Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tracking the origins Mkwananzi/ Mkhwananzi/Mkwanazi
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tracking the origins of Mkwanazi/Mkhwananzi.
I suspect your source is from the Mhabahaba lineage to which I belong but was by
no means the only Mkhwanazi lineage that Mzilikazi brought to Matebeleland.
From what I gather there were more than four Mkhwanazi lineages of which the
most prominent were those of Mhabahaba Mkhwanazi (Intunta), Somhlolo Mathema
Mkhwanazi (Inqama), Maqundela Mkhwanazi (Sobukhazi) and Lodada Mkhwanazi.
Lodada was the father of Mbhida and Mfaziwamajaha, King Lobhengula's first and
second wives respectively.
Today only the Mhabahaba chieftancy (Ngungumbane) and the Somhlolo(Mathema)
still exist. It appears that the praise names you listed generally belong to
the Mhabahaba lineage as he became the most prominent/famous of the the
Mkhwanazis. What were Mhabahaba's praise names or those of his immediate
ancestors became adopted as general Mkhwanazi izitemo/izangelo/izithakazelo.
Broadly speaking, there are two groups of amaKhwanazi in Matebeleland, that is,
abezansi (Gagisa/Mpandeyamadoda/Mgidla/Mathema/Sigidi,etc) and abenhla
(Gawu/Makhwentaba). Both groups are Nguni although most people associate
abenhla with Sothos. Whilst a great majority of abenhla were of Sotho origin,
there were many Ngunis who fell under the abenhla group by virtue of the
geographical location where they joined Mzilikazi. For instance whilst the
Gagisas/Mpande... were abezansi(which means) because they came from Zululand,
the Gawus/Makhwentabas were enhla either because they were Nzunza(Transvaal
Ndebeles) or Nyamazana's Swazis.
The association of abezansi with Nguni and abenhla with Sotho was
opportunistically exploited by Sinqobile Mabhena of eNswazi. In 1997/8 when she
claimed that as a Sotho, not a Nguni, 'she was entitled to be a chief because
Mabhenas were Sothos not Ngunis'. We know this incorrect as Mabhenas,
Mahlangus, Sikhosanas, Mthombenis, etc, from kwaNdebele are pure Ngunis from
the Transvaal. The Mkhwanazi(Gawu/Makhwentaba) fall under this category.
As for Mhabahaba being the oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor, well, I'm not quite
sure. Mhabahaba was son of Zama, who was son of Bebesi, who was son of Lomafu,
who was son of Nkwenkwezi, who was son of Sikhumba, who was son of Mthethwa,
who was son of Mantewane. The oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor is probably
Mantewane. Bryant, a well-known Zulu anthropologist thinks that Mkhwanazis are
originally Mthethwas just like Zulus are originally Gumedes. Curiously, the
Mkhwanazi lineage does mention Mthethwa as one of the forebears. Besides, in
KZN, the Mthethwas in eMpangeni and Mkhwanazis in Mtubatuba are neighbours who
enjoy unusually close relations. The Mkhwanazis are found among all the 5 Nguni
groups ie the Zulu, the Xhosa,the Ndebele(Mthwakazi), the Swazi and the
Ndebele(Nzunza) and the common praise name that links all of them is Nkwali
(Nyoni) yenkosi. As for the spelling, the Mthwakazians are the only group who
spell the surname with an 'n' next to the '..zi'. It can be assumed that this
is a bastardised version which was acquired in Zimbabwe as a result of the
linguistic influence of local languages. The 'h' is not much of a problem as it
reflects the changes in the Zulu/Ndebele orthogaphy which did not represent
aspirated sounds such as 'khwa' vs 'kwa', 'khu' vs 'ku', 'pha' vs 'pa'. Those
who are spelling it as 'Mkhwanazi' are therefore using the modern Zulu/Ndebele
orthography while those who spell it as 'Mkwanazi' are using old Zulu/Ndebele
orthography. In South Africa and Swaziland only 'Nkwali/nyoni yenkosi' is known
from the list Sis Thoko gave. They instead use Shamase and Ndonga which are not
used in Mthwakazi. I hope someone more knowledgeable than me could assist.
George Mhabahaba Siyabonga dadewethu ngokusiphandela imvelaphi kanye nezithakazelo zakwethu.
They are as they were taught to me by my father Elphas kaSolomon kaMajinkila
kaDliso kaMhabahaba. Solomon was Ngungumbane's brother from the Mlotshwa clan.
