According to TO Ranger in “Revolt in Southern Rhodeisa”, the first Chimurenga, which occurred between 1896 and 1897, was a revolt in response to the imposition of colonial rule in Southern Rhodesia , present -day Zimbabwe (ix). The Nbele and Shona peoples resisted colonial rule and in return endured a complex series of struggles over land, livestock, and taxes. The inability and reluctance of Europeans to understand the culture and religion of the Nbele and Shona peoples misleads the perception of events and the vision of their behavior and actions (2). Terrance mentions that during colonial rule many Europeans thought that the African people were satisfied with the new administration and misunderstood the reaction of the “African people of Southern Rhodesia to colonial rule…, this misunderstanding arose… partly due to white ignorance of the history of the Shona and the Ndebele... Edwards [confessed], we knew nothing of their past history, who they were or where they came from, and although many of the native commissioners had... knowledge of their language, none of us understood truly the people or could follow their line of thought, we… looked upon them as an oppressed race who were grateful to the white man for protection” (2). Europeans did not treat them as equals because they considered them dependent and considered their lives meaningless. They believed that the Shona and Ndebele people had no roots or culture and therefore had no history. Terrance Ranger mentions that “the whites believed that the Shona people would not rebel because they believed that the Shona had no roots, no sense of history; no religious sense,…no lifestyle worth fighting and dying for” (2). Africans of these cultures were seen as inferior by Europeans... middle of paper... the dead of the slain victims were secretly placed and kept in Nyanda Cave. The settlers were determined to destroy the cave to demonstrate to the natives that the white man had little respect for Nyanda's power since she was the inspirer of the people's resistance (108). The abolition of his cave was a way to violate and damage African sacred sites, a strategy that forced more Africans into Christianity. “Nehanda-charwe was powerful because of her spirit,” and the women before and after her who held that position were also influenced with great power (109). Nehanda-Charwe was accused of ordering and participating in Pollard's murder, but was still on the run. The colonials wanted and paid more attention to the capture of Nehanda-Charwe than other mediums because they believed it prevented many natives from surrendering (111).