MBOMBELA – Churches are beseeching the favour of God and the ancestors for rain to fall.
Elders from various denominations affiliated to Bunye Bemabandla, Mataffin and Phumlani, and church members, recently ascended the mountains between Rocky Drift and Mbombela to a secluded place they believed their forefathers used to pray at for rain, to request God’s intervention.
Mr Thompson Ndlovu, chairperson of the group, said, “We understand the climate change, but after all as Christians we know that there is only one God whom we have to plead to, with Whom nothing is impossible. We must humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness for our sins as this is a sign that we have wronged God and He is not pleased about our conduct.”
In preparation for the prayers, members of the group fasted for three days and assembled at the church at 19:00 each day to pray before having light meals.
On the fourth day the members ascended the mountain to pray near a rock (Lidvwala).
“In His Word, God says if the people call my name, humble themselves, repent from their sins and seek my face, I the Lord will hear their prayers. We still have hope that it will rain,” he said. Ndlovu also urged other churches and pastors to join forces and earnestly pray for rain.
“We will continue to pray, even after the rain, and we will go back to kneel down and give God all the praise after it has rained. Animals are dying in the Kruger National Park and livestock are dying left and right. We are all suffering the consequences,” he added.
Other denominations in Barberton, Hazyview and Nkomazi also prayed in similar fashion on their own selected mountains.
Mr Piet Khumalo, a herdsman from Malekutu Tribal Authority, recently indicated that farmers in the area reaped no harvest due to the persistent drought. He added that traditional men who love beef offal were no longer enjoying the taste of their favourite meals, because the animal’s intestines were filled with stones and mud.
He said in the past, elders would call meetings and go to mountains to pray. He added that traditionally elders would go to bushes to do conduct rituals (kuyoshaya tibenga). The process included collecting plastic and stones, and materials from the top parts of trees, which would all be thrown into a river after performing rituals.
Gogo Phephisile Maseko, the leader of the Traditional Healers Association, said in the past elderly women would climb mountains to beseech intervention from the God of creations (Mvelinchanti) for rain.
“The elders would carry different seedlings including sorghum and maize to go up the mountains to earnestly ask for rain,” she said.
In the past elders used to plant indigenous trees with long, meandering roots at their homes. These trees were believed to prevent lightning. However, these trees have become very scarce.
“If our people can go back to our roots and plant those trees at their homes things will be better,” she said.
