Mantjolo Pool in Swaziland 

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The following history must be read in conjuction with Mabana and Manyovu History under tab KNOW THYSELF-Download file Issue 1 and Issue 2.

PREAMBLE

WHO ARE THE VANHLANGANU TRIBE?

The VANHLANGANU are of VaMbe origin.

(Theal reported that Vambe refers to “certainty” to “the Abambo of Hlubi,Zizi, and other traditions, from whom Natal is still called Embo by the Bantu” [Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page xxxi]. Theal conclusion is based on his knowledge of Portuguese phraseology but we choose to use the original Portuguese phrase as true)

The VaMbe are those tribes found by Portuguese in Natal during sixteenth century (1589 -1593) of our era (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 199). The ancestor of VaMbe is uMbe, hence their tribal name.

The Makalanga of Tongue (Mocarangas~Makarangas) are also VaMbe. South African tribes’ religion entails the worship of the patriarchal founder of the tribe, whom they regard as their God (UNkulunkulu~Omkhulu kuMkhulu). For these reasons, the Portuguese called uMbe the God of Makalanga (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 93). Therefore Chief Nhlanganu represents one of the inkosi (Ancozes~Inkosis) of the VaMbe-the descendants of uMbe (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 199).Makalanga King at Inhambane (Inyambane / Dinyambane) around the year 1560 was Gamba, from whom the name BaGwamba is derived. It can therefore be concluded that VaMbe is the mother tribe of Makalanga of Tongue and VaNhlanganu tribes, including the Nguni tribes. The place which Gamba ruled was called Tongue by Portuguese. Tongue due to Portuguese phraseology can be approximately pronounced Tongwe (Tongue~Tongwe). Therefore the people of Tongue are the people of Tongwe (As a place), who were ruled by Gamba, or Gwamba. At inhambane towards the shore, were the people Portuguese called Batongas, of different tribe from the people Portuguese called Macarangas of Tongue.

The close existence of Batongas and Macarangas (Tongas and Makalangas) for many generations and popularity of king Gamba (Gwamba) of Tongue (Tongwe - likely the origin of the word Ntunga), has led to VaNhlanganu being known as baGwamba or baTonga. Therefore, VaNhlanganu tribe in line with their ancient ancestor (“their God”) uMbe are strictly the VaMbe. The tribal tittles like Tonga, Ronga and Dzonga are but only limited tittles related to place names and directions (Tongue, East and South)-(Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 92 to 96)

Today there is no language that can be said to be the original VaMbe language because VaMbe tribal identity is very ancient (over four hundred years old-almost half a millennium) and many languages have evolved over several hundreds of years through admixture of tribes including Europeans, Arabs, Persians and Indians. It is for this reason that the language of VaNhlanganu is said to be Nguni rather than VaMbe language because no such language exist today except for the tribal identity. The Nguni language is today spoken in Natal. The Portuguese records indicate VaMbe were in Natal similar to Nhlanganu tradition that indicates that Nhlanganu comes from Natal around the area of Khahlamba Mountain (Drakensburg Mountain) and Thukela River. VaMbe language in Natal during the sixteenth century should have been similar to modern Nguni language in reference to the terms reported by Portuguese like inkosi (Ancozes~Inkosis) for chief, isinkwa (sincoa~sinkwa) for bread; Halala! Halala! (Alala! Alala! ~Halala! Halala!) an ululation to display happiness and celebration or state of blessing.

Therefore, indicating similarity between original VaNhlanganu language and BaNguni language is not misplaced and both VaNhlanganu and BaNguni tribes are VaMbe of Natal except if we choose to disregard the Portuguese records.

The language elements we can note in relation to the previous statement are two. The first one is that historically Nhlanganu name is recorded as Nhlanganu and not as Nhlangana, which suggest a language construction to convert a verb or noun to a personal name. For an example, the noun Baba means Father, but it is reported in a personal name by Portuguese records as Babu.

The noun Nhlangana means Little Reed and is historically recorded as the personal name Nhlanganu (Wena uluHlanga~You are the Reed).

This case of language construction is common even today-For an example, the verb Thanda, which means to love, is converted into a personal name in a form of Thandi.

The second language element relates to dialect. The root word iNhlanga and iHlanga for Reed show dialectical difference of the same root name with the difference being the prefix.It should be noted that Portuguese records noted dialectical differences in language of the south eastern tribes of Africa but indicated that the language was basically similar (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 294).

Further, letters from my grandfather are all written in a form of Zulu language or otherwise VaNhlanganu language with certain terms spelled differently like inkosi is spelled ikosi and khonza is spelled khoza. For an example, the letter from Chief Jotham Mnisi directed to my grandfather is essentially Zulu language except that eight cases of consonant change are involved out of 18 words as below:

 In the letter there is one Sotho word (Musaka) and one Tsonga word (Sivaritsini), and two spelling mistakes (ukuna instead of akuna and koba instead of ngoba). Therefore Chief Jotham’s letter does not suggest a separate language from Zulu or Nguni or similar family of languages but a common spelling style particular to the area or dialect of the North (Northern Nguni Dialect).

