@ / 23.5. 70, 2G. 5. 70, 31.5. 70
I NFO HMAHT : LLAB OYA FAKUDE
AREA LOOAMBA
BEGIMENT
I NFOFJl'IA.TION HECEI\i-:SD FRO Tft :
QUESTI ON A. 'I'ell u s about SOEHLOLO, everyt hine; you know.
We were t ol d MSWA'l1I was SOMIILOLO ' s son, and that hi s mother wa"'S ZWI DE ' s daugh t e r . It i s said that hi s b i rtr1 was a source o f gr eat joy for the Swazi and hi s mother Ln.- ZIDZEo She sane a j oyf ul sone; ai1d called her escourt LL.W ZELWAN ELE an others :k at her i n - l aws place , and sent t iem to
f etch water ( sea wat er) 0 Then the doct o ri n f~ of the young ki ng vras ca rried out . L.A- ZI DZE ' s r el atives keIJt comi ne; t o vi sit her and to see thei r nephew, but 8lso because they were escaping fro .. • a ttacks . by Sl:aka. . They f elt quite secure and protected becau se of the new rel atmonslu p which had dev eloped as a result of the birth of MSWAT io
l'/I$VA'I'I SBffG !1i s army to a hack J,lA.\VEWE and Iv1ZI1A, son s of LANGA - t!1is was the f.ir :s t . of hi s ba ttle s . Second was the a t tack on T.TJAJ I - rl1HOBELA , who threatened him. This a rmy fought even beyond THOBELA ' s ter ritory as far as TU1WA1i'B 1 s t erri t ory, now calle d RUSTENBURG . These kine s su r render ed to HSWATI and e-;ave him cattle , asking hi m to stay fB a c e f ully with them. He v1as a victorious beinc_: and the other tri bes realized hi s military str eilgth when h e went on f u rther to attack I1A.BIIOKO 8nfl. 1:f:i..t•J'IT30 .
BASHELB came to r enor t to MSY!ATI tha t hi s (BNl' SHJ<::LE ) mot he1' was being ill - t r ea t ed a t FiLluimo. S,,hi s inf\n·iated MSW AT I an d thi s i s why he sen t his a r my on HLAMBO for i ll- treatine his (Mswati ) sister o He sent hi s army i n t he col d mcnth of May - t J.1 ere was snowo He sent his rcpiment - IJ'JYATHSI . '1' his r eciment f'1Y 1'' P O!' +h8 way and wa s he&±>ly wiried out by the enemy . Thi s annoyed MSWA'r.I even mor e and he sen t an other a rmy wi th hi mself present t his time . He ph m de :r-ed all the way as far as MF};;!TGU land •
.Q.YJ-iS'l'IOJU.. V:/hy di d he at vack I!lAD1 FNGA' s peopl e ?
' Le cl.i d. it because he said 'they were hi s fathers c;ood f riends, bu t t hey pr i ded t hems el ves too much abou t t hi s friendshi p , even t o the extent of maki ng him f eel he wa s bei n1 t hreatened, by thomo
QUEST:I OH C t Wny dlldMSWA '.rI kill hi s b r oth er±:s and pr eenant wives o f t he Ki ng ( Somhl ol o ) ?
The ot her ·wi ves of SOHI-11010 were jealous of li.11. - ZI DZE on bei n r ma d e qu e en of Som11+010. MS\'/ATI therefore sent his warriors to kill these wiv es and t h e i r houses ( sons and daue hters ) o
QUESTION D. Ther e i s a well lmoM'l story here, and vrill you tell u s abou t i t i Vv1zy di d 1.ilSViATI kill KIIAMBI ?
K..B.A MBI came back with t he army when i t retu rned frou a t t ackinc 1\IA.WE1:1E ancl :.1ZI1A, a nd he was hi t;hl y f av oured b y o.. ki ng' s wi feo • He then changed his surname t o SIIGIONDZE from DLAMINI - he wa s b ei ne mi schievou s . He wa s 1.1 SWATI 1 s f avourite - to the extent t hat he handl ed the kine ' s food and a l lt: mat ter s to t he kine; were f i rst reported t o him. There came a n i ndu.na froljl - 2 -
MABOYA FAKUDE c ont • • • o
GUNDiNI NI viz . L011IBAMB O MKKABELA , and ~his . r;im1 becar:ie J(..MirJ?I ' s f riend ~ Both were suspected of having an aff air w:u;h t he Ki n g s wife but dem.ed i t • The Kinr· thereupon ordered her death and she was killed at HHOIDIO by warrior~ . KHA.MB I wa s a l so killed out si de the kraa l for hi s mischief• Killed a lso was MPI- '.'l'FII'NA' s mother .
