Thikhathali in the sources
Thikhathali was the Tshivhase ruler in the 1960s and the father of the present holder, Kennedy Tshivhase. The accounts disagree on how many men are involved: the Commission has one ruler, Ratshalingwa Thikhathali Prince Thohoyandou, who reigned from 1963 to 1966, while Luonde has two, Ratshialingwa and Thikhathali, and Fokwang and Wikipedia have a Thohoyandou Tshivhase.
What the sources say
The Commission records that Ratshalingwa Thikhathali Prince Thohoyandou reigned from 1963 to 1966 and was the father of Kennedy Tshivhase (p. 626). Luonde gives a more detailed sequence: after Ratshimphi was dethroned, his brother Ratshialingwa was installed by the Boers on the recommendation of Muofhe Makhavhu, then banished to Hammanskraal and Pietermaritzburg; Ratshimphi’s son Thikhathali then succeeded, after a disputed succession with Ratshialingwa’s son Mulondo, was crowned in November 1963, and died in a car accident on 21 May 1966. Fokwang, who calls him Thohoyandou Tshivhase, says he succeeded Ratshimphi in 1946 and that his sudden death in 1966 played into the hands of Chief Patrick Mphephu, who was trying to extend his hegemony. Wikipedia gives Thohoyandou Tshivhase as ruling from about 1946 to about 1970.
A drafting note left in the Commission’s text beside the name reads “Dr Ndou please revisit”. See also Kennedy Tshivhase.
Cautions
Whether Ratshialingwa and Thikhathali were one man or two, and whether the ruler called Thohoyandou Tshivhase is the same man, is not settled by what we read; the 1946 to 1966 dates also overlap in the sources. 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 Thikhathali 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.