Hlungwani in the sources
Wikipedia’s Tsonga people article lists the Hlungwani under the VaHlengwe, with the Chauke, Sono and Mavasa, and says nothing more about them. We could not find the name in Junod’s 1912 book.
What the sources say
Junod describes the Hlengwe group as the largest in the Thonga tribe, perhaps half of it, covering the east and north-east from the Limpopo to Inhambane and the Sabie of the North (about pp. 17 to 18). He says that in the Djonga dialect hlengwe means wealth, though he does not know if that is the origin of the name, and that the group divides into the Hlengwe proper (Tshauke, Mbenzane, Mavube, Magwinyane), the Tswa of Inhambane and the Nwanati. See our Chauke and Makwakwa pages.
He does not say to which of these divisions the Hlungwani belong, and we have not found a source that does.
Cautions
This page is the Hlengwe background plus one list entry. Junod wrote in 1912 in his own spelling and from a missionary’s viewpoint, so the match between his clan names and today’s surnames is by sound and is our inference. We found no Hlungwani chief, praise text or totem. Page numbers for Junod are approximate, read from machine-scanned text.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Hlungwani totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Hlungwani and recite your praises (miLao), we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Tsonga people (its post-1890 community list has no inline citation)
- Henri A. Junod, The Life of a South African Tribe, vol. 1, The Social Life (Neuchatel, 1912), read in the Internet Archive scan; a missionary ethnography of the Thonga (Tsonga), using his own spellings
Do you belong to the Hlungwani? 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.