The new issue of The Heliograph arrived this week, reminding me that I had meant to respond to something in the last one! Unfortunately, I can't lay my hands on the last one, as I've just had to move my study, to accommodate a new arrival in the family, and everything is currently in a state of chaos!

However, I'm pretty sure I was planning to send you some musings on the Matabele, prompted by the BBC TV drama series 'Rhodes'. Several people in the States have asked me what I know about this series, which I gather you can get on video from Masterpiece Theatre over there.

Well, the series was first shown on prime-time British TV in late '96, and frankly it got panned. Unfairly, I think, though it does have its faults. For one thing, it is long - six hours - and every now and then the story meanders off down the long and stoney road to boredom. Secondly, it did paint a very unflattering portrait of Cecil John Rhodes, and some of the more conservative critics were upset that it was tarnishing the image of one of the last great heroes of the Imperial age. All I can say is they obviously hadn't read a history book since school days; 'Rhodes' portrays the great man as a scheming megalomaniac given to fits of spitting rage, who cheated his business partners and stole the lands of the Matabele out from under them - which is a pretty fair assessment, in my view! Having said that, the series does have a curiously 1960s anti-Empire feel to it, making some of its points with sledge-hammer subtlety.

However, there is a lot to enjoy; most of the series was shot in Africa, so there are plenty of great landscapes, and about a third of it deals with Rhodes' involvement with the Matabele, including the occupation of Mashonaland (1890), the Matabele War (1893) and Rebellion (1896).

There is at least one very good battle scene - a Matabele attack on a wagon-laager - and numerous skirmishes. There is an excellent portrayal of the Matabele king, Lobengula kaMzilikazi, and generally the shots of life in the Matabele capital, Bulawayo, are quite atmospheric. Inevitably, there are some distortions in terms of uniform and costume; the uniforms of Rhodes' 1893 Pioneer Column are very well done, but in real life they were not worn in subsequent campaigning, as they are throughout the series. Similarly, there are some great studies of Matabele warriors in their characteristic capes and headresses of black ostrich feathers, while on the other hand there are some bizarre touches; many ordinary Matabele warriors seem to have window-cleaners' chamois-leathers slung over their shoulders for some unaccountable reason, while some of the king's councillors are wearing such extravagent costumes that they look plain silly!

The Boer War stuff is a bit disappointing, with a confusing rendition of the Jameson Raid, and a half-hearted look at the siege of Kimberley, which includes some of the most unsoldierly British soldiers ever filmed! Moreover, the series does grossly simplify events by portraying the Boers as homely patriots, sitting quietly at home while the dastardly Brits scheme to steal their land and gold. A rather naive viewpoint, really, given the Boer record of dispossessing African groups - the very crime the series criticises Rhodes himself for most. So. The Big Question - is it worth watching? In my view, definately; go into it being aware that it has limitations, and enjoy a good, stirring, well-made drama on controversial Colonial themes! Of course, it's not the first time the Matabele have been the subject of the silver screen treatment, although their extraordinary history has so far failed to capture the popular imagination in the way that Zulu history has.

There was an old b/w movie, shot in the '30s, called 'Rhodes of Africa' which covered much of the same ground, but from a very different viewpoint. Actually, it's interesting to see how the view of Rhodes has changed, from Imperial visionary to crook, though the 1930s version does rather resemble an ox-wagon these days - the plot is slow and creaky! Still, there are some nice Matabele shots, and the film benefitted from both authentic locations, and from the fact that Lobengula was played by an elderly Matabele who really had been a warrior in the king's army, 40 years before.

The film should have included a nice battle scene, and indeed shows all the preliminaries - the Matabele advancing to attack, and Company troops forming a laager. Unfortunately, just as the scene gets going, the screen cuts to images of fire (like the credits of 'Bonanza'!), and that's your lot! Apparently, the whole battle scene was filmed, but at the time of the film's release Italy was in the news for its attack on Abyssinia, and the distributors felt it was tasteless to show triumphant scenes of colonialism in Africa - so the battle scene was cut out!

Interestingly enough, there was another film made about the Matabele in South Africa in about 1970. Called 'Shangani Patrol', this told the story of an incident in the closing stages of the 1893 campaign when a patrol of 34 troops, persuing Lobengula, was surrounded by the Matabele and wiped out. Stills suggest that this was probably quite fun; however, the rights and all surviving prints were apparently sold to a US distributor, and the thing has sunk without trace! Unless someone over there can trace it?

To the best of my knowledge, no-one so far has made any figures specifically for the Matabele Wars. This is perhaps not surprising, since it would take an anthropologist with a mangifying glass to spot the differences between the majority of ordinary Zulu and Matabele in war dress in 25mm, let alone smaller scales! That said, it would be nice if someone one day did a smattering of figures in the striking ostrich-feather capes and headresses which were unique to Matabele full-dress in the 1890s. Part of the reason why there has been less interest in the Matabele is probably because there is less literature readily available. However, my book 'Warrior Chiefs of Southern Africa' includes a chapter on Mzilikazi, the founding father of the Matabele, while Arms and Armour Press will be publishing 'The Zulu and Matabele; Warrior Nations' by Glen Lyndon Dodds later this year. I've no idea what this book is like, but it sounds promising. I do hope this stirs some interest among your readers!

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