But how can VaNhlanganu tradition state that Nhlanganu comes from Natal?

This occurred as follows: - A portion of Makalanga people were displaced by Wars from their country Bukalanga in Zembezi (Zambesi) River into the country of the Batonga of Inhambane and were found there in 1560 by Portuguese (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 66). The Father of Chief Gamba was at war with a powerful chief of Bukalanga and was defeated. His son Gamba after escaping with his followers, found himself at Tongue among the Batongas and he was forced to fight them until he regained a land to live on. These Makalangas were surrounded by Batongas on all sides at Tongue which was thirty leagues from sea (Range: 144 Km - 188 Km from sea). The ancestor of this sub clan of Makalanga is UMbe (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 93) whom the Portuguese called the God of Makalanga.

It is evident that the wars of the Makalanga people were between the descendants of UMbe or VaMbe with one Munhu mu tapa (Monomotapa –“the man who plunders”) people or descendants of UNyamunda or VaNyamunda. These wars should have caused great disturbances and dispersal of conquered tribes at Zembezi (Zambesi) river and the VaMbe people were later found as far as Natal up to the Cape of Good Hope as reported by Portuguese records of the ship wrecked people of St. Thomas of 1589 (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 199).

Therefore, VaMbe people were not only at Tongue, but were dispersed as far as Natal up to the Cape of Good Hope. These people lived in clusters of huts or kraals with up to five huts per kraal with a chief called inkosi among them.

One of the practices of this people was body scarification (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 75) - These marks were used as markers or letters (tinhlanga~letter~reed) that the tribe are elephant hunters-Elephant tusk traders. This practice was common among VaNhlanganu (Nine beluNhlanga~You of the Reed) and the Gwamba, which further proves that they are VaMbe. One of the practice the Makalanga of Tongue were different from Batonga of Inhambane was that they did not practice circumcision (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 66).

This relationship between Nhlanganu and Magwamba is further supported by Tooke and later by Junod (South African Association for the Advancement of Science, Report of the Ninth Annual Meeting held at Bulawayo 1911 July 3-7, Page 84-Notes on the East Coast Bantu of Eighty Years Ago By William Hammond Tooke & Junod, H.A 1912, Life of a South African tribe-Volume 2, Page 126-127)

The VaNHlanganu from above discussion are VaMbe beyond reasonable doubt, but it should be noted that they are also Makalanga of descent from UMbe. Some telling names related to VaMbe people include the root –Mbe in those names-like Zambesi (VhaMbezi) rivers. Vhambezi reckoned to mean water (Zi /Nzi) of Mbe people (Vhambe)

Obviously the VaMbe people were not the only tribes- we had other tribes like Batonga at Inhambane and as far north as the southern side of Zambesi River and as far south as St. Lucia bay. We had the conquering tribes of Makalanga under Munhumutapa (VaNyamuda) at Sofala. Finally we had invading hordes of Tribes under the fearsome Mumbos and allied tribes like Baroro, Mazimba and Mambea.

These last stated tribes also dispersed as far as Natal to give the name of Imbo to parts of Natal. The distinguishing character of the last stated tribes was their blood thirsty fearlessness and cunning, coupled with occasional cannibalistic behaviours. Cannibilism was related to war act or ritual as it appears like conquered victims were commited to the cooking pots.

During peaceful times, cannibilism was not reported by Portuguese to have been committed and those found guilty of it were subjected to death sentence.Some Portuguese were also reported in Portuguese records to have resorted to cannibilism, given the pangs of hunger experienced by them in that part of the world at the time and were sentenced to death by the concerned tribes (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 1, Page 257)

The MuMbos and allied tribes in appearance were like giants and are known to have occupied Lebombo Mountains and some of the allied tribes in the south included the people of chief Mena LoBombo, Munhampeka, Ansete and Vumos (Rumo) as narrated by Portuguese (Theal, G. M. 1898, Records of South Eastern Africa- Volume 2, Page 201).

Some of the tribes that seem not to be explicitly related to VaMbe and MuMbos are Angomanes, Mankomati and Makalapapa who are known to have inhabited that part of southern Africa. The chief of Mankomati was called Viragune by Portuguese.

General note: The name of the thief Bambe as reported by Portuguese may not be related to VaMbe because the first name is a personal name while the other is the tribe name. Bambe is most likely derived from the verb Bamba (to hold in English) and therefore in a personal name it may be rendered Bambo or Bambi or Bambu.

We know there is a surname called Shibambu which relates to an ancestor of the same name. The Vambe name is not rendered Bambe as referring to the tribe name, which tell us that the consonant V is a soft consonant B or V. The word is therefore based on the root Mbi which would necessitate the use of soft B or V. UMbi means Digger or Miner and the name relates to tribes who are known to have mined gold around Zembezi (Vhambezi) River.

