| Conflicting views exist as
to why this larger group of Ndebele
was called the Hole. One view is that the term
referred to slaves; captives who had been brought home
to perform manual labour for Mzilikazi.
It is thought that the use of this word gained
popularity during the colonial era. However Nkani
Sibanda, one Hole differed from this view, arguing that,
“the Makalanga" used to cover themselves with
blankets and when the Matabele asked why they wore
blankets in the hot sun, they replied: we are used to
dragging our blankets about with us - sihol’ ingubo.
That is when the Ndebele
started referring to them as the Hole.
However latter research has affirmed that Hole
was in current usage prior to 1893 and the word was not
used in a derogatory manner. In fact, although the Hole
were of a lower class, some being slaves, they were well
taken care of. When the soldiers brought and paraded the
captives before the king, the females who were old
enough for marriage were given to the captors especially
the chiefs, while any soldier who wanted a male or
female captive was granted permission to have one on
condition that he had the resources to keep the captive
well. It was always borne in mind that the Hole
were the king’s people, and if the king suspected any
ill treatment of a Hole, that Hole would
be immediately placed under the king’s custody. As if
to show the apparent good social conditions of the Hole,
the Shona strove to identify
themselves with their Ndebele
masters. Some even translated their names to Ndebele,
for example, Shumba to Sibanda, Nyanga to Nkomo, Gumpo
to Msipa, Shiri to Nyoni, Dziva to Siziba, Moyo to
Nhliziyo and Shoko to Ncube.
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The Hole may however been forced to change their
surnames by social pressures that caused discrimination
against them. Captives were discriminated against socially
until they were fully assimilated into Ndebele
society, a sign that was shown through piercing of their
ears (ukuklekla - a Ndebele
earmark).
Even though the Hole were kept well, there is no
doubt that they suffered initial shocks of separation from
their parents and relatives, and they were probably
reminded now and again of their second class citizenship
by some of the Ndebele laws. For instance if a Hole
was to kill a member of the Zansi or Enhla class, he or
she would be punished by death, but if the same crime was
to be committed by a member of the upper classes, a fine
of a number of cattle to the King would have sufficed.
However these situations were generally limited in the
total life of a Hole and they lived peacefully in
the society.
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