I suspect your source is from the Mhabahaba lineage to which I belong but was by
no means the only Mkhwanazi lineage that Mzilikazi brought to Matebeleland.
From what I gather there were more than four Mkhwanazi lineages of which the
most prominent were those of Mhabahaba Mkhwanazi (Intunta), Somhlolo Mathema
Mkhwanazi (Inqama), Maqundela Mkhwanazi (Sobukhazi) and Lodada Mkhwanazi.
Lodada was the father of Mbhida and Mfaziwamajaha, King Lobhengula's first and
second wives respectively.
Today only the Mhabahaba chieftancy (Ngungumbane) and the Somhlolo(Mathema)
still exist. It appears that the praise names you listed generally belong to
the Mhabahaba lineage as he became the most prominent/famous of the the
Mkhwanazis. What were Mhabahaba's praise names or those of his immediate
ancestors became adopted as general Mkhwanazi izitemo/izangelo/izithakazelo.
Broadly speaking, there are two groups of amaKhwanazi in Matebeleland, that is,
abezansi (Gagisa/Mpandeyamadoda/Mgidla/Mathema/Sigidi,etc) and abenhla
(Gawu/Makhwentaba). Both groups are Nguni although most people associate
abenhla with Sothos. Whilst a great majority of abenhla were of Sotho origin,
there were many Ngunis who fell under the abenhla group by virtue of the
geographical location where they joined Mzilikazi. For instance whilst the
Gagisas/Mpande... were abezansi(which means) because they came from Zululand,
the Gawus/Makhwentabas were enhla either because they were Nzunza(Transvaal
Ndebeles) or Nyamazana's Swazis.
The association of abezansi with Nguni and abenhla with Sotho was
opportunistically exploited by Sinqobile Mabhena of eNswazi. In 1997/8 when she
claimed that as a Sotho, not a Nguni, 'she was entitled to be a chief because
Mabhenas were Sothos not Ngunis'. We know this incorrect as Mabhenas,
Mahlangus, Sikhosanas, Mthombenis, etc, from kwaNdebele are pure Ngunis from
the Transvaal. The Mkhwanazi(Gawu/Makhwentaba) fall under this category.
As for Mhabahaba being the oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor, well, I'm not quite
sure. Mhabahaba was son of Zama, who was son of Bebesi, who was son of Lomafu,
who was son of Nkwenkwezi, who was son of Sikhumba, who was son of Mthethwa,
who was son of Mantewane. The oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor is probably
Mantewane. Bryant, a well-known Zulu anthropologist thinks that Mkhwanazis are
originally Mthethwas just like Zulus are originally Gumedes. Curiously, the
Mkhwanazi lineage does mention Mthethwa as one of the forebears. Besides, in
KZN, the Mthethwas in eMpangeni and Mkhwanazis in Mtubatuba are neighbours who
enjoy unusually close relations. The Mkhwanazis are found among all the 5 Nguni
groups ie the Zulu, the Xhosa,the Ndebele(Mthwakazi), the Swazi and the
Ndebele(Nzunza) and the common praise name that links all of them is Nkwali
(Nyoni) yenkosi. As for the spelling, the Mthwakazians are the only group who
spell the surname with an 'n' next to the '..zi'. It can be assumed that this
is a bastardised version which was acquired in Zimbabwe as a result of the
linguistic influence of local languages. The 'h' is not much of a problem as it
reflects the changes in the Zulu/Ndebele orthogaphy which did not represent
aspirated sounds such as 'khwa' vs 'kwa', 'khu' vs 'ku', 'pha' vs 'pa'. Those
who are spelling it as 'Mkhwanazi' are therefore using the modern Zulu/Ndebele
orthography while those who spell it as 'Mkwanazi' are using old Zulu/Ndebele
orthography. In South Africa and Swaziland only 'Nkwali/nyoni yenkosi' is known
from the list Sis Thoko gave. They instead use Shamase and Ndonga which are not
used in Mthwakazi. I hope someone more knowledgeable than me could assist.
George Mhabahaba Siyabonga dadewethu ngokusiphandela imvelaphi kanye nezithakazelo zakwethu.
They are as they were taught to me by my father Elphas kaSolomon kaMajinkila
kaDliso kaMhabahaba. Solomon was Ngungumbane's brother from the Mlotshwa clan.
I suspect your source is from the Mhabahaba lineage to which I belong but was by
no means the only Mkhwanazi lineage that Mzilikazi brought to Matebeleland.
