A-Level Notes History - Early Communities Of Zimbabwe - Political Structure of the Mutapa State

Political Structure of the Mutapa State

The Mutapa himself was the head of state. The Mutapa was the judicial  leader,  religious leader, army commander and land distributor. The Mutapa was semi-divine because of his association with the 'mhondoro'.  He had powers of life and death over the subjects.  In the important provinces such as Guruuswa,  Mbire,  Dande,  Barwe,  Manyika,  and Uteve the Mutapa installed trusted relatives or friends to rule as vassal chiefs.  Chiefs were chosen/ appointed in consultation with spirit mediums or Mhondoro.  Each vassal  chief collected tribute on behalf of the Mutapa in the form of ivory,  gold,  grain and cattle and sent own son with tribute to Mutapa as a sign of loyalty.

The king's life was always symbolized by a royal fire burning at the capital throughout his reign. Vassal chiefs were also required to light their own fire from Mutapa's fire annually as a further sign of loyalty. The state was divided  into provinces, districts and villages. Provinces were under provincial chiefs, districts under district chiefs and villages under village heads.  Kingship was hereditary.

The Advisory Council,  'the dare'

This was a large court beuracracy made up of several officials who advised the king and carried out some of his functions.  It was very necessary for information gathering, advising the king and implementation of policies. The council was made up of senior and lesser officials. The most senior of all was Nengomasha, who was the second most powerful  man in the state.  Other important state officials included; the head drummer, the chief cook,  court chancellor, the court chamberlain, the army commander, chief dancer, chief herbalist,  chief door keeper etc. The queen mother (mother of the king),  king's sister as well as the king's nine principal wives,  nobles and pages sent by vassals were also important. The queen mother was always consulted by the king before important decisions were made.  For instance,  Oral Tradition says that before the murder of Silveira, the Mutapa had reached the queen mother for advice, who then ordered his killing.

The Captain General of the armies carried the title 'Mukomohasha'  and was the head in charge of the army (Mudenge 1998).  In times of peace his main duty was to advise the king on military matters such as weaponry,  intelligence and battle strategies. Another important official was the Steward.  He was the man behind all arrangements of food.  He also received gifts brought to the Mutapa court.  He kept the Mutapa's ivory.  He supervised Royal finances and expenditure. This is the reason why Randals (1981) informs us that the role of the Steward seem to have been redefined to treasury.  'Nyandoro' was the title given to the chief musician.  He headed a group of musicians who had the duty of entertaining the court. There was also the chief door keeper,  'Nyamusuwo', who headed a group of six keepers of the gates (Mudenge 1998). All visitors to the Mutapa had to meet first the door-keepers. Another key official was the chief Confidant. He was sometimes referred to as the right arm of the king.  He was known by the title 'Mbokorume' and was usually the king's son in law or brother in law (Mudenge 1986).

The chief Herbalist was by then the royal family doctor.  He kept royal  medicine and was usually appointed from among the subject Tonga. There was also the chief Priest who presided over the ceremony at installation of a new king.  He also played a part in  burial rituals.  He accompanied the king wherever he went. Other important officials were the musicians/dancers/jesters. These provided entertainment during court proceedings. Jesters cracked jokes during court sessions. They were good at playing xylophones (mbira), blowing large horns of animals and playing drums.

Valets were those officials who looked after Mutapa clothes. Women also had an important place in the politics of the Mutapa. They assisted regents (one who takes over as king before actual  installation  of new king). After the death of the king a regent took over and was assisted by two women. These women would give the new king a pot of beer at coronation.

The Reign of Nyatsimba Mutota and His Political Hegemony

The Mutapa State was ruled by more than a dozen rulers from around 1420 to 1900. These rulers included:  Nyatsimba Mutota Chibatamatosi,  Nyanhewe Nebedza Matope,  Nyahuma Mukomberanwa,  Chirisamhuru,  Negomo Mupunzagutu,  Nyakunembire,  Gatsi  Rusere, Kapararidze,  Mavhura Mhande,  Chivere Nyasoro, Chikuyo Chisamarengu,  Chomunyaka, Chioko,  Dambamutupo and Nyamita Nehanda.

