Dhladhla in the Swazi record
Bonner lists the Dhladhla with the Ngwenya and Mavimbela, west of Mahlangatja, among the smaller Sotho-speaking chiefdoms of central and western Swaziland when Sobhuza I advanced (PDF p. 41), and says the three submitted at once to Sobhuza without a fight (p. 42). Under Mswati, he adds, the Dhladhla, with the Ngwenya, Mncina and Moyeni’s Magagula, had their autonomy restricted and were placed under trusted officers of the king (p. 97).
What the book says
The book also gives the Dhladhla a person: its index cross-refers the Dhladhla people to Makwazidile, who, in a note on p. 278 that the OCR renders imperfectly, appears to be the official Swazi representative in the dealings with the South African Republic over a payment of cattle in the late 1860s. According to the note he demanded the cattle several times between 1867 and 1869, refused them in April 1870 when they were ready, and by the time they were handed over in June 1871 no longer acted as intermediary. Bonner says it is unclear whether Makwazidile played a double game with both Boers and Swazi, as Republican officials suspected, or acted on instructions from his principals, and adds that he fled to the Republic in December 1874 but returned within months and was used again as a Swazi representative (p. 278). A statement by Makwazidile is also cited from April 1879, when the Swazi offered to help the British (p. 285).
Sources and cautions
This page summarises Philip Bonner’s Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires (read from SAHO’s scanned PDF by OCR; page numbers are PDF pages). Bonner’s own question mark over Makwazidile’s role means we cannot say what he intended; and we have no Dhladhla account of him. The surname Dhladhla (Dladla) is common, and we claim no link between surname-holders and this chiefdom.
We read this book only through machine OCR of a scanned copy, so names and dates may contain OCR errors, and we have not checked them against the printed pages or against the oral and archival sources Bonner cites. His chapters rest on oral evidence collected in the 1970s and present contested episodes from a scholarly point of view. We did not find these clans in Gillis’s book.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Dhladhla praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Dhladhla and recite your izithakazelo, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
See also Ngwenya, Mavimbela, Motsa and Dlamini.
Do you belong to the Dhladhla? 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.