My forefathers came from the east and occupied an area next to Ohrigstad River. The river is known to the locals as Motlatsengwana1.

 1. The name means the “Small Motlatse” -The name Motlatse means 'a river that is always full' in the sePulana dialect of Northern Sotho. Motlatse river is the Blyde River.The Ohrigstad River joins the Blyde River at the Blyderivierpoort Dam in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve.Therefore, the Ohrigstad river is known as the small Blyde river by the locals.

The place was named kaNtselele (pronounced “KaNtrelele”. “Ntre” is like in the English word Trend). It is noteworthy that the place was named kaNtselele and not kaMnisi, an indication that Ntselele surname did not vanish with Mabana becoming known as Dumezulu Mnisi.

My great-grandfather, Mafanele, together with his brothers, Tšhivaritseni, Malanga, Oorlam and Tšhibomela, came from the East to live next to Ohrigstad, near Brandraai.They settled at Ohrigstad River Valley in a homestead they named kaNtselele which was renamed Nooitgedacht farm (437-KT [142] {99}) as early as 1875 by the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek ( ZAR ) . Their language was TšhiNhlanganu, which was originally Nguni language, which overtime evolved into isiTsonga language which was spoken in the Ohrigstad area and in Mozambique. Tšhivaritseni was the eldest and therefore chief among them. My great grandfather Mafanele was the second, followed by Malanga, Oorlam and Tšhibomela in birth order as narrated by my Aunt Emelina. Their father is said to be Manyeleti, as indicated by the wife of Manyeleti, son of Tšhebokisana. I am of the opinion that this is generalization, in recognition of the fact that her husband grandfather was Manyeleti. Based on our old family custom of naming our first born sons after our great grandfathers, their father is positively Tšhihlana, as would be shown later.

The arrival of our forefathers and the Mnisi in Lydenburg District was caused by Sotšhangani, Mzila, Mawewe and Mswati II as follows:

We know that in 1838 A.D, Mafohlo, son of Salani, left Mozambique with a group of his followers and the portion of the Nkuna tribe into the Lydenburg District.

We also know that Phupha fled to Somcuba area when he was attacked by Mswati II regiments accompanying Nkhundla.

The Mnisi under Phupha became subjects of Somcuba, since they fled to his territory. Since Mswati II was attacking neighboring tribes and his half-brothers, like Malambule and Fokotsi. Somcuba feared that he would be the next victim of Mswati’s anger, so he fled with his followers crossing Crocodile River and settling between the present day Machadodorp and Nelspruit at the source of a river known today as Stat River.

Mswati II sent spies to look for Somcuba, and one of them, Sicobolonjwana arrived at the area were Somcuba was living. One misty morning he gave prearranged signal to Mswati’s army, which had already surrounded Somcuba’s kraal.Somcuba was killed, his huts set on fire, and the army returned south, taking Somcuba’s children with, all except one son, Msuthu, who with a clan of followers, escaped to Sekhukhuni. Msuthu was given to live on top of the Lulu Range by Sekhukhuni, above present day Schoonoord. Msuthu had a son by the name, Shobiane, who had a son by the name of, Ngungunyane, who was a chief in Lydenburg district. Ngungunyane died in 1962, living his wife Alice to act as chieftains.

We also know that Mswati II attacked the Mnisi at Mantsholo Pool were Njinji and Hanise escaped to the upper highveld of the former Transvaal (Nothern Kwazulu-Natal and Free State). Then overtime, the family returned to Carolina district. We know also, that in 1856 , Magwagwaza Mnisi, son of Mabana Mnisi, migrated to the lowveld of former Transvaal during the war of succession between Mzila and Mawewe, sons of Soshangani and established the chiefdom( ( This event is also reported to have taken place in 1861 when Magwagwaza together with his followers fled from the east of the Lebombo Montains into the Lydenburg district when Mawewe defeated Mzila in a war of succession and joined the Mafohlo following of 1838) . Magwagwaza had a son by the name Shobiane, at the same time as the son of Msuthu kaSomcuba, who was also Shobiane.

For this reason, some mistakenly believed that Ngungunyana, son of Shobiane kaMsuthu kaSomcuba was an ancestor of the Mnisi in Lydenburg. On the otherhand, it is true that Somcuba had some of the Mnisi as his subjects and some fled with his son Msuthu, to Lydenburg, and Ngungunyana was eventually their chief.

It should be noted also that another chief, by the name Ngungunyana, kaMzila, son of Soshangani, was born slightly earlier (almost one generation) before Ngungunyana kaShobiane kaMsuthu kaSomcuba. These facts alone can easily confuse the unaware reader.

It is clear that Sotshangani and his sons and Mswati II conquests led to the Mnisi living in Lydenburg District, including my great-grandfather Mafanele.

