The right-hand house
The Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims, in its determination on the abaThembu baseRhoda, records that Kaizer Daliwonga Matanzima, whom it names as the paramount chief, was a descendant of Rhaxoti Matanzima, the first-born son of the right-hand house of Mtirara, one of the Thembu kings. It repeats the history of Ngubengcuka, Nonesi and Mtirara told on our Dalindyebo page, and says Mtirara’s sons were Ngangelizwe, Rhaxoti Matanzima and Mfanta.
Emigrant Thembuland
The commission says that after the amaGcaleka vacated the land around St Marks (now Cofimvaba), the colonial government in 1865 allocated it to the residents of Tambookie Location. The relocation was accepted by the leaders of four clans: Rhaxoti Matanzima of the amaHala, Ndarala of the amaNdungwane, Gecelo of the amaGcina and Stokwe of the amaQwathi. Nonesi refused to move and was banished to Libode. The area became Emigrant Thembuland, made up of the districts of Cofimvaba and Xhalanga, with Lady Frere added later. As the son of the reigning king, Rhaxoti was considered senior to the other leaders there, and the commission calls him the first most senior leader of the community that became the abaThembu baseRhoda.
Succession to Kaizer Matanzima
Rhaxoti was succeeded by Mhlobo and then Mvuzo. Mvuzo died while his heir, Kaizer Daliwonga Matanzima, was a minor, and Dalubuhle was regent. Under the Black Authorities Act of 1951 Emigrant Thembuland became a regional authority, with Kaizer Matanzima as its chairperson, and the area was later called Western Thembuland. He was appointed paramount chief of Western Thembuland on 1 April 1966. His heir apparent, Mthetho Matanzima, died before him, and Kaizer Matanzima died in June 2003. The commission names as his successor in title his grandson, Lwandile Zwelenkosi Matanzima, the son of Mthetho.
What the commission decided
The commission found that, as first-born of the right-hand house, Rhaxoti could hold only the position of inkosi, below the level of ikumkani (king), and that his traditional leadership was always subordinate to that of his father Mtirara’s great house. It found that, apart from Kaizer Matanzima, Rhaxoti’s successors continued to respect the Dalindyebo house as their seniors, and that the elevation of Kaizer Matanzima in 1966 to a status equal to King Sabata Dalindyebo created a dual kingship that was not in line with Thembu custom. It concluded that the position held by the late Kaizer Daliwonga Matanzima “was that of senior traditional leader”, and that his descendants could inherit only that position. It also recorded that colonial and apartheid interference had caused confusion on seniority. This page does not cover events after the determination, and we have not read any response from the Matanzima house.
Izithakazelo (iziduko) and totem
We have not found a published Matanzima praise text or a confirmed totem, so we are not printing either. If you belong to the Matanzima house or the amaHala and recite the 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 position of the paramount chief of abaThembu baseRhoda (pp. 58 to 71 of the PDF)
Our Thembu page has the wider history.
Do you belong to the Matanzima 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.