The political organisation of the Mutapa State stemmed from the spiritual  realm -- the Almighty Mwari, then Masvikiro (spirit mediums).  Below that came the kings who worked with advisors,  political,  military, economic and religious advisors. They also had the military council,  Dare reHondo.  Provinces were under chiefs who were deputised by head men. Among the officials of the state were Machinda or bodyguards, Vasori  (spies),  nhume (messengers) and n'angas (prophets, doctors and spirit mediums) at the court of the king. Others were dancers, singers, drummers and cooks.

The Mutapa king possessed absolute power over the natural  resources and his people.  He was excluded from the eyes of the ordinary people and was often veered as a divine being. He distributed resources to his people,  like  land to chiefs for their people,  presided over the state council  and the military council  and incorporated the Mhondoros and Svikiros into his governing council. However the king ruled by the diktats of the state councils who advised him on major decision  like going to war and state of emergences.  "AKURUMA NZEVE NDEWAKO" was a Shona idiom  respected by all kings. Advisors were all involved  in the crowning of the king and the ritual and ceremonies at the king's court. The king's court was highly secured and protected by machinda who were the bodyguards. The physical  integrity of the king was not intrigued  because the chappies were brutal. The Machinda were complimented  by n'angas who provided  interpretation to the spiritual  realm. They foretold and forewarned the king of impending disasters and threats to the state. All dangers that could not be discerned by the naked eye and mind could be detected by the prophets,  seers and spirit mediums. The Mhondoros chose the kings and wielded divine power at the king's court.  Some of the prophecies of these Mhondoros contributed to the fall of the Mutapa State.

Vasori  (spies) were highly trained and professionally executed their duties.  Portuguese visitors like Do Santos, testified that their entrance into Mutapa was dictated and reported to the king when they were more than 400 km from the king's courts. They had a complex surveillance network system that spied on every trespasser and espionage or sabotage on the state. The preservation of the Mutapa State is predicated on the effectiveness of vasori who heavily kept secret and private and clandestine operations  but were handsomely paid by the state.

Dare Rehondo was the military council  responsible for executing wars and defending the state.  It comprised military personnel,  commander Tumbare and religious advisors. The king presided over the military council. Declaration of war was left for the king to decide. War needed confirmation  and mobilisation  of resources. They assembled locally produced weapons,  'zvifefe' and 'zvigwagwa' which were locally made guns,  spears,  bows and arrows. The whole arsenal  reinforcement was the duty of the Tumbare (commander) who coordinated with vassal chiefs for conscripts and battalions to fight. Man of valour,  military prowess and genius,  shrewdness and strategies were required. The 'svikiros' helped with strategies and prophecies on the war- whether it would be won,  using what methods or not - and why not. At any given time, the Mutapa army had a minimum of 3000 soldiers (zviwuru zvitatu zvemauto ehondo). This is confirmed by Portuguese sources. The vassal chiefs mobilised their soldiers for the state whenever called for national  duty. Armies enabled kings to expand empires and perpetuate their despotism. The assertions by Beach that the Portuguese gave these estimates to justify their defeat by Mutapa is farfetched because the Mutapas from oral and anthropological accounts,  purport that they possessed large armies (zviuru zvemauto ehondo). The stability and peace in  Mutapa is credited on the strong military. The empire and influence was too vast to be protected by pockets of rag tag soldiers.  Mutapa was built by the military and preserved by the military.

Nyatsimba Mutota built his formidable army from the few commandos he had used to rise to power.  He became the supreme ruler and commander in chief of the army. There was no political opposition during the reign of Mutapa. The one man dictatorship of Nyatsimba Mutota was a grandiose way to reign order and discipline through a centralised system of government.  He was the chief judge and executor of punishment on all treasonous and homicide crimes. The king tried these serious cases with a national tribunal  council. The king assessed the trial  process and often gave the final verdict for the 'mhosva' (crime). The king distributed land and resources to vassal chiefs for further redistribution to their subjects. The vassal  chiefs paid tribute which they collected from their people. Tribute payment was a sign of allegiance and loyalty. According to Oral Tradition,  anthropological and ethnographic evidence, the Mutapa people were a happy lot. The King appreciated his people through Mukwerera (rain ceremony) and bira reNyika held at the end of year. Thousands of cattle were slaughtered,  beer brewed and taken to song and dance.  Many people were called upon to showcase their talent,  dance,  poetry, drumming,  horning,  mbira, nhetembo and recounts of the history of Zimbabwe. Vassal  Chiefs and even other chiefs or kings from other states were invited. The king gave his state speech -State of the Nation Address.  People celebrated unity as vassal  chiefs and many other social,  political and economic achievers were rewarded with  gifts.  Gifts took the form of material  resources and promotion.  Land was parcelled out together with foreign goods. The Mutapa people contributed to the granary and kraal,  as each village had Zunde Ramambo .This was a special  reserve in grain and livestock used in times of drought and feeding visitors to the state ceremonies and rituals.  It was the main source of meat,  milk and grain and seen as the king's generosity and abundance.  Simple deductive syrogism, the cattle slaughtered for people on occasion were taken from the king's granary.

