NDWANDWE AND THE NGONI

Author(s): G. Nurse
Source: The Society of Malawi Journal, Vol. 26, No. 1 (January, 1973), pp. 7-14
Published by: Society of Malawi - Historical and Scientific
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and

ndwandwe

NDWANDWE

the

ngoni

AND THE NGONI

G. Nurse
of Malawi
from the extinct
origin of all the "true" Ngoni
of
Ndwandwe
is
tentatively suggested by Omer-Cooper
kingdom

The

(1966) and dogmaticallyaffirmedby Rangeley (1966). Rangeley's

account has obvious origins among the traditions of the Ngoni of

Mzimba
district, though it differs in a number of details from the
conflation of traditional accounts collected by Chibambo
(1965).

Unlike Rangeley, Read

(1954) supplies the names of her in?

and provides a literal translation of their statements.

Jere refused to support
to her sources, Zwangendaba
According
of
his
in
the
Ndwandwe,
Zwinde,
quarrel with Shaka, and it
king
was only on his departure from Ndwandwe,
taking with him a
number of supporters, principally his kinsfolk, that he became an
autonomous
chief. He is said by Owen (1833) to have come to the
and Tembe,
lower reaches of the Limpopo
by way of Maputa
areas near the coast of which is today sometimes called "Tonga
He does not seem to have
land" in north-eastern Zululand.
entered Swazi country at all.
formants

of the Maseko
Ngoni was, it
impetus for the migration
also
transmitted
appears,
though many of the
through Ndwandwe,
clan
migrants, and their leader, came from Swaziland. The Msane
under Nxaba was defeated by Shaka, and leaving their homeland
to the
crossed Ndwandwe
just to the west of Lake St. Lucia,
eastern
Swaziland
into
and
thence
River
(Bryant, 1929)
Pongola
where they found refuge among the Sotho remnant which had
the Nguni
language and culture after the campaigns of
adopted
Ishmael Mwale,
the official
Sobhuza
1966).
(Omer-Cooper,
II Maseko,
informed Read
historian of Paramount Chief Gomani
(Read, 1954) and many years later confirmed in conversation with
the
the present writer (Mwale,
Maseko,
1967) that Ngwana
so
a
was
of
chieftain to whom Nxaba
fled,
apprehensive
punitive
The

expeditionby Shaka thathe decided thathe, too, shouldflee; and,

in companywithNxaba, did so. This probably signifiesthat the

who according to Bryant, did claim Ntungwa

Maseko,
origin, and
stock with the Zulu, were well
to be of common
consequently
within the range of Shaka's armies and not as completely protected
as one might suppose. On the
of Sobhuza
by the overlordship
to the present author by the
other hand, the tradition mentioned
of theNzunga
late Induna Robert Golozera
clan, and recorded by

him elsewhere (Nurse, 1966) to the effectthatNxaba was a

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THE

SOCIETY

OF MALAWI

JOURNAL

does not appear substantiable. The Usutu

neighbour of Ngwana,
lived is at some distance from Lake St.
Valley where theMaseko
Lucia, though it could still be said to border on Ndwandwe.
There are few indications of how far the realm of Zwide
extended. The area known as Ndwandwe
today consists of the
to the north and east of the Black Mfolozi
segment of Zululand
the part to the south of Lake St.
River, excluding, apparently,
Lucia but extending vaguely northwards across the Mankatini
to take in part, and probably
Flats east of the Ubombo Mountains
and Tembe country included in what is now
all, of the Mabaso
At present the term seems to have only a traditional
"Tongaland".
and historical significance. The Mabaso
tribe, of which Zwide
was a member, maintains a certain prestige and holds a
Nxumalo
good deal of the political power.
I have recently, in the course of field work inNdwandwe,
had an
a
to
make
few
to
the
enquiries relating
opportunity
origins of the
These consisted in the main of questions about
Ngoni of Malawi.
the modern existence in the area of representatives of clans found
among both divisions of theMalawi
Ngoni;
excluding, of course,
those clans known to have been assimilated during the northward
journey. The informants were mainly izinduna of Chief Bhukwane,
whose court is situated just to the south of Lake Sibayi. Of these,
sources of information were
the principal
izinduna Horace
and Sikonyane Mavundla.
Mr.
J. Seme, the excellent
Nxumalo
and
me, is a native of Ndwandwe,
interpreter who accompanied
supplied me with a considerable quantity of information, while the
as
staff of the mission hospital at Mseleni
answered my questions
fully as they could.
The