My grandfather is Felani Piet Mnisi, who named his first-born son Hanise Tšhihlana Mnisi. My father is Malulasi Mnisi who was the last born son of Felani Mnisi from his wife Maria. Another first born son of our grandfather Piet Felani Mnisi is Boy Mnisi, from maSilolisi. It was during the time of Piet Felani that bakaNtselele at Motlatsengwana river valley lost the use of their surname Ntselele and became known by their praise name Mnisi. It appears like overtime, Mnisi praise name consumed Ntselele surname, in recognition of the powerful ruling VaMnisi VaMabana, who at that time where already recognized by the oppressive government of the whites.

In Lydenburg District, including Ohrigstad valley and surrounding areas, the Mnisi there consisted of the Mnisi from both lineages and their subjects. Some arrived in the area from Swaziland, like those who arrived from Somcuba Area, while others from Mozambique, like Mafohlo, from the VaNhlanganu tribe who ran away from Mozambique. Mixture of languages were spoken in the area, including the following among others, Tsonga, Nhlanganu, Shangana, Swazi, Pai or Mbai, Sepulane, Pedi.

Our Ancestors, the VaNhlanganu sub-clan at Motlatsengwana, were the first Nhlanganu sub-clan to move to the former Eastern Transvaal under the leadership of Mafohlo, son of Salani.Salani was the brother of Mabana (also known as Dumezulu Mnisi) according to Dr. Els research. Mabana was named Dumezulu Mnisi, by Sotšhangani.Apart from the descendants of Mabana, who are VaMnisi (as the surname), and the Khosa clan, another VaNhlanganu sub clan is VaNtselele (as the surname).

The VaMnisi is actually an off-shot from VaNtselele sub clan.It is this sub-clan, VaNtselele that our forefathers belong. Over time, the surname Ntselele was overshadowed by the praise name Mnisi, as the VaMnisi (as the surname) became more famous under the leadership of Magwagwaza Mnisi.At the same time, Ntselele surname was down played because the Ntselele sub-clan at Motlatsengwana was over powered by the whites in that area, and their place taken. VaNtselele ended up being the servants of the whites, while on the other hand, the VaMnisi obtained farms and the white government recognized their Chiefs. Today, VaMnisi (as a surname) is well known, but Ntselele is a lingering memory in the old members of the family. It is from them, that I learned that our ancestors came from the East, and their original settlement was at today Mozambique, at Marakwene, in the Inkomati River (formerly known as Manisa River or Manyisa River) and settled next to Motlatsengwana River. They called the place ka-Ntselele. Therefore, we are another VaNhlanganu sub-clan, and Ntselele is our family surname, even though we use the praise name Mnisi today as the surname. The last rule of the Ntselele was at Motlatsengwana river valley.

Tšhivaritseni by all indication was the eldest and chief for the VaNhlanganu at Motlatsengwana river valley at some stage. The next chief after Tšhivaritseni was Mafanele, and his kraal was situated in the homestead, and its ruins could still be discerned as late as 2014. The Induna kaMafanele was Magunela .After Mafanele, a loose control under different family members occurred. The following once had control when Mafanele was taken prisoner or otherwise killed by the whites: Tšhebokisana and Felani. It is believed that Mkhonto was the induna kaFelani.

It should be noted that Tšhivaritseni was too old to rule at this point in time. Eventually, the whites took control of the farm. The first white to take control of the farm was known as “Skalop” as indicated by Boy Mnisi. My Research indicates that Koos Burger was the owner by 1944 when Ruurd Willem Van Der Wal bought the farm.

The records from the Deeds Office in Pretoria show that Jacobus Johannes Burgers acquired this farm by 22 May 1875 based on the so called Grondbrief at no cost.

Therefore this farm or area was never sold to him by anyone. The farm was transferred equally to his daughters Jaconina Hendrina Van Breda and Jacoba Johana Burger through his estate by 22 January 1882. Then Jacoba Johana Burger sold her portion to Schalk Willem Burger by 12 October 1896.

Schalk W. Burger fell from glory with President Kruger due to him signing the Industrial Commission Report of 1896 exposing misdeeds in ZAR business dealings. This explains why his relations, the Old ZAR President Burgers family, gave him a share on this farm by 1896 to help the “traitor” out (The book: Transvaal from within by J.P Fitzpatrick-1899, Page 311 and Page 303).

It is Schalk Willem Burger who was known as “Skalop”. In turn Schalk transferred 1/3 equal portions of his share to Schalk Willem Burger Junior, Schalk Willem Burger Minor and Jacobus Johannes Burger.

Ruurds Willem Van Der Wal came into the picture, when Jacobus Johannes Burger sold his 1/6 portion of the farm to him by 03 August 1944. The farm fractional portions exchanged hands many times between several individuals and companies, and as late as 20 January 1983, Charles Edward Dorey Van Der Wal received a portion from Ztiram Boere (Eindoms) Beperk.

