Makwakwa in the sources
Junod says the Maluleke are, according to native historians, one half of a larger clan called the Nwanati, whose second half is settled near the mouth of the Limpopo under the name of the Makwakwa of Khambane and Ndindane. Wikipedia’s Tsonga people article lists the Makwakwa under the VaN’wanati, with the Maluleke, Mondlane and Xivambu.
What the sources say
Junod relates the tradition of how the name arose (about pp. 21 to 22). The Baloyi and Nwanati, both said to have come from the Nyai (Kalanga) country in the north, travelled south along an old road to the coast near the mouth of the Limpopo. The Baloyi, frightened by the sea, went back north. The Nwanati had found a round, hard-shelled fruit called makwakwa and chose to stay and eat it; the name Makwakwa was then given to the Nwanati who remained. Junod adds that the Maluleke, led by their ancestor Mashakatsi, a hunter, broke away from their brethren and returned north to found their dynasty. He calls these legendary traits, but takes the northern origin itself as probably true. See our Maluleke and Baloyi pages.
He also notes that the Nwanati with the Makwakwa, Khambane and Ndindane form one of three sub-divisions of the Hlengwe group, bordering the Chopi to the north and west (about p. 18).
Cautions
This is a tradition recorded from native historians in about 1912, not a proven history. Junod wrote in 1912 in his own spelling and from a missionary’s viewpoint, so the match between his clan names and today’s surnames is by sound and is our inference. We found no confirmed totem or praise text for the Makwakwa. Page numbers for Junod are approximate, read from machine-scanned text.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Makwakwa totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Makwakwa and recite your praises (miLao), we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Henri A. Junod, The Life of a South African Tribe, vol. 1, The Social Life (Neuchatel, 1912), read in the Internet Archive scan; a missionary ethnography of the Thonga (Tsonga), using his own spellings
- Wikipedia: Tsonga people (its post-1890 community list has no inline citation)
Do you belong to the Makwakwa? 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.