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 was raised in a traditional setting. As a young boy, he worked briefly at a store owned by a Portuguese trader, acquiring some 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 took on various roles as a laborer and domestic worker.