Ndebele People in Zimbabwe
Ndebele in Zimbabwe
The Ndebele people are dispersed widely across Zimbabwe and South African’s Transvaal Province and is descendents of the same tribe as the Zulu and Xhosa people. The history of the Ndebele people can be traced back to Mafana, their first chief. Manfana’s successor, Mhlanga, had a son named Musi who, in the early 1600’s, decided to move away from his cousins, later became the Zulu nation, and to settle near the hills of Gauteng where the capital of Pretoria is located. After the death of Chief Musi, his two sons quarreled over the position of chief and the tribe divided into two sections, the Manala and the Ndzundza. By the mid 19th century two other factions, led by other sons, then broke away from the Ndebele core. These groups were later progressively assimilated by the Sotho groups undergoing considerable cultural and social change. Later, the descendents of Manala and Ndzundza maintained a cultural identity and retained language which was closer to the Nguni language. In 1883, during the reign of the Ndebele chief Mabhogo’s, war broke out between the Ndzundza and the South African Republic, also known as the Boer. Occasionally, Mabhogo’s warriors stealthily past enemy lines undetected to retrieve food and water. However, after two women of the tribe had been ambushed and tortured, one of the women revealed the Mabhogo’s whereabouts. After the defeat of Mabhogo’s military, the tribal structure was broken up and the lands were confiscated as the people became indentured laborers. Despite the breaking down of the tribe, the Ndebele retained their cultural unity.
In 1923, they were able to purchase some land and began to regroup. In the mid-1970 the South African Government established the ‘homeland’ of Kwa-Ndebele. Both southern group’s fashioned beadwork in which the Ndebele cultural are famous for, but the Ndzundza are also noted for their elaborate wall paintings. Ndebele arts have been widely illustrated, especially from their wall
The Ndebele people are dispersed widely across Zimbabwe and South African’s Transvaal Province and is descendents of the same tribe as the Zulu and Xhosa people. The history of the Ndebele people can be traced back to Mafana, their first chief. Manfana’s successor, Mhlanga, had a son named Musi who, in the early 1600’s, decided to move away from his cousins, later became the Zulu nation, and to settle near the hills of Gauteng where the capital of Pretoria is located. After the death of Chief Musi, his two sons quarreled over the position of chief and the tribe divided into two sections, the Manala and the Ndzundza. By the mid 19th century two other factions, led by other sons, then broke away from the Ndebele core. These groups were later progressively assimilated by the Sotho groups undergoing considerable cultural and social change. Later, the descendents of Manala and Ndzundza maintained a cultural identity and retained language which was closer to the Nguni language. In 1883, during the reign of the Ndebele chief Mabhogo’s, war broke out between the Ndzundza and the South African Republic, also known as the Boer. Occasionally, Mabhogo’s warriors stealthily past enemy lines undetected to retrieve food and water. However, after two women of the tribe had been ambushed and tortured, one of the women revealed the Mabhogo’s whereabouts. After the defeat of Mabhogo’s military, the tribal structure was broken up and the lands were confiscated as the people became indentured laborers. Despite the breaking down of the tribe, the Ndebele retained their cultural unity.
In 1923, they were able to purchase some land and began to regroup. In the mid-1970 the South African Government established the ‘homeland’ of Kwa-Ndebele. Both southern group’s fashioned beadwork in which the Ndebele cultural are famous for, but the Ndzundza are also noted for their elaborate wall paintings. Ndebele arts have been widely illustrated, especially from their wall
Bibliography: E. Schneider: Paint, Pride and Politics: Aesthetic and Meaning in Transvaal Ndebele Wall Art (diss., Johannesburg, U. Witwatersrand, 1986) http://www.sokwanele.com/pdfs/BTS.pdf "Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace M. Courtney-Clarke: Ndebele: The Art of an African Tribe (New York, 1986) [excellent pls] R