Siyephu
The Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims, in its determination on the amaHlubi kingship claim, records that after Langalibalele I died in 1889 he was buried in the foothills of the Drakensberg, and that “Langalibalele’s son Siyephu took over the leadership of amaHlubi. He ruled until his death in 1910.” It says Langalibalele had been detained on Robben Island, exiled in Cape Town until 1887, allowed to return to Zwartkop in Natal under a form of house arrest, and never regained his power as king. Wikipedia’s list of Hlubi kings names “Siyephu (Mandiza)”, with a reign of 1897 to 1910; it lists no entry for 1889 to 1897. We do not know who led the Hlubi in those years, and the two sources do not say how Siyephu came to lead when Langalibalele died.
Succession
The Commission says Siyephu was followed, after a gap, by Tatazela kaSiyephu, who ascended in 1926 and died in 1956. Wikipedia’s article on Langalibalele II names Tatazela kaSiyephu as the father of the present Hlubi king, so Siyephu is his grandfather.
What we have not read
We have found no independent source for Siyephu: Wikipedia has no article on him that we could open (404). We have not read Wright and Manson’s The Hlubi Chiefdom (1983), Colenso (1875), Ndawo’s histories, or any account by his descendants. We do not know when he was born, whom he married, or how his authority was recognised by the colonial government.
Izithakazelo and totem
We found no recorded praises or totem for Siyephu, so we are printing none. If you belong to the Hlubi 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 amaHlubi kingship claim (pp. 503 to 533 of the PDF)
- Wikipedia: Hlubi Kings
- Wikipedia: Langalibalele II
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