Opinion / Columnist
'WE' Khumalos are sorry for the genocide presided by our forefathers
02 Dec 2015 at 16:00hrs | Views
Our fore-father and one of the most illustrious leaders to ever evolve in Africa Mzilikazi created the problems for us from onset. I always wish if he had been loyal to king Shaka we could be a better state today.
Those who do not know much the present Ndebele are descendants of the Khumalo people who lived under the rule of Shaka in present day South Africa. They got their name 'Ndebele' during their association with the Sotho people in the Transvaal region. The name 'Ndebele' meant strangers from the coast. This qualifies us as strangers even to this day and we will have to apologies for atrocities our fore fathers did to the people they found in the land of present day Zimbabwe.
The truth will always set us free. We as the Khumalos managed to stage genocides on our way to the present Zimbabwe before swallowing every tribe there which included Venda, Sotho, Khalanga, Zezuru, Kharanga, Korekore, Nambiya, Tonga and Shangaan among others.
Not only did genocide destroy the indigenous people's existence but most of them had their surnames changed. Their leaders were also killed and those regarded as understanding swallowed into the new life structure imposed on them.
To nail a final nail on the coffin a terrible tribal structure was setup to make sure that our Khumalos were superior to everyone.
On behalf of the Khumalos I am apologising on the genocide which was executed by our forefathers on the Kharangas, Vendas, Khalangas, Korekores, Nambiya and Tongas among other tribes. What we need now is to live together in peace as "WE" acknowledged our mistakes.
Again I would like you checking up the following social order which "WE" also apologising on
The Ndebele state was divided into three groups, the Zansi, Enhla and Hole.
The Zansi were the Khumalos. They were fewer in number, but they formed a powerful portion of the society. They were the upper class of the Ndebele society, the aristocrats. The Zansi were divided amongst themselves into clans according to their totems and clan leaders formed the political elite of the Kingdom.
Below the Zansi were the Enhla. These were people who had been conquered and incorporated into the Ndebele state before it came into Zimbabwe. They comprised mainly people of Sotho and Tswana origin and they were more numerous than the Zansi.
The Hole formed the lowest but largest class in the kingdom. They were a fusion of Nguni, Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Kalanga, Karanga, Korekore, Zezuru, Nambiya, Tonga among others. There were two types of Hole. The first group comprised chiefdoms that were moved or voluntarily migrated into Ndebele settlement. Examples of such people include the Nanzwa from Hwange, Nyai from Matobo, Venda from the Gwanda-Beit Bridge area, and the Shona from western Mashonaland. Most of these chiefdoms, unable to resist their enemies, chose to go and live under the security of the Mzilikazi. The youths of these chiefdoms were merged to form the Impande and Amabukuthwani military regiments, while the elders were given land to settle under one of their chiefs.
Some of these elders were even privileged into positions of being the king's intelligence agents, thereby forming important polities in Ndebele society. An example of this was the Venda chief Tibela who sought refuge from Mzilikazi after constant harassment from Swazi raiders. Tibela was made into one of the king's intelligence agents. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this group of Hole is that they were bi-lingual, speaking both their mother tongue, and siNdebele.
The other group of Hole comprised of captives and young men supplied by the subject chiefs for the Ndebele army. It was acceptable for Ndebele soldiers to bring back captives from their raids and these captives were incorporated into Ndebele society either as wives of Ndebele soldiers or slaves. It is estimated that by the fall of the Ndebele state in 1893, there were three times as many Hole as were the Zansi and Enhla combined, showing the success of the Ndebele's policy of assimilation.
Undoubtedly, this huge class of Ndebele came to have a big influence on the Ndebele culture, an influence that is evident even today. In the modern day Ndebele society these demarcations exist, but as strongly as they did by the fall of the Ndebele kingdom.
"WE" as the Khumalo we have been abusing and despising the indigenous people by calling them names as Hole and we are very sorry as we want to be accepted into our present day society.
We will want to correct also this sad thing which we the Khumalo pioneered:
1. Most Kalangas were forced to speak Ndebele out of necessity although culturally they were not Ndebeles. This was the case in schools that were erected in Kalanga areas of Tsholotsho, Kezi, Gwanda and Matobo.
2. Msindo in LANGUAGE AND ETHNICITY IN MATABELELAND: NDEBELE-KALANGA RELATIONS IN SOUTHERN ZIMBABWE, 1930-1960 deals effectively with this issue. Of interest is where he refers to one Rev. Mtompe Kumalo (a descendant of the former Ndebele ruling family) who taught at Hope Foundation around 1940 who used to preach in church , "Okunga Makalanga kwakuyi kudla komkonto. Sikota igazi lakho." Meaning "Kalangas were food for the assegais. We licked their blood from the assegais."
3. In the 1950s Matabeleland Home Society which was a Ndebele-centric organization but labeled itself a national organization vehemently opposed the existence of Kalanga Cultural Society arguing that it was a tribal formation.
"WE" the really family of Lobengula value peace and advocating for a unitary state which will see every tribe given an opportunity to have their leadership restored and us as strangers staying with everyone in harmony.
Bhekifa Khumalo lives in Bulawayo. He is one of King Lobengula grandsons 'my father was called Ngwenyama Magangeni Khumalo' son of Nyamande; my father was born by Madlodlo. Who was married to Nyamande ka Lobengula and people should know that the family of Lobengula is alive.