C~ UE Sr rr ~.lk Vfuy di d MSVINrI dec .~ de not to build a t hi s fat he r ' s roya l kraa.l?
He feared Zulu att ackso
QtIB STI ON_ _L_ ·who -ras MSWA'J'I ' s personal messens er ?
It was :tvrn:LABA I.m'r HA. , and t hat of 1D3AND ZENI was 1'.fr3ANGO MOTHA o
Q.UES'l'ION G• . An army went out to att ack after t he deat h of MSVVATI - do you know this?
'l'his was the "Elephant ' s Ba t t l e "o It sta rted t his way. Th ere came one MA.T HSAFENI wh o shouted in t he kr aal that peopl e shouldn ' t be s itt i ng a round but e;oi n g to mourn. Thi s was MA.THSAFENI MJ)LU.LI . In r eaction an army went out, but the Queen THANDILE refused to 1 et it f!P o It went out a He vvas Somhl ol o ' s son, but he was one of the hated ones ( by t he Ki ne ). Because of thi s hat red these s ons feared the Kine: mi e:ht at tack t hern • QUESTION _h There was a quarr el between hi m and MSWATI , but who were t he other people who were i nvolved i n thi s quarredl betwe en FOKOTI and the King ? I don ' t know about FOKOTI. I lmow however t hat he supported JOJ Oo J OJ O wa s f v..ther of LIA KHAKLEKA. , and he e: ot drowned in the MKH01.JD O .~ i v er when he tried t o flee . L/J ..m ANGBNI KHU.MA '.BO was a sked for ( i n order to be marri ed to t heir son) by the I'lruninis from her parent s in ululand. There wer e b eauti ful girls here a t home viz . J,1SUKUSUKU DJ. a.mini, Somhl olo ' s daue;hte.r , and others. The mother was LA o1MGA?.1GENI . • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ? LA. -MGANGENI too:\: ov er f r om LA - ZID7E ev en while the l a t t er wa s still a live . LUDONGO - Hi s mother was LA- MGANGENI KHUMA LO . Hi s nan e a t birth was M.ACALENI , bu t he was [ iven the nam e of LUDONGA later wh en h e became desi 1nated ' King t o be ' o The queen - mother ( La - Zid?.e) made him king a t the deat h of hi r-; fat her. One day durine: a wa r - dance LUDONGA fell down and the war:d ors and p eopl e took t hi s to b e a bad omen. The reason for hi s fal l int do,.vm is as f oll ows : ~o meb o dy f rom Swa ziland had just retuxned wi th a e;tm. from the Basuto people ~n So u~her-.a Sotho . LUDOHGA took t his €}ill i n his hands and wa s admi ring it during the dance. The br ought t h e bar r el too near his no se and i nhal ed the fumes of gun- po wd. er, and l a ter on t he f l esh of hi s nose beean t o i nfl ame and he was very ill - he died of this. - 3 - JiIABOYA FAKUDE cont •• . • At this t i me his aunt had visited her in-laws , an d t here she found a young gi r l and lik ed her for LUDONGA. The aunt ' s f iance wa s LA..1\f GALIBALEIE MTHI MKHULU and her name was SOHDLALO SE. She a sked t he gir l ' s parents to l et her come home with the f,irl i n order to show her her fiance (LUDO:NGA- ). When SOI.ffiL.UOSE and the girl a r r'ived home they f 0tmd LUDON GA had died and peopl e wer e mou rni n g . Thi s wa s on the third day of LUDONGA I s death. The eirl ·wa s then taken to NGlErnUMANE KHUMA LO I s kraal ( SOl\IllLt.LOSE ' s in-laws) and kept therer- Prince EALill:rGE went to the queen - mother to ex::F'ess his S2'Ynl)athy, and t o di s cuss wi th her what covld be done next . The Qu een- mother asked him t o sugfest who he thoue:ht could make the next Kin{_o :illf\_11.mGE ref..:: rett ed :t~ that h e had not been on e;o od terms vr.i th t he mother of PHI THO ( who wa s one of the Ki ne: ' s wives) s o t hat he would therefore , if t he Qu~ en mot h er and other c oncerned agreed , sue;c,est t hat MB.AlrnE.NI be made Ki ne; , because h e sa id MBAF DEtU was a "Quiet puf f - e,dder" ( ~n± quiet bu t capable) . QUESTION J . Wheredid LA- HGAlWENI KfftJMALO co11 1e f r om? li'rom ETA2:: GA' s area i n Zul ul and ; i n the NONGOMA area. QUESTI ON K. Was she related to MZI LIK.AZEI ? Yes t h ey D.re r eJatives , most probab l ~' her broth er because ;;zn,IKAZI was son o f r1IA.SHOB.MTE, and LA -MGM~ GEN I 1 s father was M:ZILIKAZI ' s bro-L, her. Q.."tJE STI ON 1 I How old was LUTiONGA when he di ed ? At about the ace of t he ree:iment LINDB:iPI t hat i s approximatel y 25 year s or les s o .Q]J.STION M. Who was r egent while LUDONGA was under a ge ? I would say MA.LUNGE beca use he ha d t he bia;est sa.,v i n any mat ter concerning king sh ip o r LUDON GA. He lived a t NYAKEtifI . The , ieenpmother merely looked e.f ter the younc: p 1i n ce at the r oyal residence. But