Madzikane
Wikipedia’s article on Madzikane calls him the founder and king of the amaBhaca and the son of Khalimeshe, a king of the Zelemu (its title and one passage give his patronymic as “kaZulu” instead, which we cannot reconcile). It says he ruled from 1801 until his death in December 1836 at Ngcobo, Eastern Cape, and was buried in the Gqutyini Forest. The article contradicts itself on his dates: its infobox gives 1801 to 1836, its succession box 1801 to 1824, and its death section “1828 to 1836”. We therefore do not print a reign. See Bhaca for the wider story and the Zelemu.
The article says his mother came from a Swati royal house and that he grew up among the Swati and spoke their language, and it names among his sons Sonyangwe, Ncapai (Ncapayi), Chitha, Bhekezulu, Dliwakho, Mafingila, Sontsi, Matiwane and Ngamlana.
Wars and the move south
According to the article, in the upheavals of the Mfecane the amaBhaca moved into Thembuland and attacked the amaTshatshu and the abaThembu, after which the Xhosa paramountcy, the abaThembu and the amaMpondomise combined to crush them. It also claims Madzikane’s forces defeated Shaka’s army at the Nunge or Ntsizwa mountains; South African History Online’s article on the period says the Qwabe leader Nqetu, after fleeing to Pondoland, was killed by Ncapayi, but does not mention Madzikane. It says Madzikane advised his son to serve as a tributary king in Mpondoland under Faku. We have not found these claims in an independent source.
Sons and succession
The article says his firstborn, Crown Prince Sonyangwe, was burned to death in his hut at night by traitors of the Memela, vassals of the amaBhele clan under Mdingi, before becoming king; that Ncapai, the second son, was crowned after Madzikane’s death but was supposed to share the throne with Sonyangwe’s heir because Sonyangwe had left two sons in Natal, Mdutyane and Thiba; and that Mdutyane was crowned over the Bhaca clans after Ncapai’s death. This differs from the Bhaca article, which lists Sonyangwe among the kings. We print the account as Wikipedia’s.
What we have not read
The article cites Soga (1878), Hammond-Tooke, Theal, Bryant, Jordan (1953) and A. M. Makaula (1988), none of which we have read, and it says a source it cites for the Mpondo link does not appear to support the claim it is attached to. It is tagged as needing more citations. Several claims rest on Bhaca tradition and a family’s own accounts, which we have no way to check. The Rhodes University thesis on the political history of the Bhaca (not readable for us) is the obvious next source.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no praises or totem for Madzikane because none has been confirmed. If you are Bhaca and recite his praises, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Madzikane (tagged; internally inconsistent dates)
- South African History Online: Political changes from 1750 to 1835
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