Nyatsimba Mutota used various methods to enforce order and peace in  Mutapa.  Many people were sent to Danda Rehuro, where heads of criminals -serious treasonous crimes were decapitated or beheaded. The gano (small axe) was used to sever heads placed on the log. Whenever the king declared that the log was thirsty (danda reanenyota) people shivered and got their acts rights  in fear of execution -so during Mutota's reign there were no rebellions in the state.

Prudent, to note is that,  Nyatsimba Mutota was an eloquent,  intelligent and shrewd leader. The Mutapa state was consolidated by expansion to incooperate  neighbouring states.  He became the most feared  Commander In Chief in the Southern  and Central Africa.  Mutapa state grew in  resources and trade. The population also increased due to economic prosperity and peace. Vassal states were ruled by relatives and trusted friends as Mutota laid a solid foundation for the great Mutapa Dynasty,  the cradle for the Great Zimbabwe Empire. The dynastic movement, to control the vast empire was most effective in  its international and regional affairs.  He also got into matrimonial alliances to effectively solicit support to run the vast empire to the ocean of India,  Limpopo, Zambezi and the Kalahari desert. The great king exacted tribute from all annexed states. Control of economic resources and trade,  political system by alliance and conduct of religious national  rituals and ceremonies -cemented and breathed fresh strong air into the bustling and hustling state. The educational foundation of practical skills acquisition,  diversification of productive and activities,  coupled with the abundance of natural  resources from rain water to the soil, strengthened the control  by Mutapa on the Mutapa State. The Chikunda,  Mwatayamvo, the Hehe and the Swahili  bear testimony and scars of this Great emperor. When he died - there was smooth transition to his equally educated and professionally trained son Nyanhewe Dambedza Matope Mutota.

Mutapa Matope's Reign

He was son of Nyatsimba Mutota and heir to the Mutapa throne upon the death of his father. The young prince cum king was his father in many respects- strong,  charismatic, shrewd and intelligent.  He was also an expansionist and complex strategist. He maintained his father's foot hold and effectively consolidated his power throughout the vast empire.  He did not change the political administrative system left by his father.  He was able to subdue reclusive rebellious states and defend  Mutapa from both within and outside. Trade with the Portuguese flourished as more gold mines and markets were opened.  More Portuguese traders flawed  into Mutapa as ivory trade doubled.  He acquired guns from the Portuguese for hunting and catered for defence and offence.  Matope's eastward drive,  controlled Tete, Sena,  Quelimane, Teve and Sofala. The Indian  Ocean Trade was completely controlled and dictated by Matope. All  ports were under his control as he extended trade to Malindi and Swahili Zanzibar.  He also controlled Zumba.  His Westward control of the Kalahari was very effective.  He consolidated power among the Toutswe,  Palapye and Serowe areas. This is confirmed by ethnographic,  anthropological and archaeological evidence.  Northwards, he maintained and consolidated influence in Zambia to the Congo Basin,  Barwe,  Dande, Manica,  Uteve,  Fura,  Guruuswa remained his dominions. All vassal chiefs as observed by the Portuguese and Arab literature continued to collect the royal fire from Chitako Changonya annually as tribute was also religiously paid. Venda land also continued to pay allegiance to the Mutapa Emperor.  However,  his death was a watershed in the demise of the Great Empire.