MSUKUSUKU a..Dd LUKHWABITHSI lived wi th and pe rsonally looked a f ter LUDONGA a t the royal k r aol . These t wo made u p hi s bed every morning , di d milking , and brou(jlt milk in for hi m. Even n o vr LUKHWABI THSI 1 s and MSUKUSUKU ' s descendents are still at the EKAEI NI royal kraa l - they never JEft it. NDWANDWE At HLUTI t h ere was another reside nce of Ki l'lf_ MSWA'l'I of whi ch NDWA.N DWE my gxeat gxa.nd.f at her ond f a t her of SICUl'ffiI LE, my c r and- mother , was in chare;e i n order t o k e ep i t i oine; and not t u rn i nto :irnx ruins . QUES· I ON N. How and why di d NDWANDWE come t o be i n chare e of t hi s kr aal? It was because t he kr aal was like hi s home, h e being a Nd- •andwe an d t he Ki ng ' s wife also a Ndwandwe 0 .QUESTION 0 . vVhat bec8me of NDW.MTDV!E a t t his k raal? Then there came t his deat h of the youne: kine; LUDONGA . The Swaz. i became suspi cious about his fal l inc, down whilst danci n c_· . Unfo rtunate~y oomeon e or some peopl e told l i e s about NDWA!\ffiVYE to the Swazi, wi th the result tha t a ree;i ment (NYATHSI ) wa s sent to kill hi m a t t h e royal kraa l . Before t his the Queen- mother JJA.- ZIDZE had sen t a rn ess ene:er,MAKlTI.JN GVmZI NTABA, to tell this r eciment not to ki l l a younc boy whom she sa i d they would f ind k eepine; off birds from a corn :f±mdx field a t the kraal. -'his child mu st be protected. So the people ran away before t he ree;:Lment a r r ived and - 4- - MA.ROYA FAKUDE cont o •• • went to the Transvaal, only to r eturn l a ter rill.d name the kraal VELEZI ZWENI ( fo1·me r l y MBI DLI MBIDLINI) which means returned from forei[ n land, Chief Sil"UBA 1 s f a ther was consequently nam ed HB O'.i~ ISVlA , "Sufferer of Destruction of masoacre"o He w· s the childwhom the r ee:;iment was ins ,, ructed, by the Q,u e en- mother, not to killo The re are still a lot of NDWANDWEs i n the Easterfl Transvaal who are d e sc endedfr om t hose Ndwandwe who escap ed death b y the :« re[;iment on tha t day. QUESTION P . V/hat do you know about the ba ttle o f MAvVELAV:ELA? I clan ' t know that one, bu t I ki cow abou t the Batt l e of El ephants. QUESTION Q..!.. What happ ened t o LUDONGA 1 s l ady? Wh N e is she bu::ci ed? She is buried at NSUKYMBILI t hat i s at DLANGENI. QUVSTION H. Thy was LUDONGA not buried. at the same pl ace a s hi s father? I rea lly don ' t know why they we r e too l a zy to t ake him to E\fBILANEIU . QUESTION S . What di d the Swazi d o t hen after t he younc ki ne; died. ? MB.A.i\J DEHI, s on of LA- NKA. 'J3ULE, was nominated a t a rn eeti ne of the royal family , t he Queen- mother sug[. esti n f~ that he be made kine; . So he was b r ought from GlTirnWilU and made Ki nE• Shortl y after this the other princes, amon g t hem MB ILINI , sent GHI JA to t he royal k r aal t o requ est t hat t heir brother (IIBANDENI 0 c ome do wn f ur them t o see hi m, as if to oongratulate him, and yet t hey had conspi r ed to kill hi mo When MBANDENI a r r ived b efore hi s brothers there came a v oiv e saying ,"Why , what i s i t you want to do to him", and the brothers dispersed i mmedi atel y and r an away9 without d oinf him on9 harm. 1rhis voice was lik e , and was, t hat o f MSWATI. Prince MBII1INI a ctua lly ca lled MBAlffiENI, jealous that 1.IBAHDENI was of another house a t Glnrnwnn , and not even a t the bi e: r oyal kraal . !J ,I LINI a ctually attempted MB.AND:E:l'TI 1 s l i f e by e: oint to t he POW OIJ \, to or r,ani se an army to at tack hi s brother - when he had run away aft er hearinc: the voice . Bu t he di dn ' t atcack MBANDENI fo r fear of his strone; HYATHSI ree i ment . I.IA.BI m LA al so had become jeal ous of M:BANDE:NI at HHoP.J1o. HBI LINI left on hi s own . Hi s mother ' s house vra.s at gU'l'HSI NI where HSWATI had built for her 0 He l eft beca use he intended t o or ga nise an a r my agai nst MJ3ANDENI o He made f riends wit h the 7ul us and never came ba ck . Q.UE S'I'IONT • Wher e di D !vIA.BE:P.DLA eo or what ha ppen ed to hi m? He hoard that .::BANDE:NI had sent regi men t t o kill hi m f or plotting a gai nst him. He t herefo1·e t r i ed to run away but was soon caught and killed. M::BANDE:NI hoYi eVer scolded hi S men for kill i n[ him because he wanted them t o b rine him a live for a di scussion and clarification of the matter, verbally onlye The peopl e w'flo caught and killed hi m were !.IB OVANE, Lm~ADAKOLA , MGlrnmrnvu end w:rn:OBOYI, at the time the army went t o fight the Battle of MS:'4. D7 • '_.'iiese men were not actually t racki ng him but j ust ha~1ren8d t o come a c oss him a s t hey rent . They f ound hi m at a kI'aal, l~TAKDO , whi l s t a i mi n c; not a t a t t a ckinf him but a prince who h:'td c om(, to seek protect ion in the area • .lli:_;§9TI Op Uo Let ' s r o back to the i n sta llat ion of MDAND ZElTI and the cominc i n o f LA.NGALIBALELE ll>: t o the r oyal kraal . Afte r. tm iJ.'