Zuma in the sources
In Bryant’s 1929 history, Zuma is the name at the head of the genealogy of the aba-kwa-Nxamalala, a clan of the Mooi River valley that he says is a brother-clan of the Zondi.
What the sources say
The clan. Bryant describes the aba-kwa-Nxamalala living along the Mooi river under their chief Matomela, “son of Shisa, Nxamalala of Magebe, of Mndlovu, of Zito, of Mapuma, of Dzana, perchance of Zuma”, and says they were “a brother-clan of the Zondis farther up the eNadi stream”, of obscure origin.
The line. His genealogy lists Zuma (died about 1699), Dzana (about 1717), Mapuma (1735), Zito (1753), Mndlovu (1771), Magebe (1789), Shisa (1807) and Matomela (1825), and says the house of Msholozi never regained its headship.
The salutation. His clan table appears to list Nxamalala with the address-name Zuma, though its columns are garbled in the machine-read text.
Cautions
Bryant’s dates follow his own eighteen-years-a-reign rule, so they are estimates. He says himself that the origin is obscure and that the link to Zuma is “perchance”. We are not saying that every family named Zuma today descends from the Nxamalala; Bryant does not say so either. 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
The address-name is in Bryant’s table; for your own family’s fuller izithakazelo, we would like to record them, credited to you.
Sources and further reading
Do you belong to the Zuma? 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.