Reign of Gatsi Rusere

The succession disputes after the death of Matope were bloody and disruptive.  Many descendants of Nyatsimba Mutota made claims to the throne.  Gatsi  Rusere sought the invitation  of the Portuguese to claim the throne and the Portuguuese agreed with destructive intentions to benefit in the weakening of the empire. The rule of Gatsi  Rusere was a turning point in the history of Mutapa.  The rock solid foundation left by his predecessors,  Nyatsimba  Mutota and Nyanhewe Matope began to crack its   rock wall foundation, which was shaken.  Gatsi  Rusere regrettably became a loud  puppet of the Portuguese and a silent curse of his people.  He sealed the fate of a successful great empire,  bone out economic,  religious and bloody political sacrifice. An empire built from conquest and the triumph of mankind over adversity when sweat,  brains and blood were invested to circumvent what men think is the impossible. This was one of the greatest betrayal of the 17th  century Zimbabwe when Gatsi sold the Zimbabwean  Mutapa soil for the love of power and wealth.  From the reign of then legendary Nyatsimba Mutota Chibatamatosi, these princes and princesses received both local and international education and training to preserve the ethics of the empire only to accept bribes to betray his trust. Throughout his reign Gatsi  Rusere strove to please and lick the torso of his Portuguese masters.  His bullish behaviour was fatal for Mutapa in the long  run. To rule Mutapa,  Gatsi   Rusere had to forfeit the sovereignty of the state to the Portuguese.  He did so by signing horrendous treaties of subjugation.

Gatsi I Portuguese Treaty of 1607

The treaty of friendship was signed between Gatsi  Rusere and the Portuguese .The terms were botched.  Mutapa and Portugal  (agreed) accented to recognise each other and Mutapa to recognise the exclusive interests of the Portuguese in the empire.  Gatsi  Rusere agreed to give Portuguese exclusive minerals and mining rights and not to allow any other group like the Swahili, Arabs to venture in the kingdom for the same purpose. The Portuguese were granted exclusive rights to permanently settle in Mutapa Empire.  Gatsi  could not enter in

any other treaty of that sought with any other country without the knowledge and approval  of the Portuguese  in return to Gatsi's puppetry generosity, the Portuguese would assist Gatsi Rusere in wars against his adversaries especially rebellious vassal chiefs. The Portuguese  agreed to continue to pay duty taxes, the curva prescribed by the state.

On the short term, the treaty between Gatsi and the Portuguese was successful  because he managed to supress revolting vassal states.  During this period  Mutapa enjoyed relative peace and economic prosperity.  However what awaited the great empire was an avalanche of hurricane -economic,  political, social  melt down.  Mutapa was characterised  by chaos, anarchy and instability .The treaty allowed the misbehaving Portuguese to reign havoc in Mutapa .They were crooked,  using hook and crook to dominate Mutapa. The treaty allowed the Portuguese to roam Mutapa and intervene in economic,  political  and social activities. They manned Mutapa gates and chased away the Swahili Arab traders. They exploited and depleted Mutapa resources. They indiscriminately used guns to deplete elephants and rhinoceroses for ivory. The Portuguese also mined mainly gold,  syphoning out these resources to Portugal  .They were arrogant and cruel to refuse to pay the Curva tax. Their defiance resulted in the dwindling of the Mutapa economy. The empire was wrecked to the junkyard.  He who dined with the devil was licked  by the tong fired tongue of the same devil. He was consumed by the blazing fire with the devil who revolted and ditched him for another puppet claimant to the throne Kapararidze. Written  Portuguese documents talk about Gatsi  Rusere having tried to correct his mistakes with  reforms against the Portuguese .The Mutapa elders and spiritual  leaders also revolted against Gatsi  Rusere who in his dilemma targeted the Portuguese who would depose him.

Reign of Mutapa Kapararidze (Kapuratsine)

The rise of Kapuratsine (Kapararidze) was brief as he proved no puppet. After he condemned the family of Mambura who wanted to ascend to his throne, the Portuguese declared war on him.  He had also cancelled treaties the Portuguese signed with  Gatsi Rusere.  In  1629 Kapararidze was defeated resulting  in a diktat- an imposed treaty on him.

The Treaty of 1629

(i)The Portuguese to enter Mutapa Empire without any hindrance and engage in whatever activity they desired

(ii) Mutapa to allow Portuguese missionary activities and allow them to build church and convert Mutapa subjects without hindrance

(iii) Portuguese to enter Mutapa's court wearing their shoes and hats (this ruined the importance of Mutapa) the king

(iv) Portuguese to stop paying Curva and instead  Mutapa paid Curva to Portugal,  turning Mutapa in to a colony or vassal of Portugal

(v) Portuguese king to appoint a resident commissioner of the Mutapa Court to enforce his policy.

