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Mzala Tom

@RealMzalaTom

Sep 4, 2021 • 14 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X

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1. LOVE, SEX & BETRAYALS : THE STORY OF CHIEF GAMPU SITHOLE 🇿🇼

Umnxeba...🏮

Gampu Sithole, was the son of Maqhekeni who was chief of Amagogo within Igabha section of the Ndebele State. Maqhekeni ruled from a village called Ndikimbela in present day Nata Reserve.

2. Maqhekeni who was Mzilikazi's trusted warrior was a twin with Ngqephu who later became chief of the regiment called Amatshovu. That chieftainship is today traceable to Bakwayi Sithole whose area of jurisdiction is in Matobo District, near Kezi.

3. Gampu Sithole was, by all accounts, one of the most powerful Ndebele chiefs before the fall of the Ndebele state in the Anglo-Ndebele war in 1893, where he commanded Amagogo regiment to fight against the British. He was a close friend and confidante of King Lobhengula.

4. Despite being close to the King Gampu Sithole, had a scandalous and controversial political career that caused clashes between him and the king. Gampu succeeded his father Maqhekeni as chief, after his death.

5. Gampu is remembered from one of our threads for disrupting the royal wedding designed to forge relations between the Ndebele state and the Soshangane kingdom in 1887.

6. During his reign, King Lobhengula, he sought to strengthen ties with the Gasa/Shangani kingdom. To do so, King Lobhengula married Princess Xhwalile Nxumalo the daughter of King Mzila of the Gasa kingdom.

7. In return King Lobhengula offered his most beautiful daughter Princess Sixubhuzelo to King Mzila . However, before the princess could be delivered to the Gasa monarch, Gampu Sithole who had already impregnated Sixubhuzelo, eloped with her to the Transvaal.

8. After a few seasons when the king's anger had subsided Sithole returned & reconciled with the king. His chieftaincy status was restored & his marriage to Sixubhuzelo was formalised.

9. However, after the storm of his sex scandal with Princess Sixubhuzelo had settled , Sithole was at it again. He started philandering, within sacred royal chambers, this time targeting royal wives.

10. Gampu was embroiled in a sex scandal involving two of King Lobhengula's queens. It is believed that one of the queens was executed, as a result of the sex scandal which was dealt with under hushed circumstances to avoid embarrassing the king.

11. Luckily, before a verdict could be passed on Gampu by the royal council, which was likely to be death, Matabeleland was invaded by the Pioneer column. Gampu quickly saw on opportunity to form an alliance with the British after a failed offensive against them.

12. After the fall of the Ndebele state Gampu then worked closely with the British. Gampu sided with the British in the 1896 uprisings. After the peace settlement between the Ndebele and the British, Gampu was heavily rewarded for his loyalty & assistance to the British.

13. Gampu was rewarded with a lot of cattle and was the first salaried chief under British rule. Two of his sons were sent to study at Thekwane Mission. The Ndebele never forgave Gampu for his betrayal.Gampu died in a case of suspected revenge poisoning by Ndebele conservatives.

14. The Gampu Sithole chieftaincy is still in existence to date in Tsholotsho.🇿🇼

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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.

Read 11 tweets

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.

Read 15 tweets

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.

Read 19 tweets

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.

Read 11 tweets

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.

Read 11 tweets

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 :

Read 6 tweets

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