The son of Nyamande passed way in 2006 and he was laid to rest at Nkenyani 30km away from Bulawayo,
Those who do not know much the present Ndebele are descendants of the Khumalo people who lived under the rule of Shaka in present day South Africa. They got their name 'Ndebele' during their association with the Sotho people in the Transvaal region. The name 'Ndebele' meant strangers from the coast. This qualifies us as strangers even to this day and we will have to apologies for atrocities our fore fathers did to the people they found in the land of present day Zimbabwe.
The truth will always set us free. We as the Khumalos managed to stage genocides on our way to the present Zimbabwe before swallowing every tribe there which included Venda, Sotho, Khalanga, Zezuru, Kharanga, Korekore, Nambiya, Tonga and Shangaan among others.
Not only did genocide destroy the indigenous people's existence but most of them had their surnames changed. Their leaders were also killed and those regarded as understanding swallowed into the new life structure imposed on them.
To nail a final nail on the coffin a terrible tribal structure was setup to make sure that our Khumalos were superior to everyone.
On behalf of the Khumalos I am apologising on the genocide which was executed by our forefathers on the Kharangas, Vendas, Khalangas, Korekores, Nambiya and Tongas among other tribes. What we need now is to live together in peace as "WE" acknowledged our mistakes.
Again I would like you checking up the following social order which "WE" also apologising on
The Ndebele state was divided into three groups, the Zansi, Enhla and Hole.
The Zansi were the Khumalos. They were fewer in number, but they formed a powerful portion of the society. They were the upper class of the Ndebele society, the aristocrats. The Zansi were divided amongst themselves into clans according to their totems and clan leaders formed the political elite of the Kingdom.
Below the Zansi were the Enhla. These were people who had been conquered and incorporated into the Ndebele state before it came into Zimbabwe. They comprised mainly people of Sotho and Tswana origin and they were more numerous than the Zansi.
The Hole formed the lowest but largest class in the kingdom. They were a fusion of Nguni, Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Kalanga, Karanga, Korekore, Zezuru, Nambiya, Tonga among others. There were two types of Hole. The first group comprised chiefdoms that were moved or voluntarily migrated into Ndebele settlement. Examples of such people include the Nanzwa from Hwange, Nyai from Matobo, Venda from the Gwanda-Beit Bridge area, and the Shona from western Mashonaland. Most of these chiefdoms, unable to resist their enemies, chose to go and live under the security of the Mzilikazi. The youths of these chiefdoms were merged to form the Impande and Amabukuthwani military regiments, while the elders were given land to settle under one of their chiefs.
Some of these elders were even privileged into positions of being the king's intelligence agents, thereby forming important polities in Ndebele society. An example of this was the Venda chief Tibela who sought refuge from Mzilikazi after constant harassment from Swazi raiders. Tibela was made into one of the king's intelligence agents. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this group of Hole is that they were bi-lingual, speaking both their mother tongue, and siNdebele.
The other group of Hole comprised of captives and young men supplied by the subject chiefs for the Ndebele army. It was acceptable for Ndebele soldiers to bring back captives from their raids and these captives were incorporated into Ndebele society either as wives of Ndebele soldiers or slaves. It is estimated that by the fall of the Ndebele state in 1893, there were three times as many Hole as were the Zansi and Enhla combined, showing the success of the Ndebele's policy of assimilation.
Undoubtedly, this huge class of Ndebele came to have a big influence on the Ndebele culture, an influence that is evident even today. In the modern day Ndebele society these demarcations exist, but as strongly as they did by the fall of the Ndebele kingdom.
"WE" as the Khumalo we have been abusing and despising the indigenous people by calling them names as Hole and we are very sorry as we want to be accepted into our present day society.
We will want to correct also this sad thing which we the Khumalo pioneered:
1. Most Kalangas were forced to speak Ndebele out of necessity although culturally they were not Ndebeles. This was the case in schools that were erected in Kalanga areas of Tsholotsho, Kezi, Gwanda and Matobo.
2. Msindo in LANGUAGE AND ETHNICITY IN MATABELELAND: NDEBELE-KALANGA RELATIONS IN SOUTHERN ZIMBABWE, 1930-1960 deals effectively with this issue. Of interest is where he refers to one Rev. Mtompe Kumalo (a descendant of the former Ndebele ruling family) who taught at Hope Foundation around 1940 who used to preach in church , "Okunga Makalanga kwakuyi kudla komkonto. Sikota igazi lakho." Meaning "Kalangas were food for the assegais. We licked their blood from the assegais."
3. In the 1950s Matabeleland Home Society which was a Ndebele-centric organization but labeled itself a national organization vehemently opposed the existence of Kalanga Cultural Society arguing that it was a tribal formation.
"WE" the really family of Lobengula value peace and advocating for a unitary state which will see every tribe given an opportunity to have their leadership restored and us as strangers staying with everyone in harmony.
Bhekifa Khumalo lives in Bulawayo. He is one of King Lobengula grandsons 'my father was called Ngwenyama Magangeni Khumalo' son of Nyamande; my father was born by Madlodlo. Who was married to Nyamande ka Lobengula and people should know that the family of Lobengula is alive.
The son of Nyamande passed way in 2006 and he was laid to rest at Nkenyani 30km away from Bulawayo,
Source - Bhekifa Mtungwa Khumalo
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