.lstallati MABOYA FAKUDE con e. • ••• never l eft t he royal k raal a e;ai n . Becau se of thei r meetinbs she gav e birth to a child , but b efor e the Qu e en knew about it there came one TulAGffiJGUBEYANE on horse back and ca rrying a b ottle of milko He cot down from his horse and ma de the baby drink t his milk . The baby was vd t h her narmy whose name was MANDLAKA ZI . The baby started cryinL and the maid to&k her to the ol d peopl e , bu t the chi l d died shortl y . Everybody then s t arted we epi n e;, but there soon a r r ived ND' NDAVJO SHONGWE to report that MBANDEN I was bei ng i n sulted by the Queen; that he had killed the baby, and tha t t herefore an a rmy was to i nvade the royal k r aal f r om MBEKF.LWENI, befor e the next morning . SHO:NGVm report ed this t o the weepi n g Qu een- mother and p eopl e 0 The Queen- mother then fled ±M t he royerl kr aal at NDAWO' s r eport. 'I'he induna, :W30VANE , t r ied to persuade the queen- mother to stay and not escape , sayinc that NDAWO'.' s report mi ght not be true , bu t she persi sted and fled. .A s the Qu een- mothe:r fled HDAWO went .rou..nd t o MBE1.'ELW1'NI and told MJ3AN.DEJ:U that his mothe r was fleei ng with t he ri°' n - makinP' charm. HBANDENI than sent for her -L, o be 12.ot back for e:l'::pl a.natiol'l.Jo --- MBAN DENI ' s me s sengers hu r r i ed r ound to HKABA and BOMVD EI DGE bu t un fortun a t el y she had i. one , hat way. She was fle ei ng with the whol e f a mil;y: and rer:,i ments, except for HBO rAJ:rn , my greuld- father who s tayed behi nd and l o oked a fter the King ' s cat tle at t he r oyal kr aal. Then a man , LONGCA..W GO , :filxmx f r om MBEKELVIENI hel ped MBOVANE drive t he cattle to MBEr..ELWENI. On arrival MBOVAlrn t old the King t hat i t was NDA\70 whose r eport made the Que en flee o 1.IBANDENI then t hought that since hi s mo ther and TIKHUBA .1ad l e ft wi th the Tee;imen t s she was probabl y wacing a war ag"B,i n s t hi m. In fact t he Queen- mother was now f ighti ng her son. QUESTI ON Vo ~ V.Jho l ed thi s war G> f the 'Qu een against her son ? M.AN CI BANE ( Pri n e e ) fi.1'.ld MJJ ZAPHU( Pr ince) ZI BUKWMfA, MATINDA , ;.IA GAGA JANE and NGABIII. Then I1ffiANDEN I ' s a rmy took t hei r weap on~ ;:_; and tracked the army of the Queen dovm . They k i lled the Queen - mo ther, bu t t his ang e:ted MJ3A1'TDENI so much that he ordered the el even men responsible to be kil led al so , for he sai d they mi p-ht as well hav e killed him. ZI BUKEV/ANA was a ,nonr these men who a lthoue;h they wer e fl eein,- with the queen mother turned r ound rmd killed her. - 6 - MABOYA FAh1IDE cont •••••• LANGENI HOUSE We learnt that Langeni house is the house of Somhlolo. He arrived at this place from Zombodze. As you may remember even the very Zulwini village migrated from Shiselweni. Then when Somhlolo migrated from Ntondazi to Nokwane this village emerged a s hi s house. He was very happy with all the different Sotho tribes. ifiie Ngwane were very friendly with all the people on their migratory journey . They migrated from Hhohho up the Lubombo Ranges; then as far as Hlathikhulu ( the Hlathikulu which i s just above Golle)- that was when they were from Zibayabaga near Hhohho. 'l.' hen they went to the place where the Simelane Ntungwa were , :aED:JUC near Maguda area in Zululand. There was a woman by the marr ied name of LaSidvwabapilutfuli. The Ngwane had the type of cattle known as Mfukwane which were herded by the Hlatshwayo people , who were well lilmm::t doctored for this purpose. There was a hard period during Dlamini K reign. One of the young men known as Zombodze tried to ask M ? ••••• from ~lamini but Dlamini refursed. He was annoyed by then that the Zulu had captured the Mfukwane. Zombodze ? ••.