| Languages | |
|---|---|
| Nguni languages (IsiXhosa,IsiZulu,Siswati,Ndebele) Afrikaans,English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity and (uThixo orQamata) Unkulunkulu | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Sotho-Tswana peoples,Tsonga people,Khoisan,San people andNgoni people |
TheNguni people are anethnolinguistic group ofBantu ethnic groups native toSouthern Africa where they form the single largest ethnolinguistic community.
Predecessors of Nguni people migrated fromCentral Africa intoSouthern Africa during thelate Iron Age, with offshoots in neighboring colonially-created countries in Southern Africa.[1]Swazi (or Swati) people live in both South Africa andEswatini, while Ndebele people live in bothSouth Africa andZimbabwe.
TheXhosa, local to theEastern Cape, established tribal sub-federations—theGcaleka,Rharhabe, andGqunukhwebe—in the 16th century. The homeland of the Xhosa people is marked by lands in the Eastern Cape from the Gamtoos River up toUmzimkhulu near Natal, bordered by the frontier of an expandingDutch Cape Colony.
Both theMatabele of Western Zimbabwe and theNgoni migrated northward out of South Africa in the early 19th century, during a politically tumultuous era that included theMfecane andGreat Trek.
In South Africa, the regions historically comprising the territories of the Ndebele, Swazi, Xhosa, and Zulu Kingdoms are located in the latter-day provinces of theEastern Cape,Gauteng,KwaZulu-Natal,Limpopo andMpumalanga. The most notable of these kingdoms are theZulu Empire founded byShaka, a warrior-king whoseconquest took place in the early nineteenth century, and theXhosa Kingdom, infamous for its belligerence in theFrontier Wars.
Overall, the Nguni cultural group is made up of theabaMbo, AmaLala (Mthethwa Paramountcy), AmaNtungwa (Zulu), AmaHlubi (Radebe),Xhosa, AmaThonga (Ndwandwe),Ngoni,Swati andNdebele ethnic groups.
In Zimbabwe, theNdebele people live primarily in the province ofMatabeleland.[1]
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Most of what is believed about ancient Nguni history comes from oral history and legends. Traditionally, their partial ancestors are said to have migrated to Africa'sGreat Lakes region from the north.[2] According to linguistic evidence and historians (including John H. Robertson, Rebecca Bradley, T. Russell, Fabio Silva, and James Steele), some of the ancestors of the Nguni people migrated from west of the geographiccentre of Africa[3] towards modern-daySouth Africa 7000 years ago (5000 BCE).[4][5][6][7] Nguni ancestors had migrated within South Africa to present-day KwaZulu-Natal by the 1st century CE and were also present in theTransvaal region at the same time.[8][9][10][11] These partially nomadic ancestors of the modern Nguni people brought with them sheep, cattle, goats, and horticultural crops, many of which had never been used in South Africa at that time.[12][9]
Other provinces in present-day South Africa, such asthe Cape, saw the emergence of Nguni speakers around the same time.[13] Some groups split off and settled along the way, while others kept going. Thus, the following settlement pattern formed: the southern Ndebele in the north, the Swazi in the northeast, the Xhosa in the south, and the Zulu towards the east. Because these peoples had a common origin, their languages and cultures show marked similarities. Partial ancestors of the Nguni eventually met and merged withSan hunters, which accounts for the use ofclick consonants in the languages of the Nguni.[14]
Many tribes and clans in KwaZulu-Natal are said to have been forcibly united under Shaka Zulu. Shaka Zulu's political organization was efficient in integrating conquered tribes, partly through the age regiments, where men from different villages bonded with each other.[citation needed]
Many versions in the historiography of southern Africa state that during the South African upheaval known asMfecane, the Nguni people spread across a large part of southern Africa, absorbing, conquering, or displacing many other peoples. However, the notion of the mfecane or difaqane has been disputed by some scholars, notably Julian Cobbing.[15] The Mfecane was initiated by Zwide and his Ndwandwes. They attacked the Hlubi and stole their cattle, leaving them destitute. The remnants of the Hlubi, under their chiefMatiwane fled into what is now the Free State and attacked the Batlokwa in theHarrismithVrede area. This displaced theBatlokwa underMmanthatisi, and she and her people spread conflict further into the central interior.Moshoeshoe and his Bakwena sought the protection of Shaka and sent him tribute in return. When Matiwane settled at Mabolela, near present-dayHlohlolwane, Moshoeshoe complained to Shaka that this prevented him from sending his tribute, whereupon an impi was sent to drive Matiwane from this area. Matiwane fled south and raided one of the Xhosa kingdoms, which got his whole tribe annihilated byKing Hintsa, at theBattle Of Mbholompo. Mmanthatisi and her Batlokwa settled near what is nowFicksburg and were followed