BY MICHELINA ANDREUCCI
In times of solace, the mind has a tendency to wonder back in time. How many of you can remember herding cattle in the areas of Marange, Hwedza, Chiweshe, Guruve, Zvimba, Gokwe, or as far as Beitbridge and Plumtree? Can you remember the shiny stones we picked up and brought home, attracted by their unusual luster and faceted gleam?
As boys, you might have thrown them into the nearest pool or river to see who could throw the furthest; or perhaps brought them home to show your mother or to play a game of Tsoro or Pada, or Arawuru with girls. Perhaps you even used them as flints to create sparks to show off to each other.
Young boys herding cattle might have picked them up to shoot birds with their catapults!
Could they have been diamonds you wonder? And if they were diamonds, who knew or cared?
Until the word Ngoda came into our vocabulary in recent times, for many indigenous Zimbabweans diamonds are simply part of God’s endowment to our land; Misodzi dze Madzitateguru (Tears of the Ancestors). People now fight or even kill for these precious little stones we cared so little about.
Why? Their rarity, durability and beauty made them popular among royalty and the upper classes throughout history, who would flaunt them on their persons. Crown jewels, which included diamonds, have always been important to every empire.
Diamonds are forever. They are considered the ultimate symbol of wealth and are said to be a girl’s best friend!
The use of diamonds in jewellery became popular at the beginning of the 1400s, particularly in Paris, where there was a flourishing guild of numerous diamond cutters. Agnes Sorel, the mistress of King Charles VII of France, is believed to be the first woman in history to wear diamonds. Mary of Burgundy is on record as having received the first diamond engagement ring by the Archduke Maximilian of Austria in 1477, thus establishing the tradition of giving a diamond engagement ring when proposing marriage to a loved one.
Diamonds were known in ancient Greece when Alexander the Great, brought the first diamonds from India to Europe. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed diamonds to be Tears of the Gods or splinters from falling stars. Greek philosopher Plato wrote of diamonds as living beings, embodying celestial spirits.
Diamonds were first discovered and mined in India during the 19th Century B.C., in alluvial deposits of the stone along Krishna, Penner and Godavari Rivers. In 1698, a slave in the Golkonda mine in India discovered a 410 carat stone; recognising its potential value he stole the precious stone and hid it inside of a large wound in his leg. However, an English sea captain witnessed him and subsequently stole the diamond from the slave. The sea captain in turn sold it to an Indian merchant, who subsequently sold it to Governor Thomas Pitt.
The large diamond became known as The “Regent” Diamond, (sometimes referred to as the Pitt Diamond). For many years it belonged to French royalty, and even provided ornamentation to Marie Antoinette’s hat. The diamond is now on display in the French Royal Treasury at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Another famous diamond, The Kōh-i-Nūr Diamond –”Mountain of Light” (in Persian language), was once considered the largest known diamond in the world. It was found in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India together with the Darya-ye Noor – “Sea of Light” Diamond.
Overtime the Kōh-i Nūr Diamond belonged to various rulers that fought bitterly over it. During British Rule of India, the diamond was confiscated in 1850, and it became part of the British Crown Jewels when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877.
The Hindus attributed so much power to diamonds that they placed them in the eyes of the statues of their deities; such as the Orlov Diamond, the Hope Diamond and the Black Orlov diamond, also dubbed the “Eye of Brahma”, which according to legend was stolen from a temple near Pondicherry.
By the late 18th Century gem-quality diamonds were exhausted in India and all production ceased.
Believing that diamonds brought good luck and success; diamonds (usually in the form of jewellery), were given to maintain or recover a lover’s affection, a ruler’s lost favour, a symbol of tribute, or as an expression of loyalty in exchange for concessions and protection.
A rarity among historic diamonds is the Orlov Diamond, described as having the shape and proportions of half a hen’s egg, and is estimated to weigh 189.62 carats. It now forms part of the Diamond Fund of the Moscow Collection in the Kremlin, in Russia. It can be traced back to the 18th Century Sri Ranganathaswamy Hindu Temple, in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, where it once served as the eye of the presiding deity.
The 45.52 carats, deep blue Hope Diamond was formed approximately 1.1 billion years ago deep within the Earth, and is notorious for purportedly being cursed. The diamond was stolen from the eye of the goddess Sita, a sculpted statue in India, and ever since its theft the Hope Diamond is believed to be cursed, bringing death and misfortune to those who have own or wear it.
In South Africa, the discovery of the Eureka Diamond in late 1866, was followed in 1996 by the discovery of the 83,5 carat “Star of South Africa” diamond which sparked the country’s first great mineral rush. Over five thousand diggers rushed to the Vaal River and then to Kimberley to search for diamonds. Diamond mining began in South Africa’s Diamond Fields, in the 1870’s.
Over the years, the Eureka Diamond exchanged hands many time before it was finally purchased and donated to the people of South Africa.
Michelina Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher and a published author in her field. For Comments E-mail:linamanucci@gmail.com
About Author
