Thread by @SAHeritagePubs

This is the 8th of 9 #HeritageMonth threads looking at clans or nations described by their ancestors in their languages in the 1930s & 1940s. We have looked at the history of the Mmatshaka’s Batlokwa, and read about the amaSwazi who moved to Pietermaritzburg in the 1840s.
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Other posts looked at the culture of the Babirwa, the history of the Makgolokwe, the tragic story of Mpandesi and the amaSwazi in the 1830s and the movement of the Mašašane people north towards Polokwane from KwaZulu-Natal.
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Yesterday’s thread looked at the Mamabolo nation and their conflict with the Mongatane. Today, let us read of the mighty King Mapogo, ruler of the amaNdebele of Thabatlou.
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Gwangwa 397: ‘The Defeat of Mapogo’, written in Sesotho sa Leboa in 1940.

“The elderly Ledibane and Mohlotlisana Letwaba tell us briefly about the death of King Mapogo, the ruler of Matebele."
#AncestralVoices #HeritageMonth
4/17

"Ledibane is from the Mahlangu clan and is also of the Mapogo family. We believe that what they are saying is true. King Mapogo was staying in Thabatlou, which in isiNdebele is known as Ntaba Ndhlovu."
5/17

"King Mapogo had his own brave warriors. Mapogo warriors defeated many warriors of the neighbouring tribes including that of the white settlers."
6/17

"In the olden days, when Sekhukhuneland was under the reign of King Sekhukhune I of the Bapedi tribe, trouble started in the Sekhukhune royal family. King Sekhukhune was the son of King Sekwati."
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"At that time King Sekwati had three sons who were Sekhukhune, Mampuru and Mojalodi. Sekhukhune I was the first-born of all the sons and as such was the heir to the throne."
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"Sekhukhune’s brothers did not like the fact that Sekhukhune was going to be the chief of the tribe after the passing of their father. Sekhukhune realised that his brothers did not want him to be the leader of the Bapedi tribe."
9/17

"As a brave man, he intended to kill his brothers so that his ascension to the throne was trouble-free.

Both Mampuru and Mojalodi knew of their brother’s evil intentions and decided to flee from Sekhukhuneland."
10/17

"Mampuru fled to a place called Magakala whereas Mojalodi fled to King Mapogo of the Matebele tribe. It is not known what happened to Mampuru in Magakala but the Bapedi warriors went after Mojalodi."
11/17

"The Sekhukhune warriors went to King Mapogo and asked him to release Mojalodi. King Mapogo told the Bapedi warriors that he could not release Mojalodi because he is in his stomach but told them that if they want they can come and empty his stomach to get their Mojalodi."
12/17

"This angered the Bapedi warriors and a battle ensued. In the battle, the Bapedi warriors were defeated by the warriors of Mapogo. After their defeat, the Bapedi warriors went home to Sekhukhune to make another plan."
13/17

"After some days the Bapedi warriors reorganised themselves and decided to attack King Mapogo again. It became very difficult for the Bapedi warriors to defeat King Mapogo this time around."
14/17

"After this second battle, Sekhukhune decided to recruit Whites to assist him in fighting Mapogo’s warriors. The Whites agreed to the recruitment and decided to assist Sekhukhune."
15/17

"A powerful joint force then tried to attack King Mapogo and his warriors. A fierce battle lasted for many days and King Mapogo and his warriors remained tougher than the joint force of Bapedi warriors and the Whites.”
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