Thabede in the Swazi record
Bonner says two groups of the Lubombo flats, the Thabede and the Ndzimandze, held the lowlands below the mountain chiefdoms of the Mahlalela, Maziya, Sifundza and Masilela, in what he calls the Tsonga or partly Tsonga-ised Sotho east of Sobhuza’s new state (PDF p. 42).
What the book says
He lists the Thabede among the chiefdoms attacked by Mswati’s forces (p. 97) and among those subjected to physical attacks to bring them under closer control (p. 99). In his discussion of captives in the Swazi economy he says the Thabede were attacked and made captive during Mswati’s reign, and that the children taken in such raids were often sold in the Transvaal, which he says seems to be exactly what happened in the Thabede case (p. 91).
In a note (p. 266) Bonner adds that there were two Thabede chiefdoms: the one that survived untouched probably did so at the expense of the neighbouring Thabede chiefdom that was decimated. His note cites 1970 interviews with Magagula and Fakudze informants for this, not Thabede informants, so it is an outsiders’ account of the Thabede. We found no Thabede account of these events in the book.
Sources and cautions
This page summarises Philip Bonner’s Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires (read from SAHO’s scanned PDF by OCR; page numbers are PDF pages). Bonner’s evidence on the Thabede is brief and, in the case of the raid and captives, indirect. The surname Thabede is also common and we claim no link between surname-holders and these chiefdoms.
We read this book only through machine OCR of a scanned copy, so names and dates may contain OCR errors, and we have not checked them against the printed pages or against the oral and archival sources Bonner cites. His chapters rest on oral evidence collected in the 1970s and present contested episodes from a scholarly point of view. We did not find these clans in Gillis’s book.
Izithakazelo and totem
We are printing no Thabede praises or totem because none has been confirmed. If you belong to the Thabede and recite your izithakazelo, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
See also Maziya, Sifundza, Ngwenya and Dlamini.
Do you belong to the Thabede? 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.