Inyathi

Inyathi is the Xhosa word for buffalo; the town was named for the nearby Buffalo River. ==History==

Pre-colonization Due to colonization, information about pre-colonial Inyathi has largely been lost. King Mzilikazi agreed on the terms that they would do so for "non-religious reasons", as the Northern Ndebele people were very devoted to their own religious practice. This became the oldest Mission and first permanent white settlement in Zimbabwe, and the first Mission to offer education to the locals. The initial Mission consisted only of a red-brick church built by Moffat, who left Inyathi once the necessary buildings were built. The LMS viewed Inyathi as a failure for many years due to the inability of missionaries to convert its people to Christianity. During the last decade of the 19th century, however, the colonizers began seizing power, first by attempting to smother the importance of the iziNduna, then by creating their own police force. Despite having so much of the land, only "150 of the 1070 European farms were actually worked [sic]." In 1989, 6,000 people and 1,000 cattle were living on the of the Communal Lands. ==Education==

The Mission School for boys was established in 1921 and by the 1950s had grown into a Central Primary School (years 4, 5, and 6), an Industrial School (post-Standard Six training), and a secondary school. Girls were later admitted. ==Graveyard==

Inyathi's cemetery holds the graves of missionaries' children, white farmers, and prominent church members, having had its first burial in 1860. Among those buried there are Mzingaye Dube, who headed the secondary school, Ndumiso Gumede, Highlanders F.C. executive, and politician Micah Bhebhe. ==References==