standard

lists of Ngoni

clan-names

inMalawi

are those of

Cullen Young (1932),Hodgson (1933) and Read (1954).The listof

is, of course, applicable

Young
only to the northern Jere
relates entirely to the Chi were and
kingdom, while that of Hodgson
Nsakambewa
chieftaincies of Dowa
district. Read
sorts her list
into two independent moieties,
that relating to the northern Ngoni
and that to the central each being divided according to the occur?
Cullen

renceof theclan-name in the listsofKuper (1947) and Bryant. The

present author is in the process of preparing further lists for

These four lists have been
(Nurse, in preparation).
publication
with
data
assembled
from
informants in Ndwandwe,
compared
and with additional
clan-names
from the registers of Mseleni

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NDWANDWE

AND

THE

NGONI

area, a little to the west of

Hospital, which lies in Chief Bhukwane's
Lake Sibayi and about a mile from the main road connecting the
two district administrative centres of Ubombo
and Ingwavuma.
The results of the comparison are set out below:
Clan-names

found among Malawi

Jere Ngoni:

Ngoni
Maseko

and inmodern Ndwandwe:

Mngomezulu

Ngoni:
Mngomezulu

Ngwenya
Ndlovu
Nkambule

Ngwenya
Magagula
Mashabana

Muyeni
Ndluli

Mgabi
Msane

Zulu

Mabaso

Mhlongo
Mhlanga
Chongwe

Zulu

(Masawani)

Magwagwa

Mthombeni
Malinga
Msimango

In addition, the name Dube is found in theMaseko

area, and is
said by the older men to be "the same as MbonambV\ Mbonambi
seems, however, never to be used in Malawi,
though it and its
or address
an
name
isitakazelo
is
which
Mbuyazi,
companion
are very common
Xulu
is also
name for Dube,
in Ndwandwe.
where the form Buyeni or
but not Malawi,
found in Ndwandwe
to have replaced
the
it among
its isitakazelo, appears
Bieni,
a
as
is
used
clan
In
district
Mzimba
Maseko
Nyambose
people.
it is the isitakazelo of theMtetwa
in Ndwandwe
name, whereas
and Manzini
clan. Gumede, Qwabe
represent one of the most
Gumede is among the praise-names
ancient stocks in Ndwandwe;
and is also the isitakazelo of the
of the Maseko
Paramount,
orMasawani
clan of theMaseko
Mashabana
Ngoni.
is found in modern
the Jele clan nor the Maseko
Neither
to create an august
Ndwandwe.
attempts have been made
Many
was
states
that
Zwangendaba
(1966)
past for the former. Rangeley
of
the
abakwa
son
division
of
the
Kumalo
of
"the
Mbekwane,
doubt on
Nxumalo
clan;" an assertion which casts considerable
or
the authenticity of his sources. Most accounts name Hlatshwayo
was
Mbekane
the
as the father of Zwangendaba;
Hlacwayo
of
is not a "division"
and Kumalo
father of Nxaba
Msane;
common
Mabaso.
a
from
The
it
shares
but
with
Nxumalo
origin
house that
present author has been told by scions of the Jere royal

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10

THE

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was of the paternal family of Zwide, who was

Zwangendaba
but this seems very unlikely, as the prestige attaching to
Nxumalo;
of that clan was and is great, and the name would not
membership

be lightlydiscarded. The counsellors of Chief Bhukwane,when I

them, repudiated any connection of the name or clan of

questioned
Jele with Nxumalo,
though one of them maintained,
despite
contradictions from the rest, that a minor division of theMabaso,
side of the Pongola River, is known as Jele.
living on the Transvaal

Cullen Young's

(1932) fanciful suggestion that Zwangendaba

called Qeko
is
sprang from a powerful family of aristocrats
contradicted by the omission of any mention of a clan of that name

in Bryant (1929). Bryant does, however, suggestquite plausibly

that Zwangendaba
may have come from the Gumbi clan, which has
Jele for isitakazelo.