The portion of the farm was a game reserve, where the ruin of Mafanele Kraal was still recognizable as late as the year 2014, until the area was tilled for planting in 2015.The farm is still owned by Ruurd Willem Van Der Wal descendants - the Farm is now called, Ruurds Country Lodge (Charles and Santes). In the Farm, our Grand Mother, Maria, our father’s mother, and her child are buried.

They are buried closer to the hill inside the Farm and at an area (kaNtselele), which was occupied by the Mnisi before they were forcefully removed to Rietfontein.

The last attempt to install a Chief or otherwise an induna at kaNtselele, at Motlatsengwana river valley, occurred around 1950 A.D, when representative from Shobiane Mathavi Madizi Mnisi, came to Felani Mnisi, who was living at Vosloo’s Farm, and requested to elect Boy Mnisi, to become Chief or more likely an induna of the VaMnisi. The discussions failed because Boy’s Mother, MaSilolisi, did not allow them, because Boy Mnisi was too young. She also discouraged Boy Mnisi, in fear that he could be killed, if he becomes a Chief or an induna. MaSilolisi was a wife of Tšhivaritseni.

Tšhivaritseni could not have children, and arrangements were made, that him and his wife, maSilolisi, should have descendants, through Felani Mnisi, son of Mafanele Mnisi.The result was Boy Mnisi, who became son of Tšhivaritseni.The above explains why the representative from Shobiane wanted to elect Boy Mnisi, who was the son of Tšhivaritseni, according to our customs.

One of my informant indicated that Tšhivaritseni, Mafanele, Malanga, Oorlam, and Tšhibomela are the sons of Manyeleti, which shows how the ancestors were mixed while in Motlatsengwana river valley. The fact that the ruling VaMnisi elected Tšhivaritseni son to become an induna, confirms that Tšhivaritseni was chief at one time in Motlatsengwana river valley.

Tšhivaritseni could not become an induna because he was already old.Mafanele, the second in age from Tšhivaritseni, was already dead or otherwise imprisoned by the whites, and there was no chance that his son Piet Felani could be installed by the VaMnisi as he was the son of the second brother.

It should be noted that the VaNhlanganu tribe had another split during the time of Malwana. It is reported by the VaMnisi that Salani was the regent for Magwagwaza, who was young then, while my informant at Manyeleti reported that this was not the case.

I am therefore of an opinion that Salani was not a regent but the Principal Heir for the VaMnisi while Magwagwaza was the Heir of the Right Hand for VaMnisi-therefore I conclude that they did not have the same mother as per Dr. Els Research document. Despite the two heirs as above, the VaNhlanganu tribe split during Malwana time is represented by Dzombo as the Heir of the Right Hand and Pasheni as the Principal Heir.The totem animal of each sub clan confirms this split between the descendants of Dzombo and Pasheni today. The totem animal of the Dzombo descendants is the sheep while the totem animal of the descendants of Pasheni, is the python. My totem animal is the python, and my informant indicated to me that my grandfather Piet Felani was negotiating with the department of native affairs to reclaim their position as the traditional leaders of the Nhlanganu sub-clan at Motlatsengwana river valley.

The Ntselele sub-clan members at Ohrigstad river valley use to give my grandfather 5 pounds each to support his effort in reclaiming this right.

The fund was used for travel purposes and other matters related to negotiations with native affairs department. The descendants of Tšhihlana of Pasheni were obviously not in the good books of the whites, and their efforts did not pay off. All indications are that Salani was the second from last chief of the VaNhlanganu before white installation of the chiefs over the tribes. It can therefore be confirmed that he was born from the senior house. Mafohlo, the son of Salani(Principal Heir), as the heir from the Heir of the Right Hand (Dzombo) or born of the chief, ran away from Mozambique into Motlatsengwana river valley, in fear of Sotšhangani who was attacking the Mavulandlela (Tsonga tribes conquered by the Ngoni). The sons of Tšhihlana and Mabana for the same reason later joined Mafohlo.

I have no historical indications that Mafohlo had children, but my research points to the most likely possibility that the son of Mafohlo is Malanga based on the descendants names (The custom is to name the first born son according to their forefather’s names, most especially their great grandfathers). Therefore the sons of Mafohlo assumed leadership at Motlatsengwana river valley as the new clan from the VaDumezulu Mnisi.

Oorlam is most likely the descendant of Magwagwaza or Manyeleti based on the same reasoning. Mafanele is positively the son of Tšhihlana, based on the fact that his son Felani named his first born son Tšhihlana. Tšhihlana is also the forefather of Manyeleti and his descendant’s totem animal is the python, similar to my family totem animal. Therefore Tšhivaritseni is the Principal Heir for the Ntselele sub-clan of the Nhlanganu tribe because he maintained the Ntselele surname while Manyeleti is the Heir of the Right Hand for the Ntselele sub-clan of the Nhlanganu tribe, both born from the line of the Principal Heir, Pasheni, of the Ntselele sub-clan of the Nhlanganu tribe (Junior branch of the Ntselele sub-clan).