•• ~despite the reluctance of the Dlamini. He with other warriors formed a raiding party and chased the Zulu warriors who had captured the cattle. They overtook them when they had crossed the Pongol a River, whence they engaged in skirmishes which they won. 'l'hey retrieved the cattle which were alre~dy over the River Bivane in Zululand. Besides the Swazi pursuers the cpatured cattle ~ themselves rose against their capturers and furiously tramped upon them with diabolical roaring. The Zulu were shocked and cursed the Swazi. Zombodze returned with the cattle. The Swazi thenceforth trusted Ngwane more than Dlamini as the latter had been reluctant to go after the cattle. La ter LaDandolekana gave a noble stick to Ngwane - it was when Dlamini had been somewhere. This was his grandmother. They migrated across the Pongola river, but that was not quite fitting and they returned to a place known as Shirelo. Then on thei r migration they left behind the hut of Lavumisa. 11hen they :r tried to burn it it would not burn - only the minor hut around burnt. '11hey then wondered and riaoc said " Oh it 11 is a S'hirolo • The hut was looked after by the Mngomeffulo and the Ngqamplalala of Mshikashika. They moved form Zombodze which was Ngwane's house. Zombodze means to hitch-hike in ax f orest as the Dlamini are said to have roamed in the Lubombo forests. Then Somhlolo started migrating from Mahlangatsha, where there is a :f±il!X field even today which is no longer ploughed because of the law of 1907 - since we borrowed the money for Prince Malungo to go overseas, and Lo gcogco with Hosiah, and lfir.Gibson (Mb engeni). 'Ibence trouble began, even with those who came first in 1871- til!f:x t hey f ourld Mbandzeni ••••••• RELATIONSHI P BETWEEN ZWIDE Al-Jl) SOMHLOLO It started long ago when a Swazi king married a Mnguni, who begot Dlamini and Ngwane. When we were next to Lourenco Marques there was another Ndwandwe wife of the king LaYanga. Indeed the mother of Ngwane was LaYanga. 1'hen later the Swazi went for a daughter of ~wide which was to revive the relationship • .SOMHLOLO ARHIVES AT MDZ I MBA He first built at Nokwane i.e. Old Lobamba. He then sent a message to the Magagul a chief of the area to ask for settlement. But the Magagula chieg - 7 - MABOYA FAk.lIDE cont ••• was angry and beat the messenger severly. On his return Somhlolo was angry on seeing the bruises. There was a skirmish in which the Magagula lost. At that time Somhlolo built Old Lobamba as the chief administrative village. Ncwala ceremonies were held there. From there he branched to establish Langeni village and his house. Somhlolo Xla:xl!lt lived for a long time. QUESTION W Did Somhlolo ever visit Zwide? I never heard of that. INFABANTFU This one here is the second on; the first remained at YJahlangat she under Ntsintsibala's vigilence. He was of Ndvumgunye. He is the father of Joa(?) and Ndlaludzaka. We are not sure if the Zulu came to the second or the first. NYAKEhE HOUSE. The mother of Maluge i s LaMchalakatsa; he is half brother of Ndvungu, both being sons of Ngwane. Somhlolo was then the son of Malunge's brot her. Malunge was of a high position in this house of Somhlolo's. To begin with he was at the confluence of t he Mknondo and Ngwempisi where he first built his home. Then later he was moved to Mjakeni to act as a sentinel. Malunge was very high in the hearts of the Royals and was intelligent. He lived up until t ne reign of Mbandzeni. All the time his words were impressive. He is the one who nominated Mbovane to such a great post in indunaship. His son was Jokovu. SOMHLOLO !11-~~,,Ye King Somhlolo of ~eXZikodze of Ngwane, born of Sibandze of Dandahikane~'s daugtlter, Sibandze who begot Mabonya; Mabonya who begot Ehozongo. The mother of Somhlolo was a Simelane - Nojiba Simelane. There were two sisters. The younger had brougtlt food to her elder sister just before she went back. The Swazi admired her and took her to wife. When Nojiba conceived she had a miscarriage and we lost th~t son. Later the younger sister conceived and brougtlt forth a baby boy fmr her sister. The boy was called Somhlolo. The foetus which was spoiled was to have been called Cebisa. Du±ing that time it was hard to g beget a boy. Somhlolo was born when all the wives had gone to the jugobean harvest. Somnjalose was alone at home. Somebody went to report it to Masenjane Sibandze of Khondlo, who was an