Mpangazitha
The Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims, in its determination on the amaHlubi kingship claim, records that Mpangazitha was one of the three sons of Bungane, the Hlubi king under whom, it says, the amaHlubi ruled a larger territory than the Thembu and the Ndwandwe. When Mthimkhulu II died in 1818 in the war with Matiwane of the amaNgwane, the commission says Mpangazitha took over the leadership and the amaHlubi fled.
The Mfecane
The commission says Mpangazitha was involved in several Mfecane skirmishes and wars, fled to Lesotho with some followers, and died in a battle with the amaNgwane when he tried to return, which it dates to 1825. It says that some Hlubi clans found in the Eastern Cape and in Lesotho are his descendants, and that the name Phakaditha, common in Lesotho today, is the Sesotho version of Mpangazitha. Our Hlubi overview says some of the amaHlubi under him went west over the Drakensberg and carried the wars into the Caledon valley.
The commission uses this history in its finding that the amaHlubi were depleted and dispersed by the Mfecane wars before the colonial period: it says that when Mpangazitha fled to Lesotho with some followers, and again when he was killed attempting to return in 1825, the amaHlubi were further reduced. See the Langalibalele page for the commission’s conclusion.
What we have not found
This page rests on a single source. Wikipedia has no article on Mpangazitha that we could open, and we have not found an independent account of his life, his dates or his descendants. We are not printing any praise text or totem. If you belong to a Hlubi or Phakadithe family and know more, we would like to record it, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims: Determination on the amaHlubi kingship claim (pp. 516 to 517 and 496 of the PDF)
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