by Monde Mdodana
“One of the most remarkable figures in Xhosa history is warrior prophet named Nxele, known in the colony as Makana or Links, the left-handed.”
1. Nxele’s Prologue
And now that we have made all the preparations, I must take pains to write this letter. I hope that it will be timeless, and that every Son of Man will read it. But I am addressing it specifically to you; the Existing Individual. I can not hope to address it to everyone, for then I address it to no one. I can not hope to inspire Spirit in the crowd, for Spirit manifests not but through the Existing Individual Soul. Concepts such as “crowd”, “humanity” and “mankind” are but abstractions representing a group of Existing Individuals. What actually exist, in the concrete, are the Individuals, not the concepts. The first clue to the Spirit is the Spiritual Individual. The first clue to the Creator is the Created Individual. The first clue to Existence is the Existing Individual. No, I can not hope to inspire the crowd with Spirit. But you, the Existing Individual, I have Faith in you.
2. The Seven Solitudes or The Ten Year Exile
From the moment we set foot on the island, I began attracting thoughts about making a getaway as soon as an opportunity presented itself. I gave myself up to the christians because I knew it was me that they wanted the most. The scourge that they brought to the village was a challenge to me personally to come out of hiding. They know that I am the heart of the assault, that it is I who inspired the warriors to raise the War Cry and stab the enemy in order to protect the land. I knew that they would not cease to harrass and torture the villagers as long as I remained in hiding.
I gave myself up so here I am; bound at Robben Island. They could have kept me in a prison in Xhosaland, but they chose to bring me out to this island. I imagine that a plant that has been uprooted and left in the sun to dry feels like I feel right now; banned from the nutritious soil, exiled, condemned to the Seven Solitudes! They obviously hope to hammer it in that I will never see my homeland again, to press it into my psyche until it sinks in that I will be isolated forever! The island is a symbol of Isolation, their message is clear to me.
But I am no stranger to isolation. In fact, isolation is my most faithful Spirit. I like to call him Solitude and play with his ears. I have been with Solitude ever since I was a little boy. He and I have an irresistible, mysterious, unspoken connection. He has been following me everywhere I go for as long as I can remember. But I also follow him sometimes. To the bushveld, to the rivers; to the mountains! I let Solitude lead every now and again because he knows where Mystery dwells.
She is an irresistible creature, this Mystery. Our best minds and Huntsmen in The World of Spirit have broken down or gone insane, all in despair of her elusive nature. But what is really irresistible about Mystery? Is she irresistible in herself, or is it an irresistible urge in us to search, to explore, to climb the mountains of Consciousness that we may know their abysses as well as their summits? I think it’s the latter; we, Huntsmen in The World of Spirit, are the begetters of the irresistible quality in Mystery. Mystery Exists, but not every man finds her irresistible. It is us, Huntsmen in The World of Spirit!
You may be wondering; what is a Huntsman in The World of Spirit? A Huntsman in The World of Spirit is a -Man of Solitude. Every man has his Solitude, but not every man acknowledges him in his entirety. A Huntsman in The World of Spirit must accept his Solitude, because it is from, in, and through Solitude that he will learn to go beyond the senses in his hunt for the heart of Mystery. And we must not forget our formula: The first clue to the Spirit is the Spiritual Individual. The first clue to the Creator is the Created Individual. The first clue to Existence is the Existing Individual. But what is the first clue to Mystery? The first clue to Mystery is the Self. His Individual Soul or him-Self is everyman’s first true Mystery. A Huntsman in The World of Spirit must learn this. He must learn that the crowd can not help him in his search for Mystery or Spirit or the Creator. That is, he must learn to accept his Solitude!
A Huntsman in The World of Spirit should strive to be like the Firefly, which finds its way through darkness not but by the aid of its own light...
... This story continues here.
(It was first published on Botsotso Literary Journal.)
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