Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Mzala Tom Profile picture
@RealMzalaTom
Aug 4, 2021 • 18 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
1. THE NGUNI/SOTHO PEOPLE WHO OCCUPIED PARTS OF MODERN DAY ZIMBABWE BEFORE MZILIKAZI 🇿🇼

There is a general misconception that King Mzilikazi & his Ndebele people were the first Nguni group to traverse and settle in what is now modern day Zimbabwe. However, this is not accurate.
2. The evolution of the Ndebele can be divided into 2 phases: 1.1820-1840 was dominated by migration & wars.
2. 1841-1893 saw the Ndebele evolving to a new full-fledged settled heterogeneous state in present day Matabeleland & parts of Midlands in Zimbabwe.
3. During the political revolutions that rocked Nguniland commonly referred to as mfecane there are various Nguni and Sotho-Tswana groups that migrated north and traversed through the Zimbabwean plateau.
4. These Nguni and Sotho-Tswana groups included the Sotho of Mpanga, the Sotho of Sebetwane, the Nguni of Ngwana Maseko, the Nguni of Zwangendaba, the Nguni of Nxaba, the Shangani of Soshangane and the Swati of Nyamazana.
5. These groups attacked and raided local settlements. These events coincided with the nearing of the collapse of the Rozvi/Lozwi empire due to power struggles & weak leadership. The group led by Zwangendaba is accused of destroying the structures & settlements at Great Zimbabwe.
6. These groups earned the name 'madviti'/plunderers/usurpers from the local Shona people groups who were affected by the raids and destruction of their settlements and traditional shrines like the great stone structures in Masvingo.
7. Soshangane also invaded the Zimbabwean plateau & established the Gasa/Gaza empire which stretched from the Limpopo river in southern Mozambique up to the Zambezi river in the north. Soshangane invaded the Rozvi in Chipinge area thus accelerating the state collapse.
8.Soshangane established his capital in the highlands of the middle Save River in the Zimbabwean plateau in the 1830s. The capital was later moved by his grandson Ngungunyane Mdungazwe Nxumalo to Mozambique. The Gasa/Gaza empire was overthrown by the Portuguese in 1897.
9. Zwangendaba continued with his trek until he settled in Tanzania in Mapupo, near Ufipa where he consolidated his status as the king of all the Ngoni located accross Southern Africa.
10. After leaving a trail of destruction to the Rozvi/Lozwi Empire, Sebetwane moved to present day western Zambia where he established his Barotseland kingdom.
11. Queen Nyamazana Dlamini who was Zwangendaba’s niece defeated the last Rozvi/Lozwi king Mambo Chirisamhuru marking the epilogue of the Rozvi/Lozwi empire in the 1830s.
12. She thereafter gathered her Swati people and remnants of the Nguni and Sotho Tswana groups that remained under her leadership to establish her authority over the new territory she had taken over.
13. When the Ndebele under Mzilikazi arrived around 1840 they settled in the south western parts of modern day Zimbabwe close to where Falcon College is located.
14. Mzilikazi met with Queen Nyamazana and the two agreed to coexist in peace in the territory. Mzilikazi then made a second proposal to strengthen their ties by marrying Queen Nyamazana. She accepted his offer, merged her people with his and handed Mzilikazi authority as King.
15. Mzilikazi used the policy of raiding the surrounding Shona, Tswana (Botswana) and Lozi (Zambia) groups who refused to pay tribute to him. This was his strategy of building his kingdom and enforcing his authority and political control of the new territory that he occupied.
16. SOURCES :
- Zimbabwe's Cultural Heritage : Phathisa Nyathi
- Building friendships between the Shona & Ndebele of Zimbabwe : Cyprian Muchemwa ( PhD Thesis /Durban University of Technology)
17. - Lexicographical Practice and Lexicological Research: The Case of Shangani in Zimbabwe : Peniah Mabaso,
-Re-thinking the Colonial Encounter in Zimbabwe in the Early 20th Century : Prof. S J. Ndlovu- Gatsheni
- The Ngoni of Malawi (A History Revisited) : Sunduzwayo Madise
18. - Becoming Zimbabwe. A History from the Pre-colonial Period to 2008: Brian Raftopoulos, A. S. Mlambo
-The Ndebele Nation: Reflections on Hegemony, Memory and Historiography : Prof. S. J Ndlovu - Gatsheni

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Mzala Tom

Mzala Tom Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @RealMzalaTom

Mzala Tom Profile picture
May 16
1. QUEEN NTOMBAZI OF THE NDWANDWE 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦

Queen Mother Ntombazi has been referred to as 'one of the most influential women in the pre‐Shakan and Shakan eras'.

