Mzilikazi was son of Matshobana son of Ngululu son of Siphahla son of Mangethe son of Langalamandulo son of Zulu son of Ndaba.Ndaba was a descendant of Khumalo son of Mntungwa son of Mbulazi brother to Musi.Mntungwa's most notable sons were Khumalo,Mabena and Mabaso hence the Mabenas share the same Mntungwa totem as the Khumalo.Musi was father to the Northern Ndebele.The most notable Northern Ndebeles are the Mahlangu dynasty,the Sikhosanas,the Vundlas,Mthombenis and Sibindis.Musi and Mbulazi were sons to Mhlanga.Mhlanga was son to Ndebele.Ndebele,SeSwati,Xhosa and others were sons of Mnguni.Mzilikazi's mother was Cikose daugter of Ndlovu Ndiweni,one of two Mangwe Chieftains that existed in the Nguni lands at the time.Matshobana's mother was from the family of Mlotha Hlabangana the chief of AmaNtshali.Mzilikazi was born in the Ngome area next to the Mkhuze river in about 1790.Basing on the Khumalo culture which asserted that the next chief had to be born after his father had taken over the crown and mothered by chieftains,we can assume that Matshobana became a chief a few years before 1790.Meanwhile studies of praise names of King Zwide ka Langa Nxumalo show that the Khumalo came under the Nxumalo(Ndwandwe)after Zwide became king.At that time Matshobana ceded some powers to Donda and Bheje Khumalo families to create three Khumalo chieftains-the Northern,Southern and Central Khumalos.Meanwhile just about the time of the rise of Shaka Zulu,Zwide killed Mlota Hlabangana and angered the Khumaloes.The Khumalos were located midway between the Ndwandwe and the Zulu/Mthethwa kingdoms.When Zwide plotted to attack and kill the rising Shaka,Chief Donda Khumalo alerted Shaka of the plot.Donda and Matshobana paid with their lives.When war broke out between Zwide and Shaka,fifty Khumalo warriors deserted Zwide and joined Shaka.Amongst these warriors was Mzilikazi and Mncumbathe.They supplied Shaka with vital intelligence that helped him defeat Zwide.This was in 1818.Up to today Mncumbathe's praise names are known:'Udladlazela owadladladlazela eMgidleni,waphakamisa'ijoza,igazi lika Sambane lanquma.......Musani ukubuza ukuthi isizinda sika Mthwakazi sinjani,Yinkunzi emnyama eyazwakala eMgidleni.Eyabamba ijongosi lengwenyam' eNdubazi yalithi hlasi ngezandla.uMdlodlom' omnyama wase Nyandeni,Omthika ngowezingwe lamahlosi.....uMandlan'eyamila'ebabeni yaqholwa ngama Ntungwa ase Mbulazi kuphela'.This was in reference to two battles fought in 1822 and 1823.Mzilikazi rebelled against Shaka in 1821 because the Khumalo were tired of being subject to other clans.Tshaka's Sangomas informed the Zulu king that Mzilikazi was to become a king.Shaka hatched two unsuccessful plans to figure out if Mzilikazi was really going to be a king.If he was not meant to be a king,he was going to die.Mzilikazi survived those plots.In the third plan Shaka armed Mzilikazi with retired old soldiers and ordered him to go and capture some cattle from a SeSotho chief called Ranisi.Mzilikazi took his men,went to the SeSotho,saw herdmen herding the cattle,hid behind the rocks and he and his man shouted 'Sesifikile thina amabutho enkunzimalanga uShaka,ma lingafuni ukufa tshiyani inkomo zenu libaleke khathesi'.The SeSotho herdman complied and the cattle were driven away by Mzilikazi without any blood being spilt.Amongst those cattle was one called ibhidi.Ibhidi has got three colours and in all of Zululand there were no such cattle.When Shaka heard that Mzilikazi had come back with some loot,he sent his messengers to get cattle from Mzilikazi.Mzilikazi gave them just a few and kept the rest including ibhidi.Shaka then sent his Osibalukhulu but Mzilikazi ordered his gurads to cut the feathers of Shaka's servants.This was a declaration of war.Mzilikazi's custom was to split his pple into two.One of them went into hiding whilst after two battles,the other one was driven out of Zululand by Shaka's regiments.On their way out of Zululand,Mzilikazi collected some of his cousins from the Ndiwenis and Hlabanganas through both force and diplomacy.After a few victories and capturing some pple in some chieftains,it became neccessary to have a new kingdom and elevate Mzilikazi from chief to king.This was a very neccessary thing because right from the beginning Mzilikazi had two regiments-Amnyama and Amhlophe and for survival and growth purposes,his nation needed a clear command structure.The first names of the Ndebele kingdom were amaHalab'eZulu in reference to their victory over a regiment of Shaka in their first battle in Ngome.The other name was Mthwakazi in refence to that babehamba bebutha imithwalo engaziwayo.Shaka and the Zulu called them amaNtunga ka soKhumalo.Shaka's sangomas advised him not to follow Mzilikazi because according to them,he was going to build a Nguni kingdom in far away lands.He never attacked them till his killing in1828.However,his successor King Dingane sent four regiments to attack Mzilikazi in Transvaal in 1832.The Ndebeles and Zulus battled...
By Meluleki Moyo!
Ndebele trust to correct Byo street names
A LOBBY organisation, Imvuselelo Yolimi Lamasiko EsiNdebele Trust has striked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) which will see the two working together in correcting misspelt Ndebele words in the city’s signage posts and street names.
The MoU will also culminate in the correction on misspelt names of Bulawayo’s suburbs such as Makokoba which the trust says should be properly spelt as Makhokhoba as in the case of Pumula that should be spelt as Phumula.
- In an interview, Imvuselelo Yolimi Lamasiko EsiNdebele Trust chairperson Isaac Nyandeni Mpofu said the MoU was born out of concerns by custodians of the Ndebele language that it is facing imminent extinction.
“We have agreed to work with the Bulawayo city council towards correcting misspelt Ndebele words in signage posts, public places as well as the names of the city’s suburbs. This is because we want to correct what is wrong,” said Mpofu.
He said the local authority has since assigned a team of council officials that are going to work hand in hand with Imvuselelo Yolimi Lamasiko EsiNdebele Trust.
“Our experts as well as those from council shall come together and do the necessary work in having proper names being written in signage posts and all other areas,” said Mpofu.
He said they are going also to research on the history behind the names of Bulawayo suburbs and make them public.
“We want people to know the background of those areas that they live in, the information is available but it is not out there,” said Mpofu.
He said the degradation of Ndebele language emanates from inadequate teaching practices.
“I think even in the teaching of the language in schools and tertiary institutions is not convincing. This is why we are in talks with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education so that we can also work with them in suggesting improvements in the teaching of Ndebele language in schools,” said Mpofu.
He said there were previous concerns on the setting of Ndebele public examination papers with some saying there were gaps that needed to be bridged.
“We hope we are going to be able to assist the ministry because we have scholars and researchers on the Ndebele language and that will go a long way in reviving the language,” said Mpofu.