Magagula in the Swazi record
Bonner treats the Magagula as the second most important group in central Swaziland after the Maseko, but far less united, with at least two chiefdoms: Moyeni at Bulandzeni, who quarrelled with his kinsman Mnjoli at the Mdzimba, each acting independently (p. 42).
What the books say
Bonner says Sobhuza, who chose the Mdzimba area for his new state, attacked Mnjoli’s branch of the Magagula early on, partly because the Magagula were rainmakers whose powers rivalled his claims to ritual pre-eminence (p. 97). He says the stronghold was taken by a stratagem suggested by a follower named Makhubu: smuggling soldiers in under cattle hides as the Magagula brought their cattle in at dusk (p. 42). He adds that later, under Mswati, the Magagula were still resentful of their defeat and expropriation (p. 43), that Mswati exchanged wives with both main Magagula chiefs (p. 46), and that Moyeni’s Magagula and some other chiefdoms were reduced in standing and placed under trusted royal officers (p. 97).
Sources and cautions
This page summarises two scholarly histories of the Swazi kingdom: Philip Bonner’s Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires (read from SAHO’s scanned PDF by OCR; page numbers below are PDF pages), and D. Hugh Gillis’s The Kingdom of Swaziland: Studies in Political History (read from SAHO’s scanned PDF by OCR; page numbers below are PDF pages). Bonner’s notes cite interviews with Magagula informants in 1970. We have not read them. The surname Magagula is common, and we claim no link between surname-holders and these chiefdoms.
We read these two books 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 other histories they cite (Matsebula, Bryant, Kuper, Stuart’s archive). Both books rely heavily on oral evidence collected in the 1970s from clan informants, and they present contested episodes from a particular scholarly point of view.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Magagula praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Magagula and recite your izithakazelo, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Philip Bonner: Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires (SAHO scan)
- D. Hugh Gillis: The Kingdom of Swaziland: Studies in Political History (SAHO scan)
- Wikipedia: Swazi people (clan lists)
Do you belong to the Magagula? 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.