Jackson Hlungwani (1923 - 2010)

The son of a Shangaan migrant worker, Jackson Mbhazima Hlungwani was born in Nkanyani Village, Gazankulu, in 1923. His father taught him how to carve household objects, sharpen tools and work with iron (Coates, 2010). He herded cattle as a child, and the time spent in the veld offered him the perfect opportunity to observe animals, birds and fish. At a young age, Hlungwani sought employment through migrant labour; he worked at an asbestos mine in Polokwane, and for a coffee and tea merchant in Johannesburg, but returned home after losing a finger in an industrial accident (Coates, 2010).

Hlungwani was ordained in the African Zionist Church in 1946, and later founded his own church at Bbhokota ne...