Nyoka in the sources
Bryant records the aba-kwa-Nyoka as a sub-clan of the emaNgweni in the Vryheid district, and as the people who in 1823 tried to detain Mzilikazi’s fleeing party. Whether a Nyoka family among the Southern Ndebele belongs to that clan we cannot tell.
What the sources say
The clan. “The aba-kwa-Nyoka (The People of Nyoka) were a sub-clan of the emaNgweni, and to them there came – whence we cannot say – a party of strangers, naming themselves aba-kwa-Ngxanga (Family of Ngxanga), seeking adoption” (Bryant, the emaNgweni section).
1823. Bryant says Mzilikazi, passing the Vryheid district, struck “the aba-kwa-Nyoka sub-clan of the emaNgweni”, whose chief, fearing Zulu punishment, tried to detain him until Shaka could be told.
The table. His clan table lists kwaNyoka with the parent clan emaNgweni.
Cautions
Our planning list places Nyoka among the Southern Ndebele; the pages we have found concern a Zululand clan and are not evidence about a Ndebele family. Bryant’s own caution applies: “whence we cannot say”. 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
If your family is Nyoka (Ndebele or otherwise) and can tell us your history, we would like to record it, credited to you.
Sources and further reading
Do you belong to the Nyoka? 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.