Gamedze in the Swazi record
Bonner names the Gamedze among the earlier-settled chiefdoms attacked by Mswati’s forces (PDF p. 97), and among those which, with the Thabede, Mavimbela, Mngometfulo and one section of the Mahlalela, were subjected to physical attacks aimed at bringing them under closer political and probably economic control (p. 99).
What the book says
A note (p. 272) records Swazi oral traditions that Mbilini, a prince highly regarded by Mswati, was assigned leadership of the Imigadlela regiment and given the privilege of leading it in an attack on the Gamedze chiefdom, which lay on the Lusutfu River near present-day Sipofaneni. Bonner cites that note in a discussion of Mbilini’s standing; the same traditions, he says, even allege that Mswati meant Mbilini to be his successor, which he treats as an oral claim.
Bonner’s notes cite a 1970 interview with Gamedze informants, Mhawu Gamedze and Loshine Gamedze, at Mandlenya. We did not find the Gamedze account of the attack in the book.
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). The surname Gamedze is common and we claim no link between surname-holders and this chiefdom. The Gamedze are different from the Gama of the Mdzimba mountains (see our Gama page).
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 Gamedze praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Gamedze and recite your izithakazelo, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
See also Maziya, Sifundza, Ngwenya and Dlamini.
Do you belong to the Gamedze? 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.