induna. They took the child and hid him away. They used to send food to the baby privately. Elsewhere there xatatXX was another child who was also hidden and called "Li ba" of Ngwane, and the two child.pen were treated in exactly the same way - the child was of the brother of Ndungunya. Ndungunya had lived long, so much so that he could not even walk, and a hide was used as a wh~elchair to mave him about. One da~ when the baby boy Somhlolo was at his hiding place with his mother the king want ed to see him. So he was brougtlt and put in the sacred enclosure in the homestead. f.he old king Ndvungunye came in to see him. As he saw him with his half-blind eyes he said, " I do see my child, but what prodigy is i t that is next to him?". In this case the old king meant the mother of Somhlolo when he said "my child" - Somnjalose was young and the king was very old. But he saw the baby boy next to her and wondered who he was . - 8 - MABOYA FAKUTIE cont ••• Hence the name of Somhlolo - a prodigy. Thence forth she was made Queen mother and she remained in the place of ki ng Ndungunye when he died. But before he died he urged his counsello~s to go and find out about his illness , but they turned a deaf ear to that. One day he t old them that each time he slept he dreamed of a white tribe, who were as white as the pig whose hair is scraped off. They emerged from the water with something which spit smoke and hit afar. " If you do not care to go and find out 1 about my ailment x you will remain in tribulation • You will try in vain to ccollect and to do something until it is the fourth generati on that wi . suffer. There will arise from y6u:r: household ( the Royal household) those who will have their ears unpierced. For there will have come a book r which the unpierced ear of the Royal househol d will remember from the beginning to the end, after being shown how to under stand t he events contai ned wi thin it, He will kn There was a controvery after the installation of Somhlolo as king. The Royals had endless questions amongst themselves; hence his paraise, Sobuta, which was simplified to Sobhuza- hence K¥x his name Sobhuza I . 1 1 This means 'interr ogator'. But his main name by Royalty mm: is Nkhosi - Ki ng. As he was installed there were spies and scouts going out to look for gTeener pastures. Again it was known throughout the land that he was a good ruler. Even Sha.ka the Zulu king heard of his virtues, and consequently there came mes sengers from Sha.ka to Somhlolo 1 s royal residence . They came to invi te Somhlolo to visit Sha.ka, so that Sha.ka could satisfy himself of his vi rtues, a s he had hear d of Somhlolo 1 s admiration by other people. Some people did not favmur the invitation, because they suspected that Sha.ka would murder their king. But Hlophe of Mahbongane favoured the i nvitation, confident that no harm would befall him. The Swazi then agTeed to Hl phe's suggestion. Preparations were made and the king started f or Zululand. When he neared Sha.ka's place there was an abrupt change in the weather - a thunder stor m was brewi ng. The Zulu call that ' the elephant rumbles'. During the period of the thunderstorm Somhlolo arrived at Sha.ka's fbnrPIX palace. Unfortunately Sha.ka had caught flu. After Maphokela and amn another man had returned from Sha.ka after reporting the arrival of the king, Shaka sent hi s i nduna and mother to gTeet the son of Ndvungunye and assure him of safety, also saying t hat he would perhaps see him tomorrow. Sha.ka' s warr iors we r e full of malice , and they danced and cried out that Shaka should give the command to kill Somhlolo. ~ut the guests were given ten head of cattle and were assi gned to a nearby homesteadfor the night. Hitherto they had been in the cattle kraal, at t he gTe at palace of Shaka . They did as t heir host requested and went t o a nearby homestead for lodgi ng. Before they coul d undo the mats to prepare for sleep, Somhlolo tol d his escort that they should wait a moment. There was then a torr ent in Zul ul and. Somhl olo asked his people to go out and look at the sky. On their return they told him that the king was full y clad. 