From what I gather there were more than four Mkhwanazi lineages of which the
most prominent were those of Mhabahaba Mkhwanazi (Intunta), Somhlolo Mathema
Mkhwanazi (Inqama), Maqundela Mkhwanazi (Sobukhazi) and Lodada Mkhwanazi.
Lodada was the father of Mbhida and Mfaziwamajaha, King Lobhengula's first and
second wives respectively.
Today only the Mhabahaba chieftancy (Ngungumbane) and the Somhlolo(Mathema)
still exist. It appears that the praise names you listed generally belong to
the Mhabahaba lineage as he became the most prominent/famous of the the
Mkhwanazis. What were Mhabahaba's praise names or those of his immediate
ancestors became adopted as general Mkhwanazi izitemo/izangelo/izithakazelo.
Broadly speaking, there are two groups of amaKhwanazi in Matebeleland, that is,
abezansi (Gagisa/Mpandeyamadoda/Mgidla/Mathema/Sigidi,etc) and abenhla
(Gawu/Makhwentaba). Both groups are Nguni although most people associate
abenhla with Sothos. Whilst a great majority of abenhla were of Sotho origin,
there were many Ngunis who fell under the abenhla group by virtue of the
geographical location where they joined Mzilikazi. For instance whilst the
Gagisas/Mpande... were abezansi(which means) because they came from Zululand,
the Gawus/Makhwentabas were enhla either because they were Nzunza(Transvaal
Ndebeles) or Nyamazana's Swazis.
The association of abezansi with Nguni and abenhla with Sotho was
opportunistically exploited by Sinqobile Mabhena of eNswazi. In 1997/8 when she
claimed that as a Sotho, not a Nguni, 'she was entitled to be a chief because
Mabhenas were Sothos not Ngunis'. We know this incorrect as Mabhenas,
Mahlangus, Sikhosanas, Mthombenis, etc, from kwaNdebele are pure Ngunis from
the Transvaal. The Mkhwanazi(Gawu/Makhwentaba) fall under this category.
As for Mhabahaba being the oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor, well, I'm not quite
sure. Mhabahaba was son of Zama, who was son of Bebesi, who was son of Lomafu,
who was son of Nkwenkwezi, who was son of Sikhumba, who was son of Mthethwa,
who was son of Mantewane. The oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor is probably
Mantewane. Bryant, a well-known Zulu anthropologist thinks that Mkhwanazis are
originally Mthethwas just like Zulus are originally Gumedes. Curiously, the
Mkhwanazi lineage does mention Mthethwa as one of the forebears. Besides, in
KZN, the Mthethwas in eMpangeni and Mkhwanazis in Mtubatuba are neighbours who
enjoy unusually close relations. The Mkhwanazis are found among all the 5 Nguni
groups ie the Zulu, the Xhosa,the Ndebele(Mthwakazi), the Swazi and the
Ndebele(Nzunza) and the common praise name that links all of them is Nkwali
(Nyoni) yenkosi. As for the spelling, the Mthwakazians are the only group who
spell the surname with an 'n' next to the '..zi'. It can be assumed that this
is a bastardised version which was acquired in Zimbabwe as a result of the
linguistic influence of local languages. The 'h' is not much of a problem as it
reflects the changes in the Zulu/Ndebele orthogaphy which did not represent
aspirated sounds such as 'khwa' vs 'kwa', 'khu' vs 'ku', 'pha' vs 'pa'. Those
who are spelling it as 'Mkhwanazi' are therefore using the modern Zulu/Ndebele
orthography while those who spell it as 'Mkwanazi' are using old Zulu/Ndebele
orthography. In South Africa and Swaziland only 'Nkwali/nyoni yenkosi' is known
from the list Sis Thoko gave. They instead use Shamase and Ndonga which are not
used in Mthwakazi. I hope someone more knowledgeable than me could assist.
Many thanks to George Mhabahaba Mkhwanazi for such a detailed outline.
no means the only Mkhwanazi lineage that Mzilikazi brought to Matebeleland.
From what I gather there were more than four Mkhwanazi lineages of which the
most prominent were those of Mhabahaba Mkhwanazi (Intunta), Somhlolo Mathema
Mkhwanazi (Inqama), Maqundela Mkhwanazi (Sobukhazi) and Lodada Mkhwanazi.
Lodada was the father of Mbhida and Mfaziwamajaha, King Lobhengula's first and
second wives respectively.
