Arnold Mutemi Features Editor IT’S early morning and all is quiet at the Binga Hot Springs. A group of people gather near steaming hot water...
Arnold Mutemi Features Editor
IT’S early morning and all is quiet at the Binga Hot Springs.
A group of people gather near steaming hot water gushing from the earth with great force.At first sight, the people seem like innocent early morning tourists who have come to marvel at the natural wonder before the scorching heat Binga is notorious for, even in winter, sets in.
But on closer inspection, one sees flowing white garments associated with certain apostolic sects piled on the ground.
As the group, which includes some elderly persons, leaves the site, they make a bee-line and pause to wash their bare feet in water cascading down a man made canal into a pool.
On the other side of the hot springs, a man with two adult women collects sulphur rich water from the spring into a five litre container before driving away in his car.
According to locals, many people are now coming to the springs, referred locally as Chibwatata, to perform strange rites after being referred by either inyanga or self proclaimed prophets who allege the water has supernatural as well as healing powers.
Some of the people are coming from as far as Manicaland.
Most of the rituals are done under the cover of darkness. Smartly dressed people, some in luxury cars, are seen loitering at Binga centre during the afternoon but at nightfall their whereabouts are not known as they will not be booked in local lodges.
It is believed these people spend the night doing their rituals at the springs, about 5km from Binga centre.
Some people collect the water in drums and take it away with them.
Locals said the outsiders believe that washing in the waters of the hot springs, which have been held sacred by the BaTonga people since time immemorial, can bring good luck or rid misfortune.
Those tormented by goblins are also being advised to go and take a dip in the springs’ waters.
The springs are now littered with rubbish as some people are leaving pieces of papers with names of people scribbled on them. It could not be established if the names were written to bring back lost lovers, luck or calamity to the mentioned persons. But the BaTonga see the events taking place at the springs as a desecration of their shrine which they hold in awe.
Desecration of the shrine is not new. The first outsiders to desecrate the shrine were whites who valued water from the springs for its reputed medicinal properties.
Water from the springs is rich in sulphur whose acrid smell greets one as they approach the site and other dissolved minerals.
Sulphur is a major chemical component in most skin medicines and whites used to come and bath in the springs’ water to cure skin diseases. The water, it is also believed, can treat arthritis.
To the BaTonga people, entering the springs is an act of great disrespect.
Chief Sikalenge, under whose jurisdiction the springs fall, said the hot springs were a rain making shrine for the BaTonga people.
He said before the construction of the Kariba dam which saw the forced removal of his people from the shores of the Zambezi River to Manjolo, about 40km away, no ordinary person was allowed at the springs. Only the rainmaker who could communicate with the gods about the rains was allowed to enter.
For one to be proved a genuine rainmaker, they had to stand in the boiling water without being scalded.
If one was scalded by the water, they were deemed to be imposters, the chief said.
“Long back, it was not allowed for people to get there. Whites built the pool that is there but it’s not allowed,” he said.
The chief said taking water from the springs in containers for use elsewhere was also taboo.
He said he has heard of the strange rituals taking place at the springs but did not know the supposed supernatural powers of the water.
“Some people take water but I don’t know what they use it for. We never used to take water from the springs,” he said.
Chief Sikalenge wants the area around the springs to be fenced off to keep out intruders.
A player in the tourism industry, Wilbert Makonese, who confirmed cleansing ceremonies taking place at the springs, said the mystical powers being attributed to the springs were good for Binga. He said people seeking spiritual salvation at the springs were religious tourists who should be promoted.
Tourism, Makonese said, survived on myths.
“It is religious tourism. We have people going to Jerusalem to touch a wall. These hot springs are a natural phenomenon which can promote tourism if looked after properly,” he said.
Makonese said those referred to the springs by traditional healers to remove bad luck were contributing to cultural tourism.
He said while he had no qualms with people going to perform rites due to their beliefs, it was essential to keep the springs clean and avoid dumping rubbish in the name of cleansing.