'l' hen Somhlolo asked his escort if they had seen the warriors dancing in their anxiety to kill him, and if they thought that they would see the next daylight. He ki:Jmrl:ef himself suggested that they had rather depart then end there. They went out; the cattle were resting. They touched one of them, and t hen t hey went off into the night. Al l night long they went on their way. Just before dawn they were about to cross the Pongola River . It was still raining, but not on the Ngwane IIRI'ty, who were walking on dry land •• Across the Pongo la they spotted a hillock wit h caves. They got there, slaughtered one beast and undid their s l eeping mats. Some flayed the beast whilst others prepared for sleep. Just then they looked across t he river in the direction which they had come and they saw a gTeat army there . - 9 - MABOYA FAKUDE cont •••• The Zulu could see the cattle but could not readily see the Swazi. Suddenly, in the overflowing river there floated a big tree which was x being washed down by the flood. _ While they were looking at the tree there came a horse which was aldo being washed down the stream 1 The anxious Zulu army began to throw assegai over the flooded river. All the assegai they threw did not cross the river but were wa.Shed away. Then there came another regiment of Zulu. The latter urged the first regiment to cross the f looded river. They decided to attempt it. This was the first heavy rain experienced on Zulu soil after six years of drought. Unfortunately their cour age led them to their death- all were washed away xoa: down stream and drowned. None maimx managed to reach the Swazi. Those who remained on the bank of the river remorsefully remarked that their fellow warriors were just chasing the Mhlengas ( a term of abuse )~ All this was on of the primary reasons for Somhlolo's migration from the south to thex north, because he had been highly frightened of the Zulu. I took some time before the Ngwane people got their grandmother wife of the king. Then later it was decided that a man be sent to Zwide of Yanga to ask for a lady to be wife to Somhlolo. So Dzimile Nkambule, andinduna was sent to Zwide at Nongonaztodask for a young lady. 11hen on their arrival at · ~he great village of ~~i ( Ngwane was a grandchild lll:f at that place), a great lady dance was summoned to entertain them and enable them to meet the ladies. Whilst the ladies danced the foreign induna went to the induna of the village and reported that he had laready seen the lady they were seeking for their king. After Zwide had been informed kt they were asked to point out this lady. They showed him Thandile, and Zwide was very happy about thi s. After the dance the Swazi x stayed for the night and the next morning departed. After that a royal wedding was arranged and Thandile was summoned and she came to marry the Swazi king according to the customs. Z~i d e was looking young at the time and so his elders had to perform the rites. Long after the wedding Thandile experienced a miscarriage, like the one which brought Cebisa - this one was Ndjmandze. However on her second conception she succeeded and brought forthK a son who was named Mswati. He succeeded Somhlolo, when he was still young. ,-Some boys were brought from Zwide, Makhasane Manyatsi, the father of Mkhlphiso and others. They were young men who had come xllKHx with Lonzidze to Swaziland. One day she was in the bush prais ing and palying with the child. ~he sang to this child a son - the song which is usually started by Mandanda and us. You could note the groaning part of thessong which signifies the crying child and Makhasane, the herald of Thandile. This the reserved strictly confidentaal song of the incwala ceremony. As he was born at Old Lobamba, then l a ter there emerged Ludzidzini village from Old Lobamba. Mswati had other half brother - Hhobohhobo, Mgidla, Mabmbule, Msukusuke, Ndwandwe, Dlakadla and other. Mswati as king went as far as across the )ikmmxi Nkomazi river, then rebuilt his village at Hhohho. He was intendi ng to cross the uMgwenya river. Mswati was pugnacious; unless there was a battle he was not happy. Here are Mswati's regiments: Nyatsi, Lochegu, Diba, Ulhele (~), UMaku, Londolozi. The most prominent war ever fought by Mswati was the all-in war against Mzila, helping Mawewe against his brother, Mzila. The iNyatsi regiment fought to t he last. They went to the exte~t of capturing the most important cattle of Mziiha, far into the interior of PoL~~~se East Africa. They found the cattle herded by Mathendelekwane and ~ - - in fact these cattle were the most important of their kind in the kingdom of Mzila. 