Today only the Mhabahaba chieftancy (Ngungumbane) and the Somhlolo(Mathema)
still exist. It appears that the praise names you listed generally belong to
the Mhabahaba lineage as he became the most prominent/famous of the the
Mkhwanazis. What were Mhabahaba's praise names or those of his immediate
ancestors became adopted as general Mkhwanazi izitemo/izangelo/izithakazelo.
Broadly speaking, there are two groups of amaKhwanazi in Matebeleland, that is,
abezansi (Gagisa/Mpandeyamadoda/Mgidla/Mathema/Sigidi,etc) and abenhla
(Gawu/Makhwentaba). Both groups are Nguni although most people associate
abenhla with Sothos. Whilst a great majority of abenhla were of Sotho origin,
there were many Ngunis who fell under the abenhla group by virtue of the
geographical location where they joined Mzilikazi. For instance whilst the
Gagisas/Mpande... were abezansi(which means) because they came from Zululand,
the Gawus/Makhwentabas were enhla either because they were Nzunza(Transvaal
Ndebeles) or Nyamazana's Swazis.
The association of abezansi with Nguni and abenhla with Sotho was
opportunistically exploited by Sinqobile Mabhena of eNswazi. In 1997/8 when she
claimed that as a Sotho, not a Nguni, 'she was entitled to be a chief because
Mabhenas were Sothos not Ngunis'. We know this incorrect as Mabhenas,
Mahlangus, Sikhosanas, Mthombenis, etc, from kwaNdebele are pure Ngunis from
the Transvaal. The Mkhwanazi(Gawu/Makhwentaba) fall under this category.
As for Mhabahaba being the oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor, well, I'm not quite
sure. Mhabahaba was son of Zama, who was son of Bebesi, who was son of Lomafu,
who was son of Nkwenkwezi, who was son of Sikhumba, who was son of Mthethwa,
who was son of Mantewane. The oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor is probably
Mantewane. Bryant, a well-known Zulu anthropologist thinks that Mkhwanazis are
originally Mthethwas just like Zulus are originally Gumedes. Curiously, the
Mkhwanazi lineage does mention Mthethwa as one of the forebears. Besides, in
KZN, the Mthethwas in eMpangeni and Mkhwanazis in Mtubatuba are neighbours who
enjoy unusually close relations. The Mkhwanazis are found among all the 5 Nguni
groups ie the Zulu, the Xhosa,the Ndebele(Mthwakazi), the Swazi and the
Ndebele(Nzunza) and the common praise name that links all of them is Nkwali
(Nyoni) yenkosi. As for the spelling, the Mthwakazians are the only group who
spell the surname with an 'n' next to the '..zi'. It can be assumed that this
is a bastardised version which was acquired in Zimbabwe as a result of the
linguistic influence of local languages. The 'h' is not much of a problem as it
reflects the changes in the Zulu/Ndebele orthogaphy which did not represent
aspirated sounds such as 'khwa' vs 'kwa', 'khu' vs 'ku', 'pha' vs 'pa'. Those
who are spelling it as 'Mkhwanazi' are therefore using the modern Zulu/Ndebele
orthography while those who spell it as 'Mkwanazi' are using old Zulu/Ndebele
orthography. In South Africa and Swaziland only 'Nkwali/nyoni yenkosi' is known
from the list Sis Thoko gave. They instead use Shamase and Ndonga which are not
used in Mthwakazi. I hope someone more knowledgeable than me could assist.
George Mhabahaba Siyabonga dadewethu ngokusiphandela imvelaphi kanye nezithakazelo zakwethu.
They are as they were taught to me by my father Elphas kaSolomon kaMajinkila
kaDliso kaMhabahaba. Solomon was Ngungumbane's brother from the Mlotshwa clan.
I suspect your source is from the Mhabahaba lineage to which I belong but was by
no means the only Mkhwanazi lineage that Mzilikazi brought to Matebeleland.
From what I gather there were more than four Mkhwanazi lineages of which the
most prominent were those of Mhabahaba Mkhwanazi (Intunta), Somhlolo Mathema
Mkhwanazi (Inqama), Maqundela Mkhwanazi (Sobukhazi) and Lodada Mkhwanazi.
Lodada was the father of Mbhida and Mfaziwamajaha, King Lobhengula's first and
second wives respectively.
Today only the Mhabahaba chieftancy (Ngungumbane) and the Somhlolo(Mathema)
still exist. It appears that the praise names you listed generally belong to
the Mhabahaba lineage as he became the most prominent/famous of the the
Mkhwanazis. What were Mhabahaba's praise names or those of his immediate
ancestors became adopted as general Mkhwanazi izitemo/izangelo/izithakazelo.
