He was born Mamiyeri Mitseka Gwambe in Inhambane, Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique) and raised in a traditional fashion. As a boy, he did some work in a store run by a Portuguese trader, and learned some Portuguese. Between the ages of ten and fifteen, he moved with a cousin to Cape Town, Cape Colony (now South Africa), where he took a new name, "Barns", as well as various jobs as a labourer and house servant.
He was born Mamiyeri Mitseka Gwambe in Inhambane, Portuguese East Africa (now Mozambique) and raised traditionally. As a boy, he worked briefly in a store run by a Portuguese merchant, acquiring some Portuguese language skills. Between the ages of ten and fifteen, he relocated with a cousin to Cape Town, Cape Colony (now South Africa), where he adopted a new name, "Barns", and held various jobs as a laborer and domestic servant.