Mhwaduba in the sources
Mhwaduba, also written Mrhwaduba, is named as a son of the Ndebele king Musi. The Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims lists eight sons of the Ndebele king Musi: Manala, Ndzundza, Masombuka, Dlomo, Skosana, Mhwaduba, Mphaphuli and Mthombeni. South African History Online lists five (Manala, Masombuka, Ndzundza, Mathombeni and Dhlomu). The sources agree on the first-born sons of the two main houses, Manala and Ndzundza, and differ on the rest.
What the sources say
The Commission lists Mhwaduba among the brothers who later joined the Ndzundza. Wikipedia tells a different story: it says his descendants stayed with the Manala at KwaMnyamana for about seven generations, that a drought in the late 1700s led one descendant, known to the Voortrekkers as “Pete”, to move the people near Schuinsdraai in Limpopo, and that after Mzilikazi arrived the remnant settled among the Masetla Bakgatla and were gradually absorbed. It adds that a man called Tshwane was possibly a Mhwaduba descendant who stayed behind near the Hennops River.
The Tshwane claim is hedged even in the Wikipedia article, and we have not seen a second source for any of it. See our Manala and Ndzundza pages.
Cautions
The Commission and Wikipedia place the Mhwaduba with different houses. We found no Mhwaduba praise text or totem.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Mhwaduba praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Mhwaduba and recite your izithakazelo, 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 Ndzundza-Mabhoko (section 5.1, Musi and his sons)
- Wikipedia: Southern Ndebele people (tagged as needing more inline citations)
Do you belong to the Mhwaduba? 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.