Broadly speaking, there are two groups of amaKhwanazi in Matebeleland, that is,
abezansi (Gagisa/Mpandeyamadoda/Mgidla/Mathema/Sigidi,etc) and abenhla
(Gawu/Makhwentaba). Both groups are Nguni although most people associate
abenhla with Sothos. Whilst a great majority of abenhla were of Sotho origin,
there were many Ngunis who fell under the abenhla group by virtue of the
geographical location where they joined Mzilikazi. For instance whilst the
Gagisas/Mpande... were abezansi(which means) because they came from Zululand,
the Gawus/Makhwentabas were enhla either because they were Nzunza(Transvaal
Ndebeles) or Nyamazana's Swazis.
The association of abezansi with Nguni and abenhla with Sotho was
opportunistically exploited by Sinqobile Mabhena of eNswazi. In 1997/8 when she
claimed that as a Sotho, not a Nguni, 'she was entitled to be a chief because
Mabhenas were Sothos not Ngunis'. We know this incorrect as Mabhenas,
Mahlangus, Sikhosanas, Mthombenis, etc, from kwaNdebele are pure Ngunis from
the Transvaal. The Mkhwanazi(Gawu/Makhwentaba) fall under this category.
As for Mhabahaba being the oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor, well, I'm not quite
sure. Mhabahaba was son of Zama, who was son of Bebesi, who was son of Lomafu,
who was son of Nkwenkwezi, who was son of Sikhumba, who was son of Mthethwa,
who was son of Mantewane. The oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor is probably
Mantewane. Bryant, a well-known Zulu anthropologist thinks that Mkhwanazis are
originally Mthethwas just like Zulus are originally Gumedes. Curiously, the
Mkhwanazi lineage does mention Mthethwa as one of the forebears. Besides, in
KZN, the Mthethwas in eMpangeni and Mkhwanazis in Mtubatuba are neighbours who
enjoy unusually close relations. The Mkhwanazis are found among all the 5 Nguni
groups ie the Zulu, the Xhosa,the Ndebele(Mthwakazi), the Swazi and the
Ndebele(Nzunza) and the common praise name that links all of them is Nkwali
(Nyoni) yenkosi. As for the spelling, the Mthwakazians are the only group who
spell the surname with an 'n' next to the '..zi'. It can be assumed that this
is a bastardised version which was acquired in Zimbabwe as a result of the
linguistic influence of local languages. The 'h' is not much of a problem as it
reflects the changes in the Zulu/Ndebele orthogaphy which did not represent
aspirated sounds such as 'khwa' vs 'kwa', 'khu' vs 'ku', 'pha' vs 'pa'. Those
who are spelling it as 'Mkhwanazi' are therefore using the modern Zulu/Ndebele
orthography while those who spell it as 'Mkwanazi' are using old Zulu/Ndebele
orthography. In South Africa and Swaziland only 'Nkwali/nyoni yenkosi' is known
from the list Sis Thoko gave. They instead use Shamase and Ndonga which are not
used in Mthwakazi. I hope someone more knowledgeable than me could assist.
George Mhabahaba Siyabonga dadewethu ngokusiphandela imvelaphi kanye nezithakazelo zakwethu.
They are as they were taught to me by my father Elphas kaSolomon kaMajinkila
kaDliso kaMhabahaba. Solomon was Ngungumbane's brother from the Mlotshwa clan.
I suspect your source is from the Mhabahaba lineage to which I belong but was by
no means the only Mkhwanazi lineage that Mzilikazi brought to Matebeleland.
From what I gather there were more than four Mkhwanazi lineages of which the
most prominent were those of Mhabahaba Mkhwanazi (Intunta), Somhlolo Mathema
Mkhwanazi (Inqama), Maqundela Mkhwanazi (Sobukhazi) and Lodada Mkhwanazi.
Lodada was the father of Mbhida and Mfaziwamajaha, King Lobhengula's first and
second wives respectively.
Today only the Mhabahaba chieftancy (Ngungumbane) and the Somhlolo(Mathema)
still exist. It appears that the praise names you listed generally belong to
the Mhabahaba lineage as he became the most prominent/famous of the the
Mkhwanazis. What were Mhabahaba's praise names or those of his immediate
ancestors became adopted as general Mkhwanazi izitemo/izangelo/izithakazelo.