On the other hand, theMaseko,

though not of great prominence,
do appear to have comprised the ruling stock of the Usutu Valley
at least since the consolidation
of Swazi power, and probably
before it. The name is not only common among the Swazi;
it is
also found in Lesotho. The latter provenance
is probably due to
the scattering of theNatal Nguni during theMfecane
period, when
a number of refugees from Shaka
crossed
the Drakensberg
(Mse6enzi,
1938). There are still in the Usutu Valley Maseko
chiefs whose funeral rites are similar to those described by Rattray
as taking place after the death of Cikusi Maseko
at Luwisini
in
It therefore seems improbable that at any point in their
Malawi.
should, as Rangeley
claims, have been
journey the Maseko
to the Jere, or, as Archdeacon
subordinate
Johnson (1922) states,
should ever have assumed the name Jere as a means of enhancing
their prestige. It is not likely that a lineage recognized as chiefly
would submit to or emulate one of obscure origin simply because
of a single outstanding leader, when that leader's antecedents were
so uncertain. Furthermore,
in grafting Ngoni polity on the social
and ritual structure of theMaravi
among whom they have settled,
the two clans have become associated with polar opposites. Jere is
now associated
is that of secular
with the Phiri clan, which

authority,whileMaseko
spiritual and magical

is associated throughNgozo with the

influences of the Banda

tion;Langworthy, 1972).

(Nurse,

Each of the divisions of theNgoni ofMalawi

clans which are represented

three are common to both;

in prepara?

includeseleven

Of the eleven,
inmodern Ndwandwe.
but these three are also among those

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NDWANDWE

AND

THE

NGONI

11

are most frequently met with. In both the

which in Ndwandwe
northern Jere and the central Maseko
there are a
kingdoms
number of undoubtedly Nguni clans other than those mentioned
in
the lists, and which seem to have been collected from Nguni
territories other than Ndwandwe.
A few of these, such as Gama,
occur among the followers of
Gausi
and Mlangeni,
(Gcabashe)
and the Jere. A number, however, are found only
both theMaseko
in one kingdom or the other.
The harrowing of the small Nguni
tribes and clans during the
must
to
led
have
segments of many becoming
Mfecane
breakaway
to any emigrant party powerful enough to give some
attached
protection, and it is not easy to appraise the significance of the
present-day distribution of clans; but in wars of raiding-parties
bent on plunder and not equipped
with firearms the overall
has
been
for
those
if they are poor
attacked,
tendency
always
enough and insignificant enough, to return to their homes when the
danger is over. It seems probable that the names extant inmodern
do represent to a great extent the population
Ndwandwe
of a
hundred and fifty years ago. That theNxumalo have survived and
flourished in the same area since the death of Zwide supports this
the most powerful clan would have been that in
supposition;
greatest danger of suppression, and since itwas not suppressed, it is
unlikely that lesser clans would have been made to suffer instead.
can consequently
The outset of the two migrations
be re?
constructed rather tentatively as follows:
1. The Jele Ngoni. The Jele division of the Gumbi clan, starting
area or from the headwaters
either from the Pongola
of the
or
non
Hluhluwe
members
of
River, accompanied
by
attracting
clans to the south or west, and moving either east and
Ndwandwe
north or due north across Ndwandwe
into the Ronga country west
of Lourenco Marques;
assimilating Mngomezulu,
Ngwenya, Zulu,
Ndlovu, Mtetwa, Mhlongo, Nkambule, Ndluli, Mabaso,
Mhlanga,
Chongwe and Muyeni recruits and/or captives from among the local

