Mabuela in the sources
The Mabuela are one of the four “great wards” at Mapela. Jackson says they are the remnant of the Phalane of Mokoka (now in the Pilansberg), who were the original inhabitants of the Mapela area and who were defeated by the Langa and fled shortly before Mzilikazi arrived, about 1826.
What the sources say
Their totem is kgomo, domestic cattle, and Jackson records a praise poem for them that calls them “son of the creature with a horn”. The ward had about 200 households in 1968. One sub-headman, Laka, with 30 households, is said to be Phuthing (totem the duiker), though some link them to the rulers of the Seleka chiefdom, which they deny. Twenty-two Lemba households, the traditional ironsmiths and potters of the Langa, live in the ward (about p. 131).
Marriage ties with the Langa chiefs matter: Mogotlha Mabuela married Ramokone Langa, a daughter of Mankopane, and his grandson married a daughter of Chief Hans. The ward was under the regency of Jacob Mabuela, who is said not to be a Mabuela by birth (about p. 131). The Phalane who fled to the Pilansberg are the Phalane of Mokoka; the Langa and the Matlou disagree about who ruled the Phalane before the Langa came.
Cautions
Do not confuse the Mabuela with the Mabusela. Jackson was a government ethnologist, and his fieldwork at Mapela took about 100 days between 1962 and 1967; he says the opinions are his own. His present tense describes 1968. We read the book through machine OCR of a typed transcription, so names and numbers may contain errors, and page numbers are approximate.
Izithakazelo and totem
The book records the totem and praise poem of this ward where given above, but we are not printing them in full. If you belong to the Mabuela and recite your own izithakazelo or direto, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
See also Langa, Kekana and Ndzundza.
Do you belong to the Mabuela? 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.