Xolisile Themba
As a traditional healer and sangoma, it has been painful for Xolisile Themba to observe how residents have polluted the Eskubeni river, a tributary of the Inkomazi River that flows through Steenbok. Many traditional healing ceremonies and rituals take place in rivers and streams. In addition to being the source of life, water is sacred and deeply spiritual. Every river has a spirit and needs to be treated with respect and kept clean and the banks protected.
When Xoli was a girl growing up in Steenbok, the Eskubeni river was clean and was used for drinking water and other domestic uses. Children swam and played in it during the hot summer days. An annual ritual was held in the river, conducted by the elders and the traditional healers to pay tribute and give thanks to the river goddess.
Over the years, the river became so polluted and smelled so bad that people only went there to dump rubbish. They treated it as a waste disposal site and threw rubbish on the riverbanks, the worst being used disposable nappies that would wash into the river when it rained and pollute the water.
For many years Xoli has held the vision of restoring the river to what it was like when she was a girl. Her journey to do so began several years ago when, encouraged by EarthLore, she held one-on-one dialogues with traditional healers, sangomas and elders to build support for the idea. This grew through community dialogues and meetings with the traditional leadership and local authorities who connected Xoli to the Inkomazi-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA). They were excited about the Eskubeni river cleaning project and connected EarthLore to the Nkomazi Greening and Beautification Forum (NGBF) that works more locally. The NGBF comprises a wide range of stakeholders including the IUCMA, government agencies, South African National Parks (SANParks), the Ehlanzeni District Municipality, local municipalities and now, EarthLore. The NGBF welcomed EarthLore’s inclusion and active contribution to the Eskubeni river cleaning project that addresses both physical and spiritual aspects of environmental restoration. It has been a long journey but the Eskubeni river cleaning project was successfully launched on 19 April 2024.
There was a big turnout for the first day of the Eskubeni river clean up that started with basic training for community members and the various stakeholders from the NGBF who had come to show support for the initiative. The NGBF provided gumboots and gloves. Chief Mangweni, who presides over Steenbok but lives in Nelspruit, apologised for being unable to attend because of prior engagements and sent representatives who conveyed his commitment to the project. The village headman and the local councillor were there, donned in protective gear and gloves to participate in the clean-up. The speaker of the municipality assisted with organising bags and gloves and sent municipal employees to participate in the cleaning. She also helped with cars to transport some community members to the river.
The focus of the first day was primarily on cleaning the disposable nappies discarded on the riverbanks and those washed into the river that are posing a health hazard. Community members also acknowledge that they have disrespected their sacred river, which tragically resulted in several drownings, including children. The act of physically cleaning served as a symbolic gesture of purifying the river in preparation for the spiritual cleansing to appease the angry spirits of the Eskubeni river and to restore its health and spiritual significance to the community.
After the river clean-up, participants met in the tribal community hall in Steenbok to reflect on the day and discuss ways to maintain the cleanliness of the river and its environs going forward. In addition to removing the solid waste, which could take a couple of months, it will be necessary to clear alien shrubs and trees near the river that are sucking up lots of water. This requires raising awareness about these invasive alien plants and planting appropriate indigenous trees to stabilise the riverbanks.
The traditional leadership warned that anyone found dumping rubbish in the river or in the environment alongside the river, will be penalized by the chief and required to pay a fine. The city council’s waste management department promised to provide containers in which to discard rubbish and to open a road for trucks coming to collect the rubbish. Another road would be made to demarcate a protected area where no dumping is allowed. It was agreed that monitoring and regular community dialogues must continue because some residents still do not understand the importance of the river.
There was also discussion about farmers who, instead of using agroecological practices, rely on chemical fertilisers and pesticides that poison the river. Livestock are also not managed, resulting in overgrazing that creates gullies and soil erosion that silt up the river. People who cut down indigenous trees do the same.
The impact of Xoli’s vision to clean up the Eskubeni river is far beyond anything she could have imagined. Now that this part of the river is being cleaned, there is talk of holding discussions with communities extending the length of the river from its source.
For now, the next step is to plan and prepare for the river cleansing ceremony scheduled for 22 June 2024. Volunteers, with support from the Gaia Foundation, will continue cleaning the river to ensure that where the ritual is performed is perfectly clean. Custodians and those responsible for rituals in the farming communities of Bikita, Zimbabwe, and from Venda and Elukwatini, Mpumalanga, will be invited. This is an important opportunity to share knowledge and to inspire and be inspired by those on the same path.