Nguni, and eventuallyby theadditionofTonga and Shona growing

into an army large enough to fight their way further north.
2. The Maseko
clan led by Nxaba
from the
Ngoni. The Msane
west of Lake St. Lucia, sweeping through Ndwandwe
in a direction
Zulu,
just west of north, taking with them on the way Mngomezulu,

Ngwenya,
Mbonambi,
Msimango,

Mashabana,
Xulu,
Magagula,
Mgabi,
Magwagwa,
and possibly
the half-Sotho
Mthombeni,
Malinga
in
who may, however, have entered the migration

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12

THE

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and followers representative of

Swaziland;
joined by theMaseko
various Swazi clans in the Usutu Valley;
first north?
proceeding
east against Soshangane,
to the Lozi country, and
then westward
eastward again; with a shortage of food leading to an eventual
division
Maseko
amicable
cf forces between Magadlela
and
went towards the upper Zambesi
Nxaba,
following which Nxaba
and Magadlela
made for the Nyungwe
country near Tete.
f'

,1

invasions of theMaravi
and
Separate origins for the two Ngoni
If the only
lands may, at first sight, seem improbable.
Tumbuka
contact between
the battle fought
the migrating
parties was
and theMaseko
inGazaland
between Zwangendaba
(Read, 1954;

Omer-Cooper, 1966),why should theyboth havemoved across the

Zambesi
into Malawi
close to one another?

and
This

eventually have settled comparatively

geographical
propinquity must, inmy

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NDWANDWE

AND

THE

NGONI

13

opinion, have been responsible for a quantity of the misapprehen?

of the
sions perpetuated
by early writers. Yet a consideration
historical situation in the 1820's and 1830's in Southern Africa
was not
goes a long way towards explaining them. The Mfecane
went westwards
the Maseko
confined to the Nguni. When
they

trespassedon theNdebele kingdom latelysetup byMzilikazi; but

skirting it to the north meant that they confronted theKololo power

of Sebetoane just after the conquest of the Luyana had been con?
solidated. For a large party to cross the Zambesi in the inhospitable
Falls
and
the Victoria
and gorge-obstructed
valley between
Zumbo was virtually impossible, while from there to Kebrabassa
and Tete the Portuguese were in tenuous but threatening posses?
to encounter Soshangane,
with
sion. To move
eastwards was
whom an unsuccessful battle had already been fought. A shortage
of food led the party to divide, and resulted in the death of Nxaba
at the hands of the Kololo.
The safest direction leftwas the route
across
Tete and Sena, where the plains
between
Zambesi
the
taken,
around
the river were too broad and swampy for the thinly
to control effectively, and so northwards into
scattered Portuguese
the territories of the disintegrating Malawi
empire.
this direction had been taken a year or two earlier by
would not have been a deterrent. Neither party
Zwangendaba
could have been particularly numerous, and theMaseko may even
have been encouraged by rumours of the success of the Jere. It
must have been well known that no effective organized resistance
could be anticipated
from the uncoordinated
chiefdoms which
The
ofMalawi.
owed nominal allegiance to the powerless Kalonga
main opposition
that was to be feared was from the other Ngoni;
and it is one of the most remarkable features of Malawi
history
that, with the exception of the encounter in the Songeya country
1969; Omer-Cooper,
1966), there was never, once the
(cf. Nurse,
Zambesi was crossed, either alliance or war between the Jere and
theMaseko.
That

Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Professor J.H. S. Gear, Director, and Professor
J. F. Murray, Deputy Director of the South African Institute for

Medical Research, for facilitieswhich made this studypossible;

of the
and theNational Research Institute forNutritional Diseases
Research Council of South Africa for financial support of
Medical
which was concerned primarily with
my field-work inNdwandwe,
area.
in
of
theMseleni
disease
hip.
investigation

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THE

14

OF MALAWI

SOCIETY

JOURNAL

REFERENCES
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Bryant,

(1929) Olden

Yesaya

Chibambo,

inZululand

Times

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(1965) Makani

gha Wangoni.
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Cullen
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and