The mixture of the descendants at Motlatsengwana river valley explains the general confusion by my informants to relate correctly our forefathers.

My informants, those of Mabana and Manyeleti at Bushbuckridge are not aware of my great grandfather Mafanele. Therefore, Mafanele is not in their family line or known to them or his history was not related to them. Only Salani Manyeleti at Leboeng can confirm knowledge of Mafanele .The wife of Manyeleti, son of Tšhebokisana, can only relate Mafanele, father of Moshoeshoe. In our family oral history, we were not aware of Mafanele, father of Moshoeshoe, until I met my Aunt Johanna who related that Moshoeshoe was the son of Mafanele through his wife, maMchapo. The wife of Manyeleti, son of Tšhebokisana further related that Piet Felani and her husband, their father is Manyeleti. This is generalization because both Manyeleti and Tšhivaritseni are sons of Tšhihlana, the former being the Heir of the Right Hand and the later the Principal Heir of the Ntselele junior branch. Despite this confusion from my informants, they all descend from Malwana, who is the former chief of the Nhlanganu tribe, under Ntselele sub-clan.

My informant indicated to me that the point that is not disputed is that the descendants of both Manyeleti and Salani are born from the senior houses or Heirs of the Right Hand ( born from the First Wives)  and those of Mabana and Tšhivaritseni born from the junior houses, or Principal Heirs ( born from the Great Wives).

History indicates that Salani was the second from last chief of the VaNhlanganu tribe under Ntselele sub-clan before white’s installation of chiefs. Magwagwaza became the last chief of the VaNhlanganu tribe under Mabana sub-clan before white’s installation of chiefs. Since Magwagwaza was not a direct descendant of Salane, his descendants became known by their grandfather praise name, “Dumezulu Mnisi”, which was later shortened to Mnisi. Therefore, Magwagwaza descendants became known as Mnisi as the surname and not as the praise name because Mnisi is applicable to all the VaNhlanganu, most especially those of Ntselele sub-clan.

Since the VaNhlanganu custom is to marry many wives, multiple houses would generally be involved in the family, which makes succession in a political sense difficult as they all descend from the chief –claims to chieftaincy can therefore be contested as it is common in other tribes, but the understanding of the law of succession can resolve these issues or put them in perspective, as the aim was to form new clans and not to create contestation for Chieftancy.

According to the Dzonga tribes and VaNhlanganu tribes, there were no kings as such but only chiefs of families. Chiefs were custodian of their families based on birth right and not on politics and their aim was not conquest of other tribes, but custodians of their families and tribe. The VaNhlanganu people have a strong family bond as I have witnessed it in my family. It is not surprising that the descendants of Mabana, ,Tšhihlana, and many others were mixed at Lydenburg district as one family or tribe- what was of importance was their blood tie through their forefathers. The concept of King and chiefs is foreign to the VaNhlanganu. We are socially inclined, and concerned with survival of the family and tribe. It is for this reason that the VaNhlanganu became victims of other tribes like the Ngonis, the Pedis and Swazis. We were hunted like animals and in all our encounters; we tried to protect ourselves by fleeing from trouble, and lived in close family ties, concerned with survival skills.It is for this reason that we are known as rain makers and not as conquerors of other tribes. The only sub-clan of VaNhlanganu that took the function of war was the Khosa (Khoza), who have a praise name “Mkhonto”- Those of the spear. This started when Ntselele and Hubyanyana split the tribe into two clans over spear wielding and rain making- Those of the Spear (Mkhonto) and those of Rain conjuror (Mnisi).

Going back to the history of Tšhivaritseni, the last years of Tšhivaritseni were very difficult, as Boy Mnisi indicated to me, that Tšhivaritseni owned a large herd of cattle, that made “whites jealous”.The statement that Boy Mnisi said about whites being jealous over cattle was confirmed during my research when I found a statement on a website (by April 19, 2011) develop by Friso Van Der Wal as below:

“Op 6 November 1902 dien Willem 'n klag by die Koloniale sekretaris se kantoor in dat hy al sy beeste gedurende die oorlog verloor het. Die beeste is later in die besit van hoofman Sjoppiaan gevind”

(Note: The statement above refers to the elder father of Ruurd Willem van der Wal who was also named Ruurd Willem van der Wal, and so was his father’s name)

Shobiane was the Mnisi chief and related to Tšhivaritseni. Tšhivaritseni Mnisi was from the Principal house of the Ntselele sub-clan and Shobiane from the Principal house of the ba-Dumezulu Mnisi sub-clan, all of the VaNhlanganu tribe.

