Origins
The Ndzundza descend from Ndzundza (also called Hlungwana), described in a government commission’s determination as the first-born son of the second house of the Ndebele king Musi. After a contest for the succession against his brother Manala, Ndzundza and his followers settled across the Balule River at KwaSimkhulu, and became known as the amaNdzundza. Wikipedia places the capital near the source of the Steelpoort River, with territory running from the Olifants River to the Elands River in Mpumalanga.
The commission says the Ndzundza were later joined by Ndzundza’s brothers and their followers: Masombuka, Skosana, Mhwaduba, Mphaphuli and Mthombeni. Wikipedia describes some of those brothers differently, for example saying Thombeni’s people moved north and were absorbed into Sotho groups, so the accounts do not fully agree.
The Mahlangu line
South African History Online traces the Ndzundza line through Mxetsha, Magoboli, Bongwe, Sindeni (as regent) and then Mahlangu, after whom the ruling family became known as the Mahlangu. It dates this to the later part of the mid-eighteenth century. Mahlangu is now the best-known surname of the house.
Mzilikazi and the Mabhoko period
The Ndzundza king Magodongo was killed in the wars with Mzilikazi’s amaKumalo, who burned the capital at Mnyamana. The sources date the fighting differently: South African History Online says about 1825, and Wikipedia’s list of rulers gives Magodongo’s reign as 1811 to 1827. The commission dates the Ndzundza’s fight against Mzilikazi “as an independent entity” to about 1818, after which they built a fortress at Nomtshagela. Survivors regrouped under Magodongo’s younger son Mabhogo (also written Mabhoko), who settled at Namashaxelo near what became Roossenekal and ruled until 1865. He allied with the Pedi chief Malewa. South African History Online records that Voortrekkers first visited him in 1847 and that Ndebele were called “Mapoch” and similar names, a term most Ndebele find derogatory. A Swazi force, acting at Boer instigation, defeated the Ndebele and Pedi alliance in 1864.
Nyabela and Mapoch’s Caves, 1882 to 1883
Nyabela (Nyabele) led the Ndzundza from 1879. After the Pedi chief Sekhukhune was killed in August 1882, his half-brother Mampuru, who was blamed for it, fled to the Ndzundza. Nyabela refused to hand Mampuru over and refused to pay the hut tax. A commando under General Piet Joubert set out from Middelburg on 30 October 1882, and after nearly nine months of siege at the stronghold the Ndzundza call KoNomtjharhelo (Mapoch’s Caves), the starved and dynamited Ndzundza surrendered. Wikipedia’s article on the caves puts the war at ten months and names two Boer leaders, Senekal and Roos, among those killed.
Mampuru was hanged in Pretoria on 22 November 1883. Nyabela’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The sources part ways on what followed: South African History Online says he was pardoned shortly before the South African War of 1899 to 1902 but could not return, and is believed to have died around 1903 at Hartbeesfontein. Wikipedia says he died in prison in Pretoria. The Volksraad declared Ndzundza land forfeit and gave it to members of Joubert’s commando, and the surviving Ndzundza were indentured for five years, which South African History Online says broke their power as a tribe.
Mapoch’s Caves, about 6 km north of Roossenekal, is a provincial heritage site. A 1968 Government Gazette description quoted by Wikipedia notes two Ndebele building methods there: unmortared boulders for retaining walls and ramparts, and mortared, trimmed flat stones for huts and kraals.
After the war
Wikipedia lists Fene as ruler from 1902 to 1921 and says he bought the farm Welgelegen, which became the site of modern KwaMhlanga. South African History Online says Mfene moved to Weltevrede near Vaalfontein. The Msiza family, shield-bearers to the Ndzundza kings, are the subject of their own page.
Status and the seniority dispute
Which Ndebele house is senior is a live legal dispute, so we record what is published. In 2008 the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims found that the Ndzundza-Mabhoko paramountcy is not a kingship, and its determination on the late paramount chief, Cornelius Nyumbako Mahlangu (Mayitjha III, 1984 to 2005), concluded that his position was that of senior traditional leader. In the same document it records that the kingship of the amaNdebele as a whole resorts under the Manala-Mbhongo line. The document also records that the Ndzundza-Mabhoko acting paramount chief, through his attorneys, declined to take part in the hearing. Wikipedia reports that the present claimant, Mbusi Mahlangu (Mabhoko III), has contested the paramountcy and lost several court cases. We have not read the court judgments, and we are not taking a side.
Izithakazelo and totem
We have not found a published text of the Ndzundza praises or a confirmed totem, so we are not printing either. If your family recites Ndzundza or Mahlangu praises, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- South African History Online: Ndebele history
- Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims: Determinations on the position of the paramount chiefs (pp. 94 to 116)
- Gale Encyclopedia of Africa, via Everyculture: Ndebele history and cultural relations (the name KoNomtjharhelo)
- Wikipedia: Mapoch’s Caves
- Wikipedia: Southern Ndebele people
The sources differ on dates and spellings, as noted above. Before relying on a detail, check it against the commission’s determination and a Ndebele elder or historian.
Do you belong to the Ndzundza or carry the Mahlangu name? Tell us your izithakazelo, your totem, where your family lives and what elders say about the house’s history, and we will add it, credited to you. Share what you know or WhatsApp 065 138 8213.