The origin traditions
Two sources give traditions of where the Thembu came from, and they do not match. The Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims, in its determination on the abaThembu bakwaDalindyebo, says Thembu had two sons, Ndilo and Mvelase. Mvelase broke away and founded his own community at Qhudeni in KwaZulu-Natal, while Ndilo moved south with the rest and settled between the Umzimkhulu River and the Cape Colony. Wikipedia says Xhosa oral tradition holds that the Hala clan travelled down the east coast before settling in KwaZulu-Natal, names an early ancestor Mbulali, and has uMthembu leading people to Dedesi. That article carries maintenance tags and leans on blogs and videos for these claims, so we treat them as tradition only.
Nxeko and the kingship
The commission lists Ndilo’s line as Ntongakazi, Bhomoyi, Cedume, Mnquti, Ntoyi, Ntande and Nxeko, who was followed by Dlomo after the defeat of Dlomo’s brother Hlanga at Msana. It records that the amaNdungwana, amaXesibe and amaMpondomise helped Dlomo against Hlanga. Dlomo was succeeded by Hala, Madiba, Tato, Zondwa and Ndaba, who reigned from 1756 to 1800. The commission found that the Thembu kingship was established by Nxeko by assimilating, accommodating and merging fugitive clans who accepted his rule, and that the formerly independent communities adopted the language and culture of the Thembu.
Ngubengcuka and the refuge
The commission says that during the reign of Ngubengcuka, Ndaba’s heir, from 1800 to 1832, many formerly independent communities sought refuge among the Thembu because of the war in Natal and the Mfecane invasions. It names the amaNqabe, amaGcina, amaHegebe, amaQwathi, amaNqandama, amaTshezi, amaTshomane and amaMfengu. (Elsewhere in the same document it gives his death as 1830, so the dates are loose.) Wikipedia says that during his reign a joint army of the amaHala and amaQwathi fought the Basotho. See our Qwathi and Mfengu pages.
Hala and Madiba
Hala and Madiba both appear in the commission’s list of Thembu kings. Wikipedia says Nelson Mandela’s father was a nobleman from a junior branch of the amaMadiba clan of kings. The “Hala” name survives in the amaHala, the people led by Rhaxoti Matanzima’s house (see Matanzima).
Two houses and one kingship
After Ngubengcuka the line divided into the great house of Dalindyebo and the right-hand house of Matanzima. The commission found that the kingship of the abaThembu exists and that it resorts under the lineage of Dalindyebo, and that the Matanzima house does not dispute that it is genealogically junior. It also found that the 1966 elevation of Kaizer Daliwonga Matanzima to a status equal to the king created a dual kingship that was not in line with Thembu customary law. Wikipedia says the Eastern Thembu great house is at Bumbane in Mthatha and the Western Thembu at Qamata, near Cofimvaba.
Izithakazelo (iziduko) and totem
We have not found a published Thembu praise text or a confirmed totem, so we are not printing either. If you belong to the abaThembu and recite the praises, 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 abaThembu bakwaDalindyebo (pp. 162 to 174 of the PDF)
- Wikipedia: Thembu people (tagged for needing citations and a rewrite)
Do you belong to the abaThembu? Tell us your iziduko, 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.