Therefore, Van Der Wal family became rich at the expense of the Mnisi after the Anglo-Boer war made them poor. Since the Mnisi where rich, as the ruling family, they became the target of the Boer after the war. (We are also aware of Shoppiana kaMsuthu who was also a chief in Lydenburg and Friso Van Der Wal statement may just as well be referring to him- what matters in this case is the fact of boers after anglo-boer war targeting ruling families for the purpose of stealing their Cattle by using state organs)

“Overtime, some cattle were stolen by whites, some died”, and eventually, Tšhivaritseni became very poor, and wandered from place to place. Tšhivaritseni and his family were eventually helped by one old man, Sgodo Mnisi, who helped them to find a place in a Trust Land, that is, Rietfontein. Overtime, Tšhivaritseni passed away and was buried in the old Mnisi burial ground, in Rietfontein.

Most of our ancestors were buried around Ohrigstad.Mafanele, is the only ancestor who was never found or never returned by the Boer state, after he was taken to Pretoria West Hospital (Weskoppies Hospital), for apparently mental illness treatment. They brought back his belongings only and buried them at his Kraal, at Motlatsengwana, at kaNtselele.It was Ruurds Mnisi who was tasked to take Mafanele to Pretoria and the one who was later informed that Mafanele was “lost” or otherwise left the hospital, when he went to visit him.

The reality may be that he was killed by the Boers in this prison hospital in those days, as it happened to the Xhosa Prophetess-Nontetha Nkwenkwe.This is supported by an article in the next section.

An extract from the article, which was first published in the Sunday Times newspaper of 15 September 2007 titled “The amazing story of Nontetha Nkwenkwe is celebrated by the Sunday Times Heritage Project. JANETTE BENNETT reports” is shown below:

Born in about 1870, Nkwenkwe was a typical woman in the "native reserve" that would become the Ciskei homeland. She was a widow with 10 children; five survived childhood. She could not read or write.

After surviving the 1918 influenza epidemic, which decimated her area, she began having visions: God told her the epidemic was punishment for people’s sins and that her mission was to reform society. Revivalist movements blossomed as people struggled to make sense of the calamity.

Nkwenkwe attracted a sizeable following in the villages around King William’s Town, Middledrift and East London. She "read" messages from God by looking at her hands.

Some government officials welcomed her preaching of temperance. But in May 1921, soldiers shot dead at least 183 followers — the unofficial figures are far higher — of another prophet, Enoch Mgijima, at Bulhoek near Queenstown, when they refused to move off crown land.

"In the context of the Bulhoek massacre, the authorities would be watching any independent religious thinker," Edgar said. "Nontetha was really a victim of Bulhoek."

Her grandson Mzimkhulu Bungu said that some established mission churches, worried about her growing following, had also complained about her activities. Authorities detained her twice for "seditious activities".

It was common practice for authorities to remove "troublesome" people from society by placing them in mental institutions.

After Nkwenkwe was committed to the overcrowded and dismal hospital at Fort Beaufort, followers would walk as far as 80km to the town to consult with her. Authorities, unhappy about this disruption, transferred her to Weskoppies on December 4 1924, telling her family and followers only that she had left the Fort Beaufort hospital.

On November 23 1926, her followers set out on foot from the Eastern Cape on a "pilgrimage of grace". For 55 days, they walked almost 1 000km to Pretoria, whe   re they met her on January 18 1927. Along the way, they were joined by more people, and the movement started growing.

Her family and followers continued to lobby for her release.

A second pilgrimage of grace took place in 1930, but — after crossing the Orange River at Aliwal North — followers were arrested for not having passes.

On May 20 1935, Nkwenkwe died of liver and stomach cancer, and was buried in a pauper’s grave two days later. A telegram to her family took months to reach its rural destination. Repeated requests for her body were made, but authorities, it appeared, had lost track of where she was buried; neither were they prepared to open any graves.

…."There were still grievances about Nontetha being buried in Pretoria. There were letters, into the ’50s and ’60s, asking for the return of her remains. They were ignored."

There is no doubt in my mind that this is what happened to our great grandfather Mafanele as supported by the above article in these words

It was common practice for authorities to remove "troublesome" people from society by placing them in mental institutions.

Our great-grandfather is also buried in Pretoria, either in the Weskoppies hospital itself or otherwise in the Rebecca Street Cemetery in Pretoria.

In those days, the headman or chiefs that collaborated with the Boers were installed, as chiefs while the “troublemakers” were killed, like Kgosi Mampuru and many others, including our great grandfather Mafanele.

Going back to when our ancestors came to live at Motlatsengwana river valley, they came as brothers who settled in the area and took wives.

My Aunt Emelina remembers the following names: Tšhivaritseni, Mafanele, Malanga, Tšhibomela and Oorlam, as the brothers who came from the East.My research indicate that Malanga was the son of Mafanele, through his wife, Jabezi, and that Tšhibomela is the son of Malanga.The other two wives of Mafanele are Dobayi,(the mother of Piet Felani, Thomas and Andries Khalatsi) and maMchapo. The children of maMchapo ( her surname Tonga) as narrated by my Aunt Johanna, are Rus, nicknamed “Nqondo”;  Jerry, nicknamed “Paulo”; Dada Juda, Gerry ( Father of my Aunt Johanna); Moshoeshoe Elfas; Katrina and Elina. She further indicated that Mafanele had another wife, mother of Hans and Betty. She also believes that the father of Mafanele is Masinga.

