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Mzala Tom

@RealMzalaTom

Dec 8

1. WHEN ALLIES FALL OUT : THE TRAGEDY OF KING LOBHENGULA AND CHAMINUKA PASIPAMIRE (Part 1) 🇿🇼

Two political dynasties in the present day Harare province and surrounding areas aligned themselves with the Ndebele in the mid to late 1800s. These were the Rwizi and Hwata dynasties. The relationship was one based on mutual benefits. These two dynasties were however, not the only allies of the Ndebele in present day Zimbabwe outside the borders of the erstwhile Ndebele kingdom. The focus of this thread is on the Rwizi Dynasty-Ndebele relations.

2. After clashes with the Ndebele between 1860-1864 over gold and trade routes , Hwata Nherera Gwindi, travelled to meet King Mzilikazi at his capital where they agreed to have a mutually beneficial alliance . It was agreed that the Ndebele would have partial access to the lucrative Shawasha gold mines and Portuguese trade routes controlled by the Hwata. The Hwata dynasty stretched from present day Harare, past the Mazoe Dam (then commonly known as pagomba) to modern day Glendale and to the heads of the Mazoe, Tateguru and Murowodzi valleys. In return the Ndebele had to assign personal and family bodyguards for Hwata Gwindi and dispatch regiments to protect him from his family contenders and external enemies. With Ndebele backing Hwata Nherera Gwindi and his son Mazarura maintained their territory and retained power for their house up to the late 1880s.

3. At the beginning of the 1880s the emerging Rwizi dynasty of Chitungwiza was ruled by Madzora, but his brother Pasipamire was much more famous. Pasipamire was the medium of the Chaminuka spirit. The Rwizi Dynasty was centred in present day Chitungwiza - Dungwiza – territory of long grass, where Chaminuka Pasipamire's shrine was located. The territory covered the area between the Mupfure and Manyame (Hunyani) rivers, extending as far as Mhondoro in the north-west and Hwedza Hills in the south east.

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Mzala Tom

@RealMzalaTom

Sep 21

1. THE CORONATION OF KING LOBHENGULA 👑🇿🇼👑

The contested coronation of King Lobhengula around 1870 was done in three phases over a period of about three months. This was in line with Nguni customs . The first stage was the welcoming of the new king at his father’s old capital, eMhlahlandlela where his ordination would commence.

2. On his arrival at the eMhlahlandlela town gate, he was welcomed with a black ox and invited to enter through the north gate. There were around 15 000 soldiers to welcome him at eMhlahlandlela, singing, dancing and parading.

3. From the gate he was ushered to the goat kraal, where he was welcomed by a senior inyanga yomuzi who,cleansed and purified him as part of an elaborate purification ritual for kings. The vessels to be used in the festivities for his coronation were also purified.

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Mzala Tom

@RealMzalaTom

May 26

1. THE PRE-COLONIAL UKUCHINSA - FIRST FRUITS CEREMONY OF THE NDEBELE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE 🇿🇼

Thread..

After the conclusion of the Inxwala national ceremony , people went back to their respective villages. After a week or two, the king performed the ukuchinsa /dolo qina ceremony.

2. Citizens of the Ndebele state were prohibited from harvesting their crops until the ukuchinsa ceremony was conducted. This was usually around January or February, when the first crops started to appear.

3. The king was the first to partake of the first crops in the kingdom. Anyone who broke this rule was punished by death.Izinyanga -traditional doctors gathered the first crops like amakhomane, marrows and mixed them with medicines. After that the king would eat the first fruits.

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Mzala Tom

@RealMzalaTom

May 23

1. QUEEN NZINGA MBANDE OF ANGOLA (1583-1663) 🇦🇴

The first Portuguese explorers arrived in present day Luanda around 1500s. By 1575 Paulo Dias
de Novais arrived with a hundred families of colonists and four hundred soldiers. They set up a fort at present day Luanda.

2. The Portuguese gradually took control of the coastal area by a series of treaties and wars throughout the 16th century, and their interest in Angola quickly turned to the slave trade.

3. With the capital at Luanda on the coast, the Portuguese struggled against the kingdoms of Kongo, Ndongo, and Matamba to gain control of the interior.

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Mzala Tom

@RealMzalaTom

May 3

1. THE PRE-COLONIAL INXWALA CEREMONY OF THE NDEBELE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE 🇿🇼

Inxwala was a national ceremony for spiritual renewal and thanksgiving for the first fruits in the Ndebele kingdom. The main Inxwala came a lunar month after the conduct of the minor inxwala.

2. Once the date for the main inxwala was set, a clarion call was
was made at all kraals in the regions of the kingdom for people to attend the big ceremony. ‘Umthwakazi kagcobe!’, ‘Let the nation dress up for Inxwala!’ the town criers would announce with great excitement.

3. All roads would then lead to the capital. The people brought with them food, beer and oxen for slaughter. There were special oxen known as amamvubu, the hippo oxen. These oxen were regarded as sacred animals. It was believed that the king’s ancestral spirits lived in them.

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Mzala Tom

@RealMzalaTom

May 1

1. TIME - ISIKHATHI IN NDEBELE 🇿🇼

Ancient Ndebele people used celestial knowledge to chart seasons, regulate agricultural cycles and ritual calendars. Celestial bodies determined healing rituals, divination, social and political decisions.

2. The sun, ilanga, the stars, inkanyezi and the moon, inyanga, are the most significant celestial beings that affected several aspects of the Ndebele community. One day is known as ilanga or usuku and a month is known as inyanga.

3. One moon cycle makes up a month and thirteen moon cycles make up a year, umnyaka. Daily time is measured in relation to the movement of the sun and the stars. Different measures of time are divided as follows :

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