The Swazi (emaSwati, also Swati) are a Northern Nguni people of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and the eastern parts of South Africa’s Mpumalanga province. They speak siSwati, one of South Africa’s twelve official languages and, with English, an official language of Eswatini.
Origins
The ruling Dlamini clan traces its movement from the Tembe area near Delagoa Bay (Maputo) southward in the eighteenth century under Ngwane III, who is counted as the first king of the nation – which is why the Swazi also call themselves bakaNgwane. Under Sobhuza I the kingdom moved into the centre of present-day Eswatini and consolidated during the Mfecane; under Mswati II (r. c. 1840-1865), from whom the nation takes its name, it expanded to its greatest extent and built the age-regiment army.
The three groups of clans
Swazi society is traditionally described as three layers, by when a clan joined the nation:
- Bemdzabuko – the “true Swazi”: the Dlamini and the clans that travelled with them (Nkosi, Matsebula, Motsa, Ngwenya, Hlophe, Mabuza and others).
- Emakhandzambili – “those found ahead”: clans already living in the land when the Dlamini arrived and incorporated into the state, among them the Magagula, Mnisi, Gama, Maseko, Mahlangu, Gwebu and Ndzimandze.
- Emafikamuva – “those who came afterwards”: clans that arrived later, including some of Sotho, Tsonga or later Nguni origin.
This layered structure is central to Swazi identity and to questions of rank and land.
Kingship and ceremony
Eswatini is one of the world’s last governing monarchies. The king (Ingwenyama, “the Lion”) rules alongside the queen mother (Ndlovukati, “the She-Elephant”) in a dual arrangement. Two great national ceremonies anchor the year:
- iNcwala – the kingship or “first fruits” ceremony, held in mid-summer, in which the king is ritually renewed.
- Umhlanga – the reed dance, in which unmarried young women cut reeds and present them to the queen mother; it takes place in late winter.
Relationship to South Africa
A large Swazi population lives in Mpumalanga (around Barberton, Nkomazi and eKangala), and several South African traditional communities are Swazi. Cross-border family, cultural and trade ties with Eswatini remain strong.
Related peoples
The Swazi are closely related to the Zulu and Southern Ndebele; the Dlamini clan name is also found widely among the Zulu and Xhosa. Several emakhandzambili clans are shared with the Ndebele and Pedi.
Sources and further reading
- Hilda Kuper, An African Aristocracy: Rank Among the Swazi (1947) and The Swazi: A South African Kingdom (1963).
- Philip Bonner, Kings, Commoners and Concessionaires: The Evolution and Dissolution of the Nineteenth-Century Swazi State (1983).
Help us improve this page. If your clan is Swazi – bemdzabuko, emakhandzambili or emafikamuva – and you can share its tinanatelo (praises) and history, send us a WhatsApp on 065 138 8213 or use our contact page. We credit contributors who wish to be named.