But, he said, the pilgrims also needed to contribute to the Binga economy by staying in registered lodges.
IT’S early morning and all is quiet at the Binga Hot Springs.
A group of people gather near steaming hot water gushing from the earth with great force.At first sight, the people seem like innocent early morning tourists who have come to marvel at the natural wonder before the scorching heat Binga is notorious for, even in winter, sets in.
But on closer inspection, one sees flowing white garments associated with certain apostolic sects piled on the ground.
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| A group of women wash themselves with water from the Binga Hot Springs |
On the other side of the hot springs, a man with two adult women collects sulphur rich water from the spring into a five litre container before driving away in his car.
According to locals, many people are now coming to the springs, referred locally as Chibwatata, to perform strange rites after being referred by either inyanga or self proclaimed prophets who allege the water has supernatural as well as healing powers.
Some of the people are coming from as far as Manicaland.
Most of the rituals are done under the cover of darkness. Smartly dressed people, some in luxury cars, are seen loitering at Binga centre during the afternoon but at nightfall their whereabouts are not known as they will not be booked in local lodges.
It is believed these people spend the night doing their rituals at the springs, about 5km from Binga centre.
Some people collect the water in drums and take it away with them.
Locals said the outsiders believe that washing in the waters of the hot springs, which have been held sacred by the BaTonga people since time immemorial, can bring good luck or rid misfortune.
Those tormented by goblins are also being advised to go and take a dip in the springs’ waters.
The springs are now littered with rubbish as some people are leaving pieces of papers with names of people scribbled on them. It could not be established if the names were written to bring back lost lovers, luck or calamity to the mentioned persons. But the BaTonga see the events taking place at the springs as a desecration of their shrine which they hold in awe.
Desecration of the shrine is not new. The first outsiders to desecrate the shrine were whites who valued water from the springs for its reputed medicinal properties.
Water from the springs is rich in sulphur whose acrid smell greets one as they approach the site and other dissolved minerals.
Sulphur is a major chemical component in most skin medicines and whites used to come and bath in the springs’ water to cure skin diseases. The water, it is also believed, can treat arthritis.
To the BaTonga people, entering the springs is an act of great disrespect.
Chief Sikalenge, under whose jurisdiction the springs fall, said the hot springs were a rain making shrine for the BaTonga people.
He said before the construction of the Kariba dam which saw the forced removal of his people from the shores of the Zambezi River to Manjolo, about 40km away, no ordinary person was allowed at the springs. Only the rainmaker who could communicate with the gods about the rains was allowed to enter.
For one to be proved a genuine rainmaker, they had to stand in the boiling water without being scalded.
If one was scalded by the water, they were deemed to be imposters, the chief said.
“Long back, it was not allowed for people to get there. Whites built the pool that is there but it’s not allowed,” he said.
The chief said taking water from the springs in containers for use elsewhere was also taboo.
He said he has heard of the strange rituals taking place at the springs but did not know the supposed supernatural powers of the water.
“Some people take water but I don’t know what they use it for. We never used to take water from the springs,” he said.
Chief Sikalenge wants the area around the springs to be fenced off to keep out intruders.
A player in the tourism industry, Wilbert Makonese, who confirmed cleansing ceremonies taking place at the springs, said the mystical powers being attributed to the springs were good for Binga. He said people seeking spiritual salvation at the springs were religious tourists who should be promoted.
Tourism, Makonese said, survived on myths.
“It is religious tourism. We have people going to Jerusalem to touch a wall. These hot springs are a natural phenomenon which can promote tourism if looked after properly,” he said.
Makonese said those referred to the springs by traditional healers to remove bad luck were contributing to cultural tourism.
He said while he had no qualms with people going to perform rites due to their beliefs, it was essential to keep the springs clean and avoid dumping rubbish in the name of cleansing.
But, he said, the pilgrims also needed to contribute to the Binga economy by staying in registered lodges.
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