gone there uninvited. When asked how it would end, he said the family had already met on the mountain a few weeks ago and agreed to perform a ceremony that would please the ancestors. "We will ask for forgiveness on behalf of these people who angered our ancestors. Our appeal is that the community must refrain from climbing this mountain. They must not collect firewood or burn this mountain as it undermines our culture," he says.

He also confirmed that a land claim process has been submitted and accepted. The family, which is waiting for the final processes, says it will start to build houses around the mound early next month. "When we stay around this mountain, it will help to protect it," he said.

Some of the old artefacts that are found on the mountain.

The view of Luvhola mountain, taken from a distance.

 

Date:31 August 2015

By: Ndivhuwo Musetha

Read: 16578

 

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