(vi) The Portuguese installed  Mutapa Mavura as their puppet king and baptised  him as Philippe

The Reign of Mavhura

The Portuguese had laid their rock foundation  before their imposed  Mavhura puppetry. The Mutapa State completely became a Portuguese colony.  Many Mutapa nationals were converted to Christianity without control of government. The prazo system was brought into Mutapa as many prazeros came to permanently settle in Mutapa for farming.  Mutapa people were disposed of their prime land and displaced.  Forced migrations led to impoverishment of many and depopulation of Mutapa.  Fertile land were secured by the Portuguese for sinister motives. They recruited slave labour and started slave trade-selling many of Mutapa people after Kangaroo courts on the prazeros. The Portuguese prazeros established the Chikunda armies to ravage and grab grain and gold,  cattle and ivory from Mutapa traders. The prazeros became warlords,  brutalised the empire with  no rancour. They raped Mutapa women at will. The level of lawlessness resulted in the emergence of Mulattos (miscegenation of the Shona and the Portuguese). They hunted,  raided and mined. The Mutapa Court was marshalled by the Portuguese from the gate keeper, the Chambalain to the Chaplain. The reign of Mavhura was greeted by incessant revolts and civil wars. The vassal states broke away and the empire dwindled in social,  political  and economic significance.  Mavhura was deposed in  1652 as the Portuguese juggled with Mutapa politics to exploit her resources. "One hell,  baptised chappie,  Domingo was imposed  as puppet of Mutapa Empire." In the melee of the circus,  Domingo was assassinated only to be succeeded by Nyenyedzi another puppet. Nyenyedzi was baptised as Pedro. This was like a devil  baptism because Pedro faced class struggles, succession disputes,  revolts and civil wars which erupted to engulf the whole empire.  Many vassal states broke away from Mutapa resulting  in  pre-emptive wars to recover them. The Portuguese deception was stinking even for Nyenyedzi to abdicate paving way for the rise of Nyakunembire.

Nyakunembire was baptised as Alfonso.  Nyakunembire was a strong unpredictable character, who hoodwinked the Portuguese to believe that they had their puppet in their pocket. He was a crook and shrewd character who poisoned Portuguese prazeros hunters,  miners and traders and left their bodies to be devoured by wild animals.  Others were attacked and bitten up and chased from their residents. The new Mutapa hid all mines and began to deprive the Portuguese of gold.  He severely punished his people for dining with the enemy or disclosing the mines. Many Portuguese were forced to migrate back to Portugal. Others stayed behind to behave.

Nekunembiri  launched a punitive military campaign in  1650 to neutralise the recalcitrant Portuguese occupied in  Mutapa.  He sought a resurgence and revival  of the Great Mutota Empire.  Nyakunembire took to reconquer the revolting vassal chiefs one after the other.  He brought all puppet chiefs to book.  He was very successful with  his revival  campaign but this also contributed significantly to the decline of the Mutapa Empire. The punitive campaign had scalps and survivors, for example one army commander of Mutapa was defeated but was warned that the Danda reHuro was thirsty and waiting for him prompting him to flee with his battalion. He later launched several attacks on Nyakunembiri and inflicted serious damage on Mutapa -Empire. Chioko is said to have been the last ruler of Mutapa, but no, because Mutapa survived up to colonisation  and to 1900.

Mutapa Negomo Mupunzagutu

Although there have been numerous Mutapa kings up to 1902, those from Portuguese and Arabic documents from 1494 and 1589  include:  Kakuyo Kemunyoka (1494 to 1530), Neshangwe Munembire (1530 to 1550) and Chirisamhuru  Negomo Mupunzagutu Most of the alluvial gold was mined in the Mazowe Valley where large gold nuggets were washed downstream from the Northern plateau. The large gold deposits from Mazowe adequately satisfied  gold trade market with the East African  communities including Sofala; Beira;  Kilwa;  Kismayu and Malindi from where the Mutapa got cloth from Gujarat in India, spices and glass beads. They also benefited from the Chinese and Persian traders who brought bowls; ceramics;  utensils; jewellery; guns and ammunition (gun powder).The Mutapa hegemony controlled gold trade from Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe and Mukariva and Zumbo in Zambia.

