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| The
Matebele Kingdom: Ndebele Tribe |
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In the early 19th Century,
at the height of power of Tshaka,
king of the Zulu, many of his subjugated chiefs took
flight in an attempt to form their own dominions. The
result was a period of terror throughout central
southern Africa known as Difaqane, or "Time of
Calamity", and a scattering of various tribes from
the highveld. The Ndebele tribe (also called Ndebele Of
Zimbabwe, or Ndebele, formerly Matabele), was a result
of a break away from the Zulu empire. These are
Bantu-speaking people of southwestern Zimbabwe who live
primarily around the city of Bulawayo.
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| In 1821, Mzilikazi a Nguni military commander under Tshaka, king of the Zulu, came into conflict with Tshaka
and then fled the Zulu domain, migrating with his
followers first to near Basutoland (now Lesotho). In
1831, the Ndebele of Mzilikazi who had fashioned a
military state on the Zulu model north of the Vaal,
invaded Lesotho. On their arrival at Thaba Bosiu, the
Ndebele warriors began to scale the mountain at
Rafutho’s Pass, but the Basotho hurled boulders, stones
and javelins down on them from behind their walled
fortifications. According to tradition, as the Ndebele
withdrew King Moshoeshoe delivered some fat oxen with the
message that he thought hunger had brought them to this
country. As a consequence, Mzilikazi did not launch
another attack in the Caledon Valley.
After his further
defeat at the hands of the European settlers of the
Transvaal (South African Republic), Mzilikazi moved northward,
and invaded what is Southern Zimbabwe today and
established the Matebele Kingdom, ultimately settling in
Matebeleland
(Zimbabwe), they subjugated
the surrounding Shona or Mashona. Mzilikazi's successor, Lobengula, extended the
tribe's power, absorbing Sotho, Shona, and other
extraneous tribal elements. |
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| Between 1870 and 1881,
the KRAAL at BULAWAYO served as the kingdom's political
center.
The Matebele, an offspring of the Zulu, were a warrior
nation. They fought on foot in IMPIs, highly disciplined
units, armed with an ASSEGAI - a short spear with a
large, iron blade - and a shield. Their economy depended
on herds of livestock, predominantly cattle. |
| Resulting from
the nature of the growth of the Ndebele Kingdom, the
social structure of the Ndebele was such the Ndebele
state was stratified
into three groups/classes, the Zansi, Enhla and Hole. In modern Ndebele society these
demarcations are not strongly emphasized, which may be due
to the loss of the cultural heritage. Though there is a
lot of westernization and Christianity some Ndebele
people still hold on and practice the Ndebele
religious beliefs and follow Ndebele culture |
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| If you feel this is not an
accurate account and you have a more accurate one, or
you have a clarification , you can submit
your version of the account here |
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| Other
documents related to this Profile |
| Changes in
the Ndebele (Matabele) religion |
| Mzilikazi,
the Ndebele and Christianity religion |
| Ndebele
Religious beliefs |
| Ndebele
Social structure |
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