Nsibande in the Swazi record
Bonner says that within a generation of the Ngwane (Dlamini-led) nucleus assimilating the groups it conquered, the Nsibande were called on to supply the chief indvuna (the king’s principal official) to the son of the king Ndvungunye, while the Mndzebele supplied Ndvungunye’s chief wife and the Matsebula the chief ritual wife (PDF p. 45). He uses this as evidence of how thoroughly the royal line drew on the groups it overcame; see our Mndzebele and Matsebula pages.
What the books say
The Nsibande are also a source for early Swazi history. Bonner uses “the history of the Nsibande”, as current Swazi tradition, to date a challenge to Sobhuza’s leadership: according to the Nsibande, a brother named Nkwekazi mounted his challenge at Sobhuza’s initial accession, not after Sobhuza’s flight from Shiselweni as other writers (Forbes, Bryant, Honey) have it. By a process of elimination, Bonner concludes that it was another brother, Magwegwe, who usurped Sobhuza’s position and tried to rally the remnants of the old Ngwane state (p. 39). His notes list an interview with Phuhlaphe Nsibande at Zombodze in early 1972 (p. 305).
Sources and cautions
This page summarises Philip Bonner’s Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires and D. Hugh Gillis’s The Kingdom of Swaziland: Studies in Political History (both read from SAHO’s scanned PDFs by OCR; page numbers are PDF pages). Bonner’s argument depends on the Nsibande tradition, as he reads it against other accounts, and we cannot judge it. The surname Nsibande is common, and we claim no link between surname-holders and this clan.
We read these books only through machine OCR of scanned copies, so names and dates may contain OCR errors, and we have not checked them against the printed pages or the sources they cite (Matsebula, Bryant, Stuart’s archive). Their chapters rest on oral evidence collected in the 1970s and present contested episodes from a scholarly point of view.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Nsibande praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Nsibande and recite your izithakazelo, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Philip Bonner: Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires (SAHO scan)
- D. Hugh Gillis: The Kingdom of Swaziland: Studies in Political History (SAHO scan)
Do you belong to the Nsibande? 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.