The Mutapa Empire was not daunted by Portuguese missionaries who came with traders of ivory and gold fortunes. The Jesuits Christian  missionaries advanced Portuguese imperialism  in Mutapa. The veracity and authenticity of this information was rigorously collected and collated from the Portuguese written documents of this period. The Portuguese had settled  in some of Mutapa controlled feiras or markets along the Indian Coast from 1505.  From the ports of Beira,  Sofala and Tete they had gathered stories of rich gold deposits mainly from Swahili Arab traders. The Portuguese joined the long distance coastal  ivory and gold trade on the Zimbabwe plateau.  Stories of King Solomon's fabled gold mines on the Zimbabwean  Plateau dominated Europe. The stories were so juicy that the Portuguese government sponsored the Dominican priests Antonio Sequeira and Gaspar Azevedo to establish a mission station in Mutapa to assist the Portuguese traders to dominate the ivory and gold trade between Mutapa and Portuguese occupied Goa in India. This was preferred  because of the proximity from India to Mutapa Empire. The Portuguese began to gather more information about more resources and the geographical  location of "King Solomon's mines" and the abundance of these claims, what could be exchanged and the political  landscape about the Mutapa kings and the general social  environment (Smith: 1983). This juicy economic information appetised the Portuguese traders to settle along the Coast and compete with the Swahili-Arab traders as sertanejos (back woods man). The Portuguese traders even took up job services among the Mutapa Kings as interpreters, communication officers, advisors and instructors.

One Mutapa shrewd man- Mutapa Mupunzagutu opened his doors to Portuguese traders and servicemen. The Portuguese were allowed to erect a fort at Sofala in  1506 on the Indian  Coast where they traded with the Mutapa traders and sent their loot of ivory tasks and gold nuggets to Goa in India for onward transition to Portugal. From this fort the Portuguese suffered competition from the established Swahili-Arab trader,  prompting them to venture on to the Plateau.  In order to establish a trading monopoly,  the Portuguese abandoned Sofala in the 1520s and established themselves at the trading Mutapa forts of Tete and Sena along the Zambezi  Ports.  Portuguese traders came to settle on these ports for a regular business trade with  Mutapa. This trade became so vigorous that the Portuguese further entrenched themselves and with a Christian  mission station at the Mutapa Royal  Court of Mutapa Neshangwe Munembire in the 1540s.

The Portuguese paid Curva (tax) to the Mutapa for their settlement at all ports.  Relations between them were cordial,  allowing Portuguese Captain,  Gate keepers to handle the transactions at the court. The Portuguese governor in  Mutapa was obliged to pay 3000 cruzados worth of cloth,  beads and other luxuries to the King of Mutapa after every three years they were in office. This gesture was diplomatically reciprocated by the Mutapa by allowing the Portuguese free passage and self-trade in the empire. The competition between the Portuguese and the Swahili Arabs remained tense,  prompting the Portuguese government to devise an imperial system of Padroado in which they linked the church with government to dowse any fire of conflict in  Mutapa. They passed various papal  bulls (edicts) and proclamation since 1452 to 1514) which the Portuguese crown used to appoint the clergy men for the imperial tasks (Asalo 1997). The Portuguese Christian  Missionaries disliked Islam and hence were vigorously sponsored to rid Mutapa of Moslem Swahili-Arab traders. The Portuguese then began their grand plan to subdue the Swahili-Arab  Islamic traders in Mutapa.

To supplant Islamic-Swahili-Arab dominance in  Mutapa the Portuguese crown instructed the Jesuit Provincial  Head in Goa to dispatch an evangelising mission to bribe their way to winning their war with the Moslems. They dispatched three Dominican (Jesuits) missionaries namely Father Goncalo da Silveira,  Father Dona Fernandez and Brother Andre da Costa with the specific task to convert Mutapa Mupunzagutu to Christianity. The unorthodox and unchristian  idea was to make Mutapa Christian  in order to expel  Islamic traders from the Empire.  Father Goncalo was made head of the Jesuits Mission in  Goa after he attained his doctorate in theology.  He was chosen to come to Mutapa because he had phenomenally succeeded in converting many Indians into Christianity in a space of three years.