Broadly speaking, there are two groups of amaKhwanazi in Matebeleland, that is,
abezansi (Gagisa/Mpandeyamadoda/Mgidla/Mathema/Sigidi,etc) and abenhla
(Gawu/Makhwentaba). Both groups are Nguni although most people associate
abenhla with Sothos. Whilst a great majority of abenhla were of Sotho origin,
there were many Ngunis who fell under the abenhla group by virtue of the
geographical location where they joined Mzilikazi. For instance whilst the
Gagisas/Mpande... were abezansi(which means) because they came from Zululand,
the Gawus/Makhwentabas were enhla either because they were Nzunza(Transvaal
Ndebeles) or Nyamazana's Swazis.
The association of abezansi with Nguni and abenhla with Sotho was
opportunistically exploited by Sinqobile Mabhena of eNswazi. In 1997/8 when she
claimed that as a Sotho, not a Nguni, 'she was entitled to be a chief because
Mabhenas were Sothos not Ngunis'. We know this incorrect as Mabhenas,
Mahlangus, Sikhosanas, Mthombenis, etc, from kwaNdebele are pure Ngunis from
the Transvaal. The Mkhwanazi(Gawu/Makhwentaba) fall under this category.
As for Mhabahaba being the oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor, well, I'm not quite
sure. Mhabahaba was son of Zama, who was son of Bebesi, who was son of Lomafu,
who was son of Nkwenkwezi, who was son of Sikhumba, who was son of Mthethwa,
who was son of Mantewane. The oldest known Mkhwanazi ancestor is probably
Mantewane. Bryant, a well-known Zulu anthropologist thinks that Mkhwanazis are
originally Mthethwas just like Zulus are originally Gumedes. Curiously, the
Mkhwanazi lineage does mention Mthethwa as one of the forebears. Besides, in
KZN, the Mthethwas in eMpangeni and Mkhwanazis in Mtubatuba are neighbours who
enjoy unusually close relations. The Mkhwanazis are found among all the 5 Nguni
groups ie the Zulu, the Xhosa,the Ndebele(Mthwakazi), the Swazi and the
Ndebele(Nzunza) and the common praise name that links all of them is Nkwali
(Nyoni) yenkosi. As for the spelling, the Mthwakazians are the only group who
spell the surname with an 'n' next to the '..zi'. It can be assumed that this
is a bastardised version which was acquired in Zimbabwe as a result of the
linguistic influence of local languages. The 'h' is not much of a problem as it
reflects the changes in the Zulu/Ndebele orthogaphy which did not represent
aspirated sounds such as 'khwa' vs 'kwa', 'khu' vs 'ku', 'pha' vs 'pa'. Those
who are spelling it as 'Mkhwanazi' are therefore using the modern Zulu/Ndebele
orthography while those who spell it as 'Mkwanazi' are using old Zulu/Ndebele
orthography. In South Africa and Swaziland only 'Nkwali/nyoni yenkosi' is known
from the list Sis Thoko gave. They instead use Shamase and Ndonga which are not
used in Mthwakazi. I hope someone more knowledgeable than me could assist.
Many thanks to George Mhabahaba Mkhwanazi for such a detailed outline.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Founding Ndebele King Mzilikazi honoured in USA!
One would have thought that it was somewhere in Swaziland or South Africa, but it was in Dallas Texas (USA) where people from all walks of life gathered to commemorate the late Ndebele King Mzilkazi.
The event that ignited and showcased the rich culture of the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe was graced by music, poet, art traditional dance, just to say the least. People from that country currently known as Zimbabwe came from all over United States just to experience this annual tradition. Its also worth mentioning that at the same time, there were about six other places celebrating either the same weekend or the next all around the world. Zimbabweans in London are celebrating this weekend, the same applies to those in South Africa and Bulawayo (Zimbabwe).
It is not a secret that the leadership of the late King Mzilikazi is respected among the nations to this day. He was a very inclusive leader who accommodated other nations. For a long time because of colonial influence, most people regarded their culture as evil and demonic. This was obviously the failure to distinguish and descern between the two. This was a double sword in both sides because most African people refused to convert to christianity if they were to discard their cultures.
To try and change this mentality would the biggest challenge, and it would certainly take a very long time. Zimbabwe being a nation that is mainly sympathetic to the Christian religion. It follows that most people associate African culture with evil spirits. That is why preachers are always clad in ties and jackets.
Its been many years since Independence, and it would be foolish to blame it on the missionaries any longer. We obviously cannot change everything that resembles colonialism at once, but we must accept the challenge to look at things differently seeing that the former was false,inaccurate and biased!
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