From 1750 to 1820, the Ndwandwe kingdom was a dominant force in the area now known as Kwa‐Zulu Natal. The kingdom sought to dislodge the much larger Mthethwa confederation under Kings Dingiswayo.

However, in present day history conversations, the Ndwandwe kingdom is almost entirely forgotten and its role has often been overshadowed by the successor Zulu state, established and led by King Shaka ka Senzangakhona.Image
2. Queen Ntombazi was the daughter of the Ntshalintshali who married King Langa kaXaba. She gave birth to an heir by the name of Zwide who grew up to rule his father’s kingdom.

As the Ndwandwe kingdom grew and expanded it became a fierce threat to other neighbouring kingdoms, especially the Mthethwa confederation under King Dingiswayo and the Swati of King Sobhuza who had to relocate further inland.
3. During King Zwide's reign, his mother Queen Ntombazi played a critical role as his political advisor, diplomat and strategist in the expansion of the Ndwandwe kingdom. Queen Ntombazi advised her son on how to grow the Ndwandwe kingdom and manage his rivals.

Her main goal was to ensure that the Ndwandwe controlled the lucrative trade routes to the Delagoa Bay. Ndwandwe strength grew with their control of trade in the region.
Read 15 tweets
Mzala Tom Profile picture
Apr 26
1. KING DINGISWAYO 1770 -1818 🇿🇦🇿🇦

King Dingiswayo of the Mthethwa kingdom was the son of King Jobe. The lineage of the Mthethwa kingdom up to King Dingiswayo is as follows:

Mthethwa - the ancestor.
Nyambose
Khubazi
Ndlovu
Simamane-wengwe born 1600s
Madangu
Xaba
Khayi 1710-1788

Khayi was the father of Jobe. Jobe had four sons - Tana , Godongwana (Dingiswayo) , Mawewe, Mondise and Myaka.Image
2. It is said that Tana and Godongwana, had a discussion as they were bathing in the cool waters of the uMfolozi River one afternoon. As they were talking excitedly Godongwana was heard saying:

" It will be for our people's good, Tana, to have you for their king instead of our father. Soon he will be full of foolishness and lacking in wisdom, so for our people's good we must help our father out of this world!"
3. When this political crime was reported to the king; he ordered men from eNhlambeni, one of Khayi's (Jobe's father) imizi, to execute the two princes without fail.

It would seem that these soldiers , reached an agreement that Godongwana should be saved and not killed. Therefore, Tana faced his death by the spear and Godongwana escaped with a barbed spear wound.
Read 13 tweets
Mzala Tom Profile picture
Apr 18
1. KING ZWIDE KA-LANGA 🇿🇦

Zwide kaLanga was the king of the Ndwandwe (Nxumalo) nation from about 1802 to around 1820. He was the son of Langa KaXaba, a Nxumalo king. Image
2. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries three great leaders emerged in present day South Africa and Eswatini who brought large numbers of clans under their control. These leaders were King Sobhuza of AmaNgwane , King Zwide of the AmaNxumalo and King Dingiswayo of the Mthethwa. As these kings rose to prominence, wars became frequent.
3. Due to his military strength King Zwide eventually  rose to prominence and became a defacto ruler of all the Nguni nations in that region.If any king resisted his control, he would launch an attack and bring that king’s clan under his control using brutal force and times he used deception and witchcraft. King Zwide's methods of witchcraft are fascinating.
Read 11 tweets
Mzala Tom Profile picture
Dec 28, 2024
1. PRINCESS MKABAYI KA- JAMA (1750-1843) 🇿🇦

Princess Mkabayi was the daughter of the Zulu inkosi uJama. She was a twin by conception. Her twin sister was known as Mmama. Inkosi uJama decreed that the twin girls were not to be killed at their infancy. This decision was not well received by the royalty and Zulu society.Image
2. The twin girls were not loved by the community as there was great fear that they would bring curses and attract ancestral wrath on the Zulu community. This fear was confirmed when the queen mother died before she could bear the king a male heir. Mkabayi and her twin sister bore the brunt of the people's hate and rejection.Image
3. Mkabayi became the focus of public attention because of her strong willed character and stubbornness. Her sister on the other hand was calm and mellow. As years progressed, inkosi uJama failed to produce a male heir. This was worrisome to the Zulu royals and the nation. Image
Read 14 tweets
Mzala Tom Profile picture
Dec 8, 2024
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.Image
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.Image
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.Image
Read 11 tweets
Mzala Tom Profile picture
Sep 21, 2024
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.Image
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. Image
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. Image
Read 15 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(