Father Goncalo was a big dreamer, who wanted to convert the whole of Southern African into Christianity and would do it through converting the king, the most powerful  king in Southern Africa  Mutapa Chirisamhuru  Negomo Mupunzagutu. The Portuguese were aware that Mupunzagutu Mutapa was highly religious and that politics and the African  religion were inextricably entertwined.  Consequently the Portuguese crown decided to gamble with Father Goncalo's team to infiltrate the king's court. The Dominican Father landed at Sofala on 11  March 1560 and proceeded to Otongwe.  In his sojourn of seven weeks, the father baptised the Makaranga chief,  Gamba and 400 of his people and from there he proceeded to the Zambezi Valley to look for the paramount King of the Mutapa Empire, through the Mt Darwin District where mythical stories point to the Queen of Sheba supposedly loaded  her caravans of gold to the capital of Mupunzagutu at Khami,  arriving on 26 December 1560 without the other two Jesuits Father Goncalo converted the royal family of the king through the trickery of a devil, to Christianity and requested permission to see King Negomo Mupunzagutu.  Christian  missionaries found it easier proselytize convert women than men (lsichele 1995).

The visit to Mapunzagutu's court was well  planned in advance. The Portuguese officials and priest at the court had misinformed Mupunzagutu that Father Goncalo Da Silveria was not only a holy man but a man of very highly stature, a man of the noblest family rank and one of the most notable man in Portugal and in  reciprocation the king sent Father Goncalo Da Silveira nuggets of gold and more than 100 cattle.  He also sent people to receive and work with Portuguese Father (Froes 1561 ).  However to the humble surprise of Mupunzagutu, Father da Silveria did not accept the gifts.

Father Goncalo brought a stature of Virgin Mary to Mupunzagutu and informed the king of the biblical story of the woman, to the amazement of the king, who asked to see the beautiful  "wife" of God.  Father da Silveria obliged and brought the statuette and unwrapped her for the king and explained the story of the "wife" of God and Mother of God (Jesus). A complex story- confusing fictitious-mythical and unbelievable but interesting.  Mupunzagutu was fooled and impressed to ask to keep the statuette of muzvagwa (very beautiful women) in the court. The statuette, according to Mudenge 1986, was heavy with a heavenly aura and spoke to the king tenderly. An alter for the statuette was set in the king royal  bedroom. It was fraudulent at its  highest level, when Mupunzagutu told the "Father" that he did not understand the language of the lady, and the "Father" told the king, that once he became a Christian  he would understand the "record" message utterances (Louis Froes 1561 ). Thus the king was deceived to be converted to Christianity and was baptised  immediately.

Father Goncalo da Silveira taught the king and his family, the Roman Catholic Catechism for four days and then baptised them as Don Sebastiano  (Lord Sebastian) and the mother as Dona Maria (Lady Mary) after Virgin Mary,  one of the greatest betrayals of the century. The conversion of the two Great personalities in  Mutapa was a rebellion against the norms, values, ethics and traditions of the Mutapa Empire, a sacrosanct,  unforgivable abomination. The ancestors of the king and the mother were betrayed.  Father da Silveira gave the king and his mother ornate gifts of weaved cloth,  utensils and the Bible on the day of baptism as the King reciprocated with a hundred herds of cattle slaughtered and instructed  by the fetish Father to be given to the poor.  More than 300 others of different ranks were baptised to become Christians (Mudenge 1886). The royal family continued to shower Father Goncalo Silveira with gifts of honey,  milk,  butter,  maize,  chicken and eggs and holding him in  high esteem.

Religious leaders and all traditional  leaders became more suspicious by each day of the Father's stay in  Mutapa. This was openly an embarrassment to the empire. The Swahili, Arab Moslem traders connived with the wise men of the land, to inform and convince Mupunzagutu that he had been duped by fraudsters in the name of God. The man were deceivers,  magicians and witches bent on destroying the empire. The Swahili-Arab traders were the victims of all his machinations.  Mupunzagutu was told about other conversions he had made on his way to his court and also that the Jesuit Father was conspiring with his rival the vassal  chief of Uteve, Chipute to unseat him.  He was told the Portuguese were agents bent on colonising his empire,  a treacherous wizard (muroyi) who would kill the King (Louis Froes 1561 ). All these sources were correct because this was the ground plan of Portuguese from 1505. The Moor (Arab)  Engangas (witch doctors) foretold that the Portuguese were planning to invade Mutapa. The Islamic Kisisi  (Priest) named Mingame and Mbokorume the brother in law of Mupunzagutu convinced all and kilt to break his unholy alliance with the Portuguese.

