Msimango clan names and izithakazelo

Msimango in the sources

Bryant lists the Msimango with the Mashinini, Makubu, Matebula, Mshweshwe and Mota among clans in the Swazi country that he says were “described as of Sutu origin”.

What the sources say

The passage. “Elsewhere we hear of the Makubu (at ebuTimbe), the Mashinini, the Matebula, the Mshweshwe, the Msimango, the Mota and several other clans, all described as of Sutu origin” (Bryant, p. 310). “Sutu” is his term for Sotho-speaking peoples.

Nothing more. No leader, genealogy or praise is given. See also Mashinini.

Cautions

This is a single-sentence mention, reported by Bryant from others. Bryant was a Catholic missionary who collected clan traditions in the early twentieth century; he writes in a jocular colonial style, dates early generations by a rule of eighteen years to a reign, and often says he is guessing. We give his statements as his.

Izithakazelo and totem

We found no Msimango praise poem or totem. If you belong to this clan, we would like to record your family’s own account, credited to you.

Sources and further reading

• A. T. Bryant, Olden Times in Zululand and Natal (London: Longmans, 1929); read in the Internet Archive text, including its alphabetical table of clan names and address-names near the end (machine-read, with garbled columns)

Do you belong to the Msimango? Tell us your izithakazelo and what elders say about the family’s history, and we will add it, credited to you. Share what you know or WhatsApp 065 138 8213.