Ligegise in the sources
Ligegise (also Legegisa, with the title Ramarumo) ruled the Tshivhase house from 1867 until about 1901 or 1902. The Commission writes his name Morwale Legegise Mankili-Mankili and says he was the son and successor of Tshivhase Raluswielo; in the Luonde account he is the youngest son of Luvhengo.
What the sources say
The Tshivhase house told the Commission that he reigned from 1867 to 1902 (p. 625). Fokwang says he moved the capital from Miluwani to Mukumbani, the present Tshivhase capital, while Luonde says his father had already moved the residence to Mukumbani, and that Ligegise invited Lutheran missionaries to Maungani (the Beuster mission). Luonde adds that rivals to the throne could not get the support of the Ramabulana or Mphaphuli houses, who recognised Ligegise, and its Ha-Rambuda page says Vele Rambuda refused to pay tribute to Ligegise, whom he dismissed as a youth (see Rambuda). He is said to have died in 1901, and to have expanded the territory, including villages under Ravhura of Makonde (see Ravhura).
The Commission rejected the Tshivhase house’s argument that the apartheid government wrongly elevated the Ramabulana house, finding that the elevation was in line with custom because the Ramabulana were the most senior of Vele-la-Mbeu’s descendants. See our Makhado page for the rival king of Ligegise’s time.
Overview article
His part in the Dzimauli war is told in The Venda succession wars of the 1880s.
Cautions
The details of the reign come largely from a community site. The dates 1901 and 1902 for his death differ slightly between sources. The Tshivhase house’s history is told differently by the Commission’s record, local oral history and academic work, and the dates and names do not always agree; where they differ we say so and take no side.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Ligegise praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Tshivhase house and recite its praises, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims: Determination on the Vhavenda kingship claim (the Tshivhase house’s account, pp. 622 to 627, and findings, pp. 645 to 648)
- Luonde: Ha-Tshivhasa (community site; no author, date or sources given, so treat as unverified oral history)
- J. T. D. Fokwang, thesis (2003), University of Pretoria electronic theses, chapter 2, “Historical background to the Tshivhase chiefdom, Venda” (read by us in this chapter only)
- Wikipedia: Venda Kingdom (lists of Tshivhase rulers; it cites Loubser 2024, Beach 1980 and others)
See also Tshivhase, Masingo and Ramabulana.
Do you belong to the Tshivhase house? 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.