Mingame advised Mupunzagutu,  "Do not forget upon what agreement and false understanding these people were allowed to enter into the kingdom of Mozambique (Mutapa) and violently occupy the kingdom of Sofala which was at first tributary to you.  Do you not know that these Langaru (Portuguese) have by craft contrived to possess themselves of the sea coast of India.  Recognise all this guile,  plots are being hatched against you." (Wilmont 1896). These strong words were premised on the aims of the Portuguese to dominate trade,  control gold mines and hunting of ivory,  political  concessions and the religions domination of the state against strong entrenchment of traditionalism and Islamic influence. They wanted Mutapa to be a vassal  of the Portuguese crown.  Goncalo was an agent and spy to pave way for Portuguese invasion  (Mudenge 1988). The Portuguese had proven their under hand dealings by asking construction of their private residents on hilly grounds,  in gold producing areas in  Mutapa -fortified the hills agaist enemy assaults. They constructed chuambos (stockades) of wood due to lack of stone.

To note is that the charges against Father da Silveira were shocking to the young king Mupunzagutu Mutapa, who summoned his state council  and military council  (Dare Rehondo) comprising  his military,  religious and chief advisors concurring with the traditional loyal vassal chiefs. The state council found da Silveira guilty of a treasonous offence and sentenced him to death without parole- on 14  March 1561.  One Portuguese prot~g~

Caiado,  advised da Silveira to flee immediately but the Father did not believe him and could also not relinquish his imperial  responsibility.  Caiado pleaded with  Mupunzagutu just to banish him from his kingdom and spare his life,  but Mupunzagutu convocated   another Mutapa State Council,  attended by his mother.  Unfortunately the State Council  upheld its verdict of Capital  punishment for a spy,  cheat and fraudster (de Sousa 1710).  Father da Silveira was informed of the State's position and he invited  all Portuguese Nationals in close proximity to Mapunzgutu's Court to congregate and receive sacraments. The Jesuit Father still did not believe such a verdict could be passed on to the untouchable,  infallible Man of God,  and thus stood his ground to defy the odds against him.  He had the stupidity and temerity to convert and baptise 50 more neophytes he had chastened and catechised on 15  Match 1561  and witnessed the confession of a number of Portuguese traders,  around the Mutapa Court,  and before he retired to rest and sleep,  he conferred and confided with Caiado;  " lam  more than ready to die than the Muslims are to kill me.  I   forgive the King (Mutapa), and his mother, they have been deceived."  (de Sousa 1710).

This was the wrong conclusion,  because instead,  the Father of the Jesuits, was involved  in Portuguese political  chicanery and was duly found guilty of deceiving the Mutapa together with being guilty of sabotage and espionage in  Mutapa.  He was hell destined to die of his earthly sins and crimes of his fraudulent brethren.  He had dined with kith and kins and so was guilty of dining with also the Devil, the Portuguese government, when he wanted to appear sincere and innocent in  mistakenly converting the Mutapa to his religion and civilisation  and the Mutapa to demonise and abandon their own.

Caiado was so concerned about the Father that da Silveira's fate that he even instructed  his two servants to stay at the Father's house. The two servants attest to the Father's unsettled  behaviour overnight, that he would walk up and down his room holding the Crucifix in  his hands,  muttering,  praying looking  up to the skies,  he called Heaven,  before the night of his  death. The servants explained that, at midnight, on the day of his death, he was so jittery and weary that he slept on his reed mat.(Wilmot  1896).  In the mid of that night,  seven Mutapa commandos, stormed into his homestead, tied  a rope around his neck and strangled him to his last breath.  (de Plessis,  1911), after which they dragged his body and flung the corpse into the flooding  Msengezi  River,  where the crocodiles feasted onto him.  (Frees 1561 ). After he was devoured by crocodiles, the Portuguese halted efforts to use missionaries to advance imperial  interests  in  Mutapa or even to introduce Christianity as Mupunzagutu denounced Christianity in  Mutapa Empire in the 16th  century.