Matiwane

Fleeing the Mthethwa and Zulu coalition, the amaNgwane under Matiwane, with some elements of the Hlubi, cross the Drakensberg to raid the Tlôkwa and Basuto of the highveld, before entering Xhosa territory.

A section of the Hlubi people, once scattered by Matiwane's assault on their homeland, joined a coalition of peoples known as the Fengu.

Matiwane ka Masumpa (died c.1830, uMgungundlovu), son of Masumpa, was the king of an independent Nguni-speaking nation, the amaNgwane, ^[1] a people named after Matiwane's ancestor Ngwane ka Kgwadi. The amaNgwane lived at the headwaters of the White Umfolozi, in what is now Vryheid in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The cunning of Matiwane would keep the amaNgwane one step ahead of the ravages of the rising Zulu kingdom, but their actions also set the Mfecane in motion. After his nation was ousted from their homeland by Zwide with Shaka, Matiwane and his armies clashed with neighboring nations as he attempted to nourish his people. Eventually he fled South into lands occupied by abaThembu, amaMpondo and the neighboring Xhosa nations, which ultimately teamed up with the British and got his nation dismantled and scattered as smaller splinters at the Battle of Mbholompo in what is today Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. In his exodus from Mthatha, Matiwane and the biggest of the amaNgwane splinters was sheltered by baSotho but eventually had to return to his country, Ntenjwa (now Bergville), which he had settled briefly upon fleeing from his old country on uMfolozi omhlophe. Being back at Ntenjwa put a very much weakened amaNgwane and the king, Matiwane, within easy reach of the Zulu nation he had fled from. Matiwane had to then go make peace with the Zulu king, now Dingane, successor to Shaka. This despotic ruler put Matiwane to death shortly after Matiwane sought peace with the amaZulu.

Migrations

Expecting an attack on his homeland, Matiwane moved some of his cattle herds westward. Soon afterwards, in 1817 or 1818, Shaka serving as Dingiswayo's general, ^[2] attacked the amaNgwane and drove them across the Buffalo river, uMzinyathi. This was the onset of the Mfecane migrations in which nations became displaced, and in turn displaced others in a series of internecine wars. ^[1]

The desperate amaNgwane under Matiwane's leadership moved westwards, where they attacked the Hlubi, a larger kingdom built by Bhungane, in a quest to recover their cattle. ^[2] Matiwane killed their king, Mthimkhulu c.1818, causing the Hlubi nation to scatter in different directions. Some Hlubi abandoned their homeland and fled north or west, or joined Shaka, ^[2] but some merged with the amaNgwane. Still others joined a coalition of refugees, the Fengu, who settled on the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony. ^[3] The Hlubi rued this catastrophe, referring to it as the izwekufa ("country of death"), and ascribed it to an act of witchcraft.

For the next three to four years Matiwane, now settled at Ntenjwa, now became the ruler of the upper Thukela region, near present-day Bergville, as he incorporated smaller tribes like the Bhele (relations of the Hlubi) and Zizi. ^[4]

In 1821 or 1822 Matiwane, expecting an attack from Shaka, fled over the Drakensberg and drove the Tlokwa tribe of chieftainess Mantatese (mother of Sekonyela) from their land in the Harrismith-Vrede region. Sotho tribes of the interior were also attacked, who fled to the region of Lesotho, where they joined the ranks of Moshoeshoe I. ^[3] When Matiwane turned south and threatened Moshoeshoe I, he sought the protection of Shaka and sent him tribute. ^[1] Matiwane established himself at Mabolela hill, near present day Clocolan, and Moshoeshoe complained to Shaka that this prevented him from sending tribute. Shaka dispatched Moselekatse (Mzilikazi) to attack Matiwane, who had to retreat before the impi's advance. They fled southwards to the lands of the abaThembu, which they once again plundered. They would however be defeated at the Battle of Mbholompo in 1828 by a coalition of the AmaMpondo who were led by king Faku kaNgqungqushe, amaXhosa led by, King Hintsa, abaThembu under king Ngubengcuka and colonial troops under the command of Major Dundas and Colonel Somerset. ^[1]

Death

Dingane allowed his residence on the Hlomo amabutho ridge, less than a kilometer from his royal kraal UMgungundlovu, but before long had him killed. Dingane posthumously appointed him as the "devil chief" and "great chief of the wicked", ^[1] and had scores of his own enemies executed at KwaMatiwane, the Place of Matiwane.

References

1. Kotzé, D. J. (1950). Letters of the American Missionaries, 1835-1838. Cape Town: Van Riebeeck Society. pp. 223–224.
2. Etherington, Norman (2001). The great treks: the transformation of Southern Africa, 1815-1854. New York: Longman. ISBN   0582315670.
3. Atlas of Southern Africa. Reader's Digest. August 1985. p. 27. ISBN   0-947008-02-0.
4. Giliomee, H.; et al. "How did the Mfecane begin?". New History of South Africa. Retrieved 8 July 2014.