Mavuso in the sources
A Mavuso appears in the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims’ list of Ndwandwe leaders. In its determination on the amaShangana kingship claim, the Commission says Nxumalo was the first leader of the amaNdwandwe, in the seventeenth century, and was succeeded by Ndwandwe, Mkhatshwa, Gaza I, Langa I, Mavuso, Ludonga, Xaba, Langa II and Zwide II; it places them in the northern part of Zululand, between the Pongola and the Mfolozi, with Zwide II in command in 1819. See our Ndwandwe page.
What the sources say
Bonner also names Mavuso, in a discussion of the Ndwandwe and the Swazi king lists. He says (PDF p. 21), citing Hedges, that the whole Ndwandwe clan claims descent from Mkhatshwa, who does not appear on the Ndwandwe or Dlamini king lists, while Mavuso and Ludvonga do appear, but that none of their Ndwandwe predecessors named by Stuart’s one Ndwandwe informant matches any earlier Ngwane king. The point of the passage is the difficulty of reconciling Ndwandwe and Ngwane genealogies. Wikipedia’s Bemdzabuko article also lists Mavuso among the notable founding Swazi clans.
We have not found a source that connects the Ndwandwe leader Mavuso with the clan or surname Mavuso today, and the clan named in the Swazi list may be unrelated to the Ndwandwe chief.
Cautions
The genealogies disagree about who belongs on which list, and Bonner treats the evidence as unsettled. We found no Mavuso praise text or totem. The surname Mavuso is common, and we claim no link between surname-holders and the Ndwandwe chief. We read Bonner and Gillis only through machine OCR of scanned copies, so names and page numbers may contain errors.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Mavuso praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Mavuso and recite your izithakazelo, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims: Determination on the amaShangana kingship claim (its Ndwandwe section)
- Philip Bonner: Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires (SAHO scan, read by OCR)
- Wikipedia: Bemdzabuko (needs more citations)
See also Zulu.
Do you belong to the Mavuso? Tell us your praises and what elders say about the history, and we will add it, credited to you. Share what you know or WhatsApp 065 138 8213.