by her son, Sekonyela, as chief of the Batlokwa. It was he who had stolen Zulu cattle thatPiet Retief in his dealings with Dingane, Shaka's successor, retrieved. After the defeat of Zwide and his Ndwandwes by Shaka, two of his commanders,Soshangane and Zwengendaba, fled with their followers northward, engaging in conflict as they went. Soshangane eventually founded the Shangane nation inMozambique and Zwengendaba moved all the way to what is nowTanzania.Mzilikazi in his flight from Shaka, depopulated the easternhighveld and northern Free State, killing the men and capturing the women to form his Matabele nation. Initially, he settled near what is now Pretoria, then moved to Mosega, near present-dayZeerust, but after his defeat by theVoortrekkers he moved to present-dayZimbabwe where he founded his capital, Bulawayo.[16]
Within the Nguni nations, the clan, based on male ancestry, formed the highestsocial unit.[citation needed] Each clan was led by a chieftain.[citation needed] Influential men tried to achieve independence by creating their own clan.[citation needed] The power of a chieftain often depended on how well he could hold his clan together.[citation needed] From about 1800, the rise of the Zulu clan of the Nguni, and the consequent Mfecane that accompanied the expansion of the Zulus under Shaka helped to drive a process of alliance and consolidation among many of the smaller clans.[citation needed]
For example, the kingdom of Eswatini was formed in the early nineteenth century by different Nguni groups allying with the Dlamini clan against the threat of external attack.[citation needed] Today, the kingdom encompasses many different clans that speak a Nguni language calledSwati and are loyal to the king of Eswatini, who is also the head of the Dlamini clan.[citation needed]
"Dlamini" is a very common clan name among all documented Nguni languages (including Swati and Phuthi),[citation needed] associated withAbaMbo cultural identity.[clarification needed]
Ngunis may beChristians (Catholics orProtestants), practitioners ofAfrican traditional religions or members offorms of Christianity modified with traditional African values. They also follow a mix of these two religions, usually not separately.
The following peoples are considered Nguni:[citation needed]
| People | Language | Population | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thembu | Xhosa | 3,300,000 | Thembu's are originally fromThembuland they are also found in the Northern parts ofEastern Cape,Lesotho and throughoutSouth Africa. |
| Swazi | Swazi | 2,258,000 | Eswatini andSouth Africa around the Swazi border. Their homeland wasKaNgwane. |
| Bhaca | Bhaca | 570,000 | Found in the South Eastern part of South Africa in towns that includeKwaBhaca,ixopo,Bulwer andUmzimkulu. |
| Phuthi | Phuthi | 80,000 | Near the Lesotho-South Africa border in theTranskei region. |
| Lala Nguni | Lala | A few hundred | Originally in coastalKwazulu Natal, now found inENgcobo,Eastern Cape,Ethekwini,Maputo,Delagoa Bay,Inanda,oThongathi, Mangangeni,Elandskop, Camperdown etc. |
| Northern (Transvaal) Ndebele | Sumayela Ndebele | Primarily inMokopane, but also inHammanskraal and aroundPolokwane | |
| Hlubi | Hlubi | 724.100 | Near the Lesotho-South Africa border in theTranskei region.KwaZulu-Natal,Eastern Cape,Lesotho andNorth West provinces, with an original settlement on the Buffalo River |
| Zulu | Zulu | 10,964,000 | OriginallyZululand, but now in most ofNatal and as a minority inEastern Transvaal andGauteng. Their homeland was the northern part ofNatal. |
| Xhosa | Xhosa | 8,478,000 | The original Nguni people. Their traditional homeland stretched from theGamtoos River inEastern Cape toMzimkhulu River in Natal and were referred to by other Bantus as the 'AbeNguni'. |
| Xesibe | Xhosa | 800,000 | North-Eastern Parts ofEastern Cape Province, Southern Parts ofKwaZulu-Natal. |
| Southern Ndebele [n 1] | Southern Ndebele | 659,000 | CentralTransvaal |
| Mfengu | Xhosa | 1,000,000 | Fingoland which is in Eastern Cape,South Africa, and also located inZimbabwe Mbembesi. |
| Mpondo | Xhosa and Mpondo | 5,000,000 | Pondoland is a natural region on theSouth African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of theEastern Cape province. |
| AmaMpondomise | Xhosa | 3,000,000 | Eastern Cape andCiskei,Transkei throughout South Africa. |
| Northern Ndebele (Matabele/Mthwakazi) | Northern Ndebele | 1,599,000 | MatabelelandZimbabwe |
| Ngoni | They do not have a language of their own but speakTumbuka,Chewa, orNyanja. | 2,044,000 | Malawi,Zambia |
| Total | Nguni languages | 28,801,000 |
Ngoni people by ethnicity are found inMalawi (under Paramount Chief Mbelwa and Maseko Paramouncy),Zambia (under Paramount Chief Mpezeni),Mozambique andTanzania (under Chief Zulu Gama). In Malawi and Zambia, they speak a mixture of the languages of the people they conquered, such asChewa,Nsenga andTumbuka.[citation needed]
Media related toNguni at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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