UNONGQAWUSE, THE GIRL WHO KILLED TO SAVE at Arena Theatre

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2. UNONGQAWUSE, THE GIRL WHO KILLED TO SAVE

This play tells the story of Christian emergence into Xhosa society and the consequence of a "leap of faith" in order to hold on to a traditional way of life. Under the influence of the prophet Mhlakaza and his niece, Nongqawuse, whose visions became the rallying point of a society, a number of Xhosa chiefs directed their people to sacrifice their cattle and burn their crops in expectation of a return of the ancestors who would drive away the colonists. The result: widespread famine, ironically leading to tighter colonial administration, greater numbers of converts at the missions, and destitute people moving south in their thousands to become laborers or vagrants in the Emerging Colony. It was the salvation and yet the death of many.