Gladys Lomafu Pato (born 1930) is a Swazi short story writer, teacher and lecturer. [1]
She was born Gladys Lomafu Dlamini, near to the town of Piggs Peak in Swaziland in 1930. [2] She was the daughter of a well-known chief who had many cattle and many wives, and was one of the richest Swazis in the land. [2] Her mother was his eighth wife. [2]
On 1 January 1957, she married Petrus Phembuvuyo Pato (1929-2010), who was a Christian pastor like his father, and they had three sons together, and adopted a daughter. [2]
She was studying at Bible College when she met her future husband, and they ran various ministries throughout Swaziland. [2] She became a qualified teacher, and in 1980, earned her bachelor's degree in education from the University of Swaziland. [2] She then worked at William Pitcher Teachers College for eight years as a lecturer, and later taught in a private school in Lilongwe, Malawi, as her husband was the academic dean of Lilongwe Nazarene Bible College there. [2]
Her publications include Umtsango, a 117-page volume of short stories, published by Swaziland Academic Services in 1977. [3]
Eswatini, officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly officially entitled in English as Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south and southeast. At no more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) north to south and 130 kilometres (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld.
Artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age have been found in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Prehistoric rock art paintings date from c. 25,000 B.C. and continuing up to the 19th century can be found in various places around the country. The earliest known inhabitants of the region were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. Later, the population became predominantly Nguni during and after the great Bantu migrations. People speaking languages ancestral to the current Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century. The country now derives its name from a later king named Mswati II. Ngwane, named for Ngwane III, is an alternative name for Swaziland the surname of whose royal house remains Nkhosi Dlamini. Nkhosi literally means "king". Mswati II was the greatest of the fighting kings of Eswatini, and he greatly extended the area of the country to twice its current size. The people of Eswatini largely belong to a number of clans that can be categorized as Emakhandzambili, Bemdzabu, and Emafikamuva, depending on when and how they settled in Eswatini.
Mswati III is the king of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger wives, Ntfombi Tfwala. He was crowned as Mswati III, Ingwenyama and King of Swaziland, on 25 April 1986 at the age of 18, thus becoming the youngest ruling monarch in the world at that time. Together with his mother, Ntfombi Tfwala, now Queen Mother (Ndlovukati), he rules the country as an absolute monarch. Mswati III is known for his practice of polygamy and currently has 15 wives.
Sobhuza II, KBE was the Paramount Chief and later Ngwenyama of Swaziland for 82 years and 254 days, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history. Sobhuza was born on 22 July 1899 at Zombodze Royal Residence, the son of Inkhosikati Lomawa Ndwandwe and King Ngwane V. When he was only four months old, his father died suddenly while dancing incwala. Sobhuza was chosen king soon after that and his grandmother Labotsibeni and his uncle Prince Malunge led the Swazi nation until his maturity in 1921. Sobhuza led Swaziland through independence until his death in 1982. He was succeeded by Mswati III, his young son with Inkhosikati Ntfombi Tfwala, who was crowned in 1986.
Labotsibeni Mdluli, also known as Gwamile, was the Queen Mother and Queen Regent of Swaziland.
Lydia Phindile Makhubu is a retired Swazi chemist and former professor of chemistry, dean and vice-chancellor of the University of Swaziland.
Gladys is a female name from the Welsh name Gwladus or Gwladys, which bears the meaning of royalty (princess); conversely, it has been speculated to originally be from the Latin diminutive "gladiolus," meaning small sword hence the gladiolus flowering plant.
Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini is a Swazi princess and politician. She is the eldest daughter of King Mswati III of Eswatini, and is the country's current Minister of Information and Communication Technology.
HIV/AIDS in Eswatini was first reported in 1986 but has since reached epidemic proportions. As of 2016, Eswatini had the highest prevalence of HIV among adults aged 15 to 49 in the world (27.2%).
Hilda Beemer Kuper was a social anthropologist most notable for her extensive work on Swazi culture.
Ursula Mary Niebuhr was an English American academic and theologian. She was the founder and longtime head of the Department of Religion at Barnard College in New York City, USA.
In Eswatini, no king can appoint his successor. Instead, an independent special traditional Council called the Liqoqo decides which of the wives shall be "Great Wife" and "Indlovukazi". The son of this "Great Wife" will automatically become the next king.
laNgolotsheni (Lomawa) Ndwandwe was the Ndlovukati of Swaziland, the wife of King Ngwane V, and the mother of King Sobhuza II.
Gladys Rosaleen Turquet-Milnes was a British academic and author. She was Professor of French Language and Literature at Bedford College, University of London, from 1934–52, having been Head of the French Department at Westfield College from 1916 to 1934.
Dorothy Maud Pickles was a British university teacher, historian, and broadcaster.
Doo Aphane is a Swazi lawyer and women's rights campaigner. She has worked with many human and women's rights organisations and in 2012 she was successful in changing Swaziland's law to allow married women to hold property in their own name.
Mary Mdziniso was a Swazi educator and politician. She was appointed to the Senate in 1968, becoming the country's first female member of Parliament.
Regina Gelana Twala was a feminist activist, writer, researcher, evangelist, and liberation leader in what is now eSwatini.
Gladys Sara Wood was an American educator and academic administrator. She was the first African-American principal in the Boston Public Schools.
Viola Doudna Romans was an American lecturer and politician, chiefly known for her role in the temperance movement. She was the first woman elected to serve as Franklin County's Representative to the Ohio House of Representatives.