Our Heritage

The Justice System

We have always had our own system of justice administration. It begins at home where the child shows respect for the mother, the mother for the husband, the husband for the traditional leader and the traditional leader for the ancestors who intercede for us to the Creator.

In practice what this means is that the court of first instance is the family, whose presiding officer is the father of the house. The next court of appeal is that of the clan, presided over by the most senior member of the clan. From this court the matter is referred to the court of the sub-headman, whose members would be the heads of the various clans of that particular locality.

The next port of call for the aggrieved party is the court of the headman. The leading officials here are the various sub-headmen who fall within this court's area of jurisdiction.

The next level is that of the court of the tribe. Inkosi, the head of the tribe, presides over this court. He is assisted by the headmen who are in charge of the administrative areas falling within his area of rule.

In each one of these levels of justice administration prominent members of the relevant community, people who are known for their knowledge of the history, the customs, traditions and cultures of the people, are co-opted to assist in the investigation of the offence or complaint, the trial of the case, the assessment of the evidence, the determination of the judgment and, where appropriate, the pronouncement of the penalty.

The proceedings are conducted in open court. The rules of procedure are simple enough for all to follow and understand. Under a controlled manner every adult can examine and cross-examine the litigants and their witnesses.

Rehabilitative punishment of the offender, reconciliation of the parties and compensation of the victim are the goals of our system of justice administration.

The Health System

Our natural environment has provided us with herbs and medicines to deal with our ailments. While some of these herbs and medicines were generally known to almost every adult person, our herbalists and diviners have talents and powers to determine the correct medication for specific ailments. These talents and powers are bestowed on them by supernatural spirits directed by their ancestors and those of their trainers.

In the course of their work the diviners act also as religious leaders connecting the living with the spirits of the dead in order for the latter to indicate the cause of the ailment and to tell of what needs to be done. Sometimes the diviners are able to reveal that some or other of the rituals that each African must undergo was not performed and the ailment was a call by the ancestors for such to be done.

Even in this day you do find people who cultivate medicinal plants in their gardens. These would be for ailments such as the common cold, stomach-aches, head-aches, physical injuries, et cetera.

The consumption of organic plant foods and animal meat enhanced the good health of the people. Home-grown pepper and onions, as well as salt, are condiments which add taste to food without any danger the health of the people.

Conclusion

Obviously there is no limit to what can be identified as aspects of our intangible cultural heritage. Each one of such aspects can be a subject of o conference on its own. Suffice to say that while the tendency by some who speak about these matters tend to do so in the past tense, this is a living heritage. It is there for those who want to experience it to do so. My abiding fear is that those who have it at their disposal tend to look down upon it because, since it has no foreign attachment to it, they think it is inferior and a sign of backwardness.

It remains the duty of traditional leaders to do all that they can to instill pride in their people in what they have. Educated African intellectuals must take up their rightful role as the counselors of traditional leaders, make our heritage relevant to the youth of our times and desist from seeking to be politically correct while our pride as Africans is eroded.

Contact Details

His Royal Heritage, Zolani Mkhiva

Cell: 083 123 2345

Fax: 083 123 2345

Email-1: presidency@contralesa.org

Email-2: leaders@contralesa.org

Email-3: info@contralesa.org

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