From Hartman (1978) and Els(1998), the above stated settlement next to Motlatsengwana river occurred in two waves, the first in 1838, according to Hartman(1978:76), when one Mafohlo , son of Salani, together with a clan of his followers, ran away from Marakweni in Mozambique, together with a portion of Nkuna people, to the Lydenburg District.Later, during the war of succession between Mzila and Mawewe, sons of Sotšhangani, in 1856, Magwagwaza Mnisi, together with his followers, joined the clan that ran away in 1838, and settled at Motlatsengwana river ( See Els (1998)).Therefore 18 years passed between the first and the second wave.The first wave was the VaDumezulu Mnisi, under the Heir of the Right Hand,because, Mafohlo was the son of Salani  .Salani was not known as Dumezulu Mnisi, the surname reserved for the Principal Heir of Mabana but used the sub-clan surname Ntselele.For this reason, the place at Motlatsengwana river was known as kaNtselele, also in view of Tšhivaritseni, who was with them, and the Principal Heir of the Ntselele sub-clan.When Magwagwaza , son of Mabana, joined the Mafohlo clan, he could not impose his chieftaincy of VaDumezulu Mnisi in this clan of 1838.It is for this reason, why Magwagwaza never stayed at Motlatsengwana river, but set out to go back to where his father was chief ( principal heir ) and established the chiefdom of VaDumezulu Mnisi VaMabana.

It should be noted also that during the time Magwagwaza joined Mafohlo clan, Salani, was chief at Tlhatlhanini (Els (1998)), as the Heir of the Right Hand and concurently acting as regent for Magwagwaza who was still young.

It was only after his death, by 1870 (Hartman 1978:76)), that Magwagwaza could take control of the rule at Tlhatlhanini, as the Principal Heir.It took 14 years before Magwagwaza could take the rule as the principal son of Mabana, that is, as the Dumezulu Mnisi. It is therefore understandable why Magwagwaza could not impose his chieftancy at Motlatsengwana River, who were the Ntselele under Tšhivaritseni.

The name Mafanele was fated for our Great grandfather because the Principal Heir Tšhivaritseni could not bear an heir. The name Mafanele means “the rightful one”, meaning, the Heir to family leadership- how fateful the names can be? The son of Mafanele is Felani, which suggest that during his time of birth, the Ntselele lost their control of their chiefdom as the name means “why perish”. Our ancestor’s names are symbolic and speak volume of our history.

The fact that we are another house (iGuma) of the VaNhlanganu tribe apart from the house (iGuma) of Mabana is confirmed by Chief Jotham Mnisi letter addressed to our grandfather Piet Felani Mnisi (Piet F Munis). In the letter, Chief Jotham Mnisi knows about our house (iGuma) and that it should be revived (“vusa”). Chief Jotham Mnisi referred to this house as “ Muzi owu citekele” meaning “the house which is fallen”, even though he was already the chief in Bushbuckridge, meaning the chief for another house of the Nhlanganu tribe apart from the house which is fallen- this is in line with the totem animals as already indicated. He further refers to the other locations or other people that this house is encompassing as “emuzepula nese ndubaze”, apart from kaNtselele homestead. Chief Jotham Mnisi further confirms that Tšhivaritseni could not have children in the words “ukuna musaka Tsivaritsini”, meaning there is no heir for Tšhivaritseni. Chief Jotham Mnisi finally closes the letter by saying “Khoza noke lapa ekaya”, which means, “Best regards for all of you at home”. Ekaya suggest that Tšhivaritseni and Chief Jotham Mnisi are the two Gumas (Houses) of Malwana.

Over the years, the Dumezulu Mnisi became stronger and popular, while the Ntselele became almost forgotten as the surname, except that we as their descendants, would like to revive them (Chiefdom of Tsivaritseni ), and uphold our sub-clan surname, as Mnisi now commonly refers to both sub-clans, Ntselele and Mnisi. The two sub clans remain the same people, the VaNhlanganu tribe, just as much as the Khosa and other surnames not mentioned here is the VaNhlanganu tribe.

References:

South African Journal of Ethnology. 21(2). Pp.112-120  Herkoms en Historiese Lotgevalle Van Die Regerende Linie van die Nhlanganu-Mnisi van die Mhaladistrik     By: H.Els 1998

Hartman, J.B. 1978.  Die samehang in die privaatreg van die Changana-Tsonga van Mhala, met verwysing na die administratiefregtelike en prosesregtelike funksionering.  Doktorale proefskrif.  Pretoria: Universiteit van Pretoria.