The rain that fell last Thursday night on the royal court of KheThakong in Limpopo may not have warded off the withering drought gripping the province, but to the Balobedu people it was a sign that the gods were indeed happy.
The next morning Makobo Modjadji, granddaughter of the late queen Modjadji V who died in June 2001, was installed as the new Rain Queen.
The sixth Rain Queen’s lineage can be traced back to the Mwanamutapa empire that held sway over a large part of Southern Africa in the 15th century.
The ceremony was shrouded in mist and, without spoiling the solemn but joyous occasion, the light drizzle reminded all present of the powers vested in the Rain Queen. Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane of the Zionist Christian Church blessed the
ceremony while Chief Patekile Holomisa, president of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, was there to offer tribute from all traditional leaders.
Chiefs and kings of the surrounding peoples were also present and it was King Mphepu of Venda who placed the ceremonial leopard-skin cloak around Queen Makobo, signifying her crowning. Limpopo Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi also took part in the ceremony.
The Balobedu paid homage with traditional dancing and songs steeped in the traditions of their ancestors and one elderly woman delivered a praise poem that recounted the history of her people.
The Rain Queen and the Balobedu are descendants of the Mbire Rozwi of the Mwanamutapa dynasty, who ruled over the southern part of their people’s empire in Great Zimbabwe.
Towards the end of the 15th century, as the great empire began to crumble, the gods instructed Dzugudini, daughter of King Changamire, to bear a child who would continue the dynasty in the lands to the south.
In the sacred traditions of kingship, she bore a son, Makhaphele, by one of her brothers.
The king demanded to know the identity of the father, but Dzugudini refused to tell him and fled with the king’s sacred rain-charms and some of the Rozwi people.
They arrived at Lwandali in the Soutpansberg Mountains, the southernmost extent of the empire, in about 1600.
Makhaphele became king and in time the title was handed over to his son, who led his people further south into the valley of the Great Letaba river where they still live today.
The dynasty and the rain-making powers continued to be passed on through the male lineage until the reign of King Mogodo.
The king was concerned about tribal conflict consuming the area at the time and believed his sons were hatching conspiracies in a bid to overthrow him. To solve the problem he decided to have a child with his daughter, Maselegwane, and promised her the succession and rain-making charms if she complied.
Maselegwane bore the king a son, who died at birth, and then a daughter. Upon the king’s death in 1800 his son, Malegudu, tried to take the throne, but the people would not accept him without the rain-making charms. Instead Maselegwane
became the first Rain Queen and took the name Modjadji I, thereby marking the start of the present dynasty.
At 25 Queen Makobo Modjadji VI is the youngest Rain Queen and the first to have received a formal Western education. She will have to balance her sacred duties with efforts to uplift her million-plus subjects in the poor rural areas between the Great and Small Letaba rivers.
Nelson Mandela has offered to send her to Britain to continue her education, but Mathole Motshekga, the former premier of Gauteng and a royal decendent of the Balobedu, says the Royal Council still has to decide where she will further her studies.
”Queen Makobo cannot be like a museum piece who satisfies the curiosity of tourists. She will be a modern queen who will help to develop her people and for that she must be educated. But her power comes from her sacred traditions,” he said.
Modjadji VI holds her first rain-making ceremony soon. If she can bring enough rain to beat the ravages of the drought the whole of Limpopo will sing her praises.