Ramaremisa in the sources
Vele Ramaremisa, son of Ligegise, ruled the Tshivhase house from about 1902 to 1930. The Commission records that land laws passed between 1913 and 1936 took massive tracts of Tshivhase land, “the kingdom virtually collapsed”, and there was a shift from sovereignty to subjugation.
What the sources say
Luonde gives him the name Pwashamukumbu and says Ligegise chose him as heir, that rivals named Mahwasane, Nyamande, Raedani and Sidze contested the throne but the Ramabulana and Mphaphuli houses did not back them, that Mahwasane was defeated and the others submitted, and that Ramaremisa conquered Ha-Luvhimbi and Makonde and added Khubvi, Mukula and Tshidimbini. He is said to have died in 1930. Wikipedia lists him as ruling from about 1901 to about 1931, and Fokwang says he succeeded Ligegise and was in turn succeeded by Ratshimphi.
The Commission’s account has the Black Administration Act introduced in the reign of his successor. See our Tshivhase page for the whole house.
Cautions
The conquests are Luonde’s claim alone; the land-law account is the Tshivhase house’s own presentation to the Commission. The Tshivhase house’s history is told differently by the Commission’s record, local oral history and academic work, and the dates and names do not always agree; where they differ we say so and take no side.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Ramaremisa praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Tshivhase house and recite its praises, 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 Vhavenda kingship claim (the Tshivhase house’s account, pp. 622 to 627, and findings, pp. 645 to 648)
- Luonde: Ha-Tshivhasa (community site; no author, date or sources given, so treat as unverified oral history)
- J. T. D. Fokwang, thesis (2003), University of Pretoria electronic theses, chapter 2, “Historical background to the Tshivhase chiefdom, Venda” (read by us in this chapter only)
- Wikipedia: Venda Kingdom (lists of Tshivhase rulers; it cites Loubser 2024, Beach 1980 and others)
See also Tshivhase, Masingo and Ramabulana.
Do you belong to the Tshivhase house? 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.