Ndamase
The Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims, in its determination on the position of the paramount chief of amaMpondo aseNyandeni, records that Ndamase was the first-born son of the right-hand house of Faku, and that Faku fathered Mqikela from the great house, who was the rightful heir to the Mpondo kingship. Wikipedia’s article on Faku says Ndamase commanded the Mpondo forces against the Zulu in 1824 and 1828; it also says that after tensions about 1845 he crossed the Mzimvubu and ruled the west semi-autonomously.
The lion skin and the move west
The Commission says that one day Ndamase killed a lion and was expected to hand the skin to Mqikela, his senior, as custom required, but refused, and that a fight followed between their supporters. It says that after the tensions Ndamase left Qaukeni and settled west of the Mzimvubu with Faku’s blessing, about 1845, and was to remain forever subordinate to the great house, sent by Faku to look after his people on the western side. (The Commission also says Faku himself crossed west of the Mzimvubu in the Mfecane wars of 1824 to 1828 and set up a Great Place near the Mngazi River before moving to Qaukeni.) The Wikipedia Faku article tells it as a political division of the kingdom; it does not mention the lion skin.
1878 and Nqwiliso
The Commission says Nqwiliso, Ndamase’s son and successor, was elevated to paramount chief of Western Pondoland in 1878 through the intervention of the colonialists, curtailing Mqikela’s powers, and that this was contrary to custom, because the son of the great house is senior to the son of the right-hand house. South African History Online instead names Victor Poto Ndamase as ruler of the west under Mqikela; Wikipedia says Tutor Ndamase was Victor Poto Ndamase’s son. We have not worked out how these names fit together.
What the commission decided
The Commission had already ruled that the paramountcy of amaMpondo aseNyandeni is not a kingship. It found that Ndamase could hold only the position of inkosi below the level of ikumkani, subordinate to his father, which the Framework Act calls a senior traditional leader; that the elevation of Nqwiliso and his descendants created a dual kingship, which was irregular; and that the irregularity continued with later paramount chiefs. Its conclusion is that the position of the late paramount chief, Tutor Ndamase, is that of senior traditional leader. It says the acting paramount chief, Bongolethu Ndamase, was appointed regent in July 1991 for her son Ndamase Ndamase, and that she did not take part in the hearing (Prince Mlamli Ndamase said so on her behalf, with a letter from her attorneys). Wikipedia says Tutor Ndamase (1921 to 1997) was King of Western Mpondoland and third President of Transkei, from 20 February 1986 to 26 April 1994; the Commission page does not discuss that office.
What we have not read
This is a contested succession and the western house disagrees with the Commission. We have not read the Commission’s earlier paramountcy determination, any court challenge or reaction from the Ndamase house, or Stapleton’s book on Faku, and we do not know who holds the position now. We found no Wikipedia article on the first Ndamase (the page at that title is a surname list).
Izithakazelo and totem
We found no recorded praises or totem for Ndamase, so we are printing none. If you belong to the Ndamase royal house and recite its izibongo, 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 amaMpondo aseNyandeni
- Wikipedia: Faku kaNgqungqushe
- Wikipedia: Tutor Ndamase
- South African History Online: Chief Mqikela dies
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