adminThis week we begin the narratives on the fate of King Lobengula pertaining to the goings-on across the Zambezi River. The mighty river could be forded especially with the assistance of the Tonga who were fine boatmen. Through the help of the Tonga, Ndebele soldiers raided places in present day Zambia on the northern side of the river.
The one group across the river that the Ndebele were aware of were the Ngoni of King Zwangendaba Jele. This was a group which, like the Ndebele of King Mzilikazi, fled from KwaZulu-Natal during the time of Mfecane. The Ndebele would have been aware of their position across the Zambezi River. The two would have agreed on the borders beyond which they would not go raiding. The same arrangements were entered into with the Shangani nation which was to the east of the Ndebele state.
It is possible too that there was human traffic between the two sister Nguni states. Some Ndebele people probably crossed the Zambezi River to visit relatives in King Zwangendaba’s country. Reverse traffic was also possible. The narratives that we shall be furnishing suggest the Ndebele knew about the existence of the Ngoni people across the Zambezi River.
We begin with the narrative of Nsele Hlabangana, the man that we referred to in connection with the formation of Highlanders Football Club. We did point out then that his sister Hobile was married to Prince Dabengwa Khumalo the son of Prince Mhlambi Khumalo the son of King Lobengula. History tells us that King Lobengula married Mbhida, a daughter of Lodada Mkhwananzi who seemed to experience difficulty in conceiving. As per Ndebele customary practice in such circumstances the Mkhwananzis sent another daughter of theirs as surrogate wife to the king. The name of the maiden was Mfaziwamajaha Mkhwananzi.
No sooner had Mfaziwamajaha arrived at Lobengula’s place than Mbhida conceived after some gynaecological intervention by a traditional doctor from Gutu whose name was Nyamande. Practice was that the resulting baby was named after the gynaecologist. Hence King Lobengula’s son was named Nyamande after the traditional doctor from Gutu. We have in previous instalments on this column pointed out that in matters of spirituality the locals were not discriminated against. The traditional doctors were respected and their services sought after. Many Ndebele names bear testimony to this, e.g. Hole Masuku, Majinkila Mkhwananzi and Princess Sidambe Khumalo, another child of King Lobengula.
As it turned out Prince Mhlambi the son of Mfaziwamajaha was born later than Nyamande, King Lobengula’s favourite. It is here that a story is told about the two sons being put to test to see who was the more qualified to become the heir. Apparently, a dog was killed and its skin used to hold the test medicines, izanzoco. The two sons were to try to lift the bag containing the medicines. It was Prince Mhlambi who managed to lift the bag much to the disappointment of his father, the king. Note that at the time of birth of the two sons Lobengula was not king. However, it does appear that by the time the test was administered Lobengula had since become king.
Keen to get rid of Prince Mhlambi, King Lobengula is said to have placed the baby prince at the entrance of a cattle kraal in the hope the cattle would crush him to death. Instead, the cattle skirted the son and left him in one good and living piece. It was then that the not-so-liked prince was saved and banished from Matabeleland. He probably went to live among the Kalanga. This we surmise from the name of his son Dabengwa which is a Ndebelised Kalanga name Tabengwa, meaning “we are hated” and the name tallies with the narrated circumstances surrounding the challenges that Prince Mhlambi faced.
Later Dabengwa was recalled from where he grew up by Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo who then was living at Nkosikazi. As senior queen Lozikeyi would have known about the fate of Prince Mhlambi and the existence of his son Dabengwa. Dabengwa Khumalo then married Nsele Hlabangana’s sister Hobile as indicated above and their son was Greyson. Dabengwa died and was buried alongside Queen Lozikeyi Dlodlo at Nkosikazi.
Nsele reports how the marriage of Hobile and Dabengwa was strained because Dabengwa would simply disappear and go missing for extended periods without telling his wife about where he was going. Remember what we said about the Ndebele of yesteryear — they kept secrets even away from their own wives. Nsele, in an interview with this writer claimed the prolonged and inexplicable absences by Dabengwa were in actual fact visits to his own grandfather in King Mphezeni’s country across the Zambezi River. One would expect that the former king’s family would have known about the fate of the king who would have leaked information concerning his whereabouts.
Nsele Hlabangana’s connection with the royal family would have given him some information privy to royalty. Through this royal connection Nsele also got to know about some events taking place around Prince Tshakalisa also known as Sintinga who was a younger brother of Prince Nyamande. Prince Tshakalisa later lived on the southern bank of the Shangani River in Nkayi. His huts displayed Inyathi-inspired architecture. The missionaries at Inyathi did not adopt the circular architecture of the Ndebele but instead preferred the rectangular structures with hipped roofs.
Prince Tshakalisa, having come under the influence of the London Missionary Society (LMS), sent his two sons to Inyathi Mission to receive western education. Here we come across the ritual of naming and how it was used to document events surrounding the birth of his two sons. The two sons were at Inyathi Mission before the 1920s.
One of the sons was Dabulamanzi, literally meaning tearing the waters. However, the name meant Prince Tshakalisa was travelling through a country with vast water bodies, or crossing a vast river. It turns out, according to Nsele Hlabangana that Prince Tshakalisa like Dabengwa was travelling to King Mphezeni’s country to meet with his father, the former Ndebele king Lobengula.
Another of Prince Tshakalisa’s sons was Qedilizwe. Literally the name means “finish the country”. However, in a figurative sense it meant the Prince was travelling through vast lands. Once again, he was travelling long distances to meet with his father King Lobengula. The names of the two sons are a historical fact as there are other witnesses to the names.
The question now is, do we find knowledge about the purported King Lobengula’s presence among the people of King Mphezeni? It is to these people’s accounts that we turn in the next instalment.
Online Reporter