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.
13 comments:
Hi my name is Bongani Mkhwanazi living in Tongaat KZN This is a very interesting.I will like to know who is this Sis Thoko you are refering to because I ve got an aunt in Mtubatuba called Thoko
Bongani this Sis Thoko that is being referred to here is me. I do not believe we have ever met. I live in the US. God Bless.
thank you for sharing our history with us
Wow kuhle ukuzwa ivelaphi yethu.
BaKhwanazi!!!
Thank you very much for this amazing eye opening history
Sanibona Nonke!
Mina I just want know ukuthi Why there is Mkwanazi & Mkhwanazi,
what changed?
Is it true that we are originally from somewhere above Kenya?
Manguni ngikhulekile. There is a gap which I wish somebody could fill it for me and the entire Mkhananzis. I desperately want to link Veletsheni Mathema,Sigombe Mathema,Dliso Mathema, Mbanga Mathema and Somhlolo Mathema. If there is anyone who could connect these ancestors for us I think we will be able to compile a meaningful Family Tree.
Mina ngingu - Bha Sibangilizwe Mathema ka Mvinjwa,ka Ginyilitshe, ka Veletsheni.
I'm a Mkhwananzi from Zimbabwe and I'm pretty sure that I'm from somewhere in South Africa or Swaziland. But I want to know where I originate from.
I am also Mkwananzi from Zimbabwe. So to answer Anonymous, depending on your lineage will determine where you come from. Like George who wrote this article I go back to Mtubatuba in KZN South Africa as that was here Mhabahaba was born who is our ancestor/projenator in Zimbabwe. We are from SA but many come from Swaziland. Then you get some in Lesotho, some Xhosa, some Swathi, some KwaNdebele and Zulu.
Himy name is Jabulani Mkhwanazi I'm originally from Empangeni,I've always wondered what the name Mkhwanazi itself mean,anyone knows?
I am Mkhwanazi from Swaziland but my father and mother are south african. They came to Swaziland to marry in the 70s since my mother is white.
My question is why are they few Mkhwanazis in Swaziland if they are origions are in Swaziland.
Could it be because of the land taken by south Africans since alot of them are arround Natal?
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