'But Mathendelekwane warned :tkiNyatsi not to capture those cattle because t hey were doctored, but the Nyatsi would not listen. 'Ibey captured them Then they killed Mathendelelkwa.ne and Lubibi could not cope. One other war was against Majaji of Thobel~, which was wiped off and only a few people returned. After the first people had returned Mswati died. There had come Matsofeni. In fact Mswati was helping the Boers against Majaji of Thobela. - 10 - MABO YA FAKUDE cont ••• KING' S PRAI SES by Maboya 1. SOBHUZA USobhuza wamaSwazi Sobhuza of the Swaz i . USobhuza Longwnasibekela Sobhuza as the cover. Imanga enencane angayisibekela Which can cover the small homesteads. Uhambe kakhula wayakufi ka kuMgilija wadonda kubeleka kubakaNgwane . Thou had greatly travelled, even as far as Mgilija , but you laothed to piggy back on Ngwane . Mphana ukome inebel e lenkomo i sifuklawane Ngokumunyisa i shumi l a.madodo kwasala mive ngedwa younge te yongite munyisa l eukisomo Thou who gives a dairy an infinit e cow, which sucKles ten men, except me. Tshani beNtabende obungadliwayizinikumo Grass of high mountain which is never grazed. Budliwa vgezimngana zaka Haphungwane But grass by black cattle of JVtaphungwane. Sisho ku11gwane othe abohle aveka alruke i kriWezi nesilimela azi kuthe ikhunzi l i yasibikela l ibiskel a uNgwane . We say to you t hou art advised by Ngwane to watch the omi nous heavenly s i gns, mark t hat the morning star brings t idings to Ngwane. l'JSobhuza mgezeni izandl a nezineyawo Ninjamboru ukuthe uJVJntwa uhame emalibeni ebatholothi abo~h i ze kanye noMabhoko. Wash the feet of Sobhuza, for he has tramped on the wizard's graves of Mkhize and Mabhoko. Lusiba loSwe sabekayo lwagojel a nzivkalo zakaNgwane . Thou awful quill feather which overwhelmed the land of Ngwane, Sasizisi l a sethundangwe sasihamba sisikizel a The t ail of that bird which kept on wagging. Wena wekunene . You of Kunene. 2 . NnVUNGUNYE Ndvugunye waNgwane Ndvungunye of Ngwane Sihlangu sihubumba nomginesangu Sihuknembanje si hamba nemhl amb i yamaddda kanje neymadodana. ~e shield that slides down Mginsangu; a s it slides it t akes with it cattle of man and sons. ~lniki wamphi kuMaLangeni You who gives a signal fat fight for the war amongst Langeni . - 11 - MABOYA FAKUnE cowr ••• NDVUNGUNYE Wase uklala t i mj enebeti bcti: ~i:xxxarn:llhrl:!IDC uyayihawukela You did it and shed tears in sympathy. Uakhwnbula ti hl angu leti dzala t e Viakhosi asendulo And remembered the old shields of the ancient kings. Nyoni yaNgwane waDl a.mini Leyazale emacanda yaphvinde yachobaza ngomlomo Thou bird of Ngwane of Dlamini which laid eggs and cracked them with its beak. Dlodlo singabekwa karndwa kauti ngisibane singawahl ahla engwenyama kanti ngal e inhla.mbelo. Thy head ring is never put at tije mother' s house yet I have i magined it on the kraal poles whe r ea s i t is of t he sacred enclosure therein. CEBISA Ceb isa WaNgwana . Cebisa of Ngwane Lowacebi sa onke emakhosi Who enriched all the kings. ANgwane asembo Nawenangwe Of Ngwane of eMbo and this side 'rhunzi l ehinemya ma l elembeth _ izi ntaba The Black shadow which blankets the moyntains Lendl axidengwa iziukovo nezamakhanda Wh~ch passed as cattle; were milked even of other areas Zaziqhuntshwa ugemaduna akaNgwane Wh i ch were driven by Ngwane headmen. Si hhushahhushane saNgwane nguloluza nemoya Thou Ngwane hurricane. f.thr~~~ phula izimdlu kanye nesjhlolda ~Di b&eaks houses and trees Wathuma Dambuza wakaMbuya You sent Dambuza of Mbuya Wat he ayokwakhel a usu( ?) wakho waseLul akeni To build you a home of wrath Lulakeni Lunya luyavutha luvuthe l a imizi Thou of burning cruelty Ya.madoda luvuthel a imizi yamalangeni Which kindles the villages of man and that of Langeni. Wena weKunene You of Kunene. Collection Number: A2760 Collection Name: Swaziland Oral History Project, 1967-1993 PUBLISHER: Publisher: Historical Papers Research Archive, University of the Witwatersrand Location: Johannesburg ©2016 LEGAL NOTICES: Copyright Notice: All materials on the Historical Papers website are protected by South African copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, or otherwise published in any format, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. 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