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Matabeleland North is a province in western Zimbabwe. With a population of 749,017 as of the 2012 census, it is the country's second-least populous province, after Matabeleland South, and is the country's least densely populated province. Matabeleland North was established in 1974, when the original Matabeleland Province was divided into two provinces, the other being Matabeleland South. In 1997, the province lost territory when the city of Bulawayo became its own province. Matabeleland North is divided into seven districts. Its capital is Lupane, and Victoria Falls and Hwange are its largest towns. The name "Matabeleland" is derived from the Matabele or Ndebele people, the province's largest ethnic group.
Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers and are further separated from Midlands by the Shangani River in central Zimbabwe. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people who were called "Amatabele"(people with long spears – Mzilikazi 's group of people who were escaping the Mfecani wars). Other ethnic groups who inhabit parts of Matabeleland include the Tonga, Bakalanga, Venda, Nambya, Khoisan, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, and Tsonga. The population of Matabeleland is just over 20% of the Zimbabwe's total.
The Rozvi Empire (1500–1866) was a Shona state established on the Zimbabwean Plateau by Changamire Dombo. The term "Rozvi" refers to their legacy as a warrior nation, taken from the Shona term kurozva, "to plunder". They became the most powerful fighting force in the whole of Zimbabwe.
Kalanga, or TjiKalanga, is a Bantu language spoken by the Kalanga people in Botswana and Zimbabwe. It has an extensive phoneme inventory, which includes palatalised, velarised, aspirated and breathy-voiced consonants, as well as whistled sibilants.
Hwange, originally known as Wankie, is a town in Zimbabwe, located in Hwange District, in Matabeleland North Province, in northwestern Zimbabwe, close to the international borders with Botswana and Zambia. It lies approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi), by road, southeast of Victoria Falls, the nearest large city. The town lies on the railway line from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second-largest city, to Victoria Falls. Hwange sits at an elevation of 770 metres (2,530 ft), above sea level.
The Lobedu or Balobedu(also known as the BaLozwi or Bathobolo) are a southern African ethnic group that speak a Northern Sotho dialect. Their area is called Bolobedu. The name "balobedu" means "the mineral miners," lobela or go loba, - to mine. Their ancestors were part of the great Mapungubwe early civilization. They have their own kingdom, the Balobedu Kingdom, within the Limpopo Province of South Africa with a female ruler, the Rain Queen Modjadji.
The Shona people are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, primarily living in Zimbabwe where they form the majority of the population, as well as Mozambique, South Africa, and a worldwide diaspora. There are five major Shona language/dialect clusters: Manyika, Karanga, Zezuru, Korekore, and Ndau.
Masunga /ˈmɑːsuŋɡʌ/ is a Bakalanga settlement in the North-East District of Botswana. The village is the Headquarters of the North East District. The nearest city is Francistown which is about 120 km (75 mi) away. The Chief of the region is Kgosi Thabo Maruje Masunga III, who took over from his uncle Christopher Masunga.
Tsholotsho, originally known as Tjolotjo, is a district in Matabeleland North province in Zimbabwe. Its administrative centre is at Tsholotsho business centre which is located about 98 km north-west of Bulawayo. Districts around Tsholotsho include Lupane, Hwange, Umguza, and Bulilima. The Manzamnyama River separates Tsholotsho from Bulilima District, whilst the Gwayi River separates it from Umguza and Lupane districts, and the Hwange National Park separates it from Hwange District.
Plumtree is a town in Zimbabwe. Marula trees, wild plum trees grow abundantly in the area. The town was once called Getjenge by baKalanga. Another name by which it is often caled, is Titji, meaning station and referring to the railway station which was operating in the area around 1897.
The pre-colonial history of Zimbabwe lasted until the British government granted colonial status to Southern Rhodesia in 1923.
Many languages are spoken, or historically have been spoken, in Zimbabwe. Since the adoption of its 2013 Constitution, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, namely Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shona, The country's main languages are Shona, spoken by over 82% of the population, and Ndebele, spoken by roughly 15%. English is the country's lingua franca, used in government and business and as the main medium of instruction in schools. English is the first language of most white Zimbabweans, and is the second language of a majority of black Zimbabweans. Historically, a minority of white Zimbabweans spoke Afrikaans, Greek, Italian, Polish, and Portuguese, among other languages, while Gujarati and Hindi could be found amongst the country's Indian population. Deaf Zimbabweans commonly use one of several varieties of Zimbabwean Sign Language, with some using American Sign Language. Zimbabwean language data is based on estimates, as Zimbabwe has never conducted a census that enumerated people by language.
The Kalanga or BaKalanga are a southern Bantu ethnic group mainly inhabiting Matebeleland in Zimbabwe, northern Botswana, and parts of the Limpopo Province in South Africa.
Europeans first came to the region in southern Africa today called Zimbabwe in the sixteenth century, when Portuguese colonials ventured inland from Mozambique and attacked the Kingdom of Mutapa, which then controlled an area roughly equivalent to eastern Zimbabwe and western Mozambique. Portuguese influence over Mutapa endured for about two centuries before fading away during the 1690s and early-1700s (decade). During the year of 1685, French Huguenots emigrated to present-day South Africa and whilst some settled there, others moved further north into the continent. Those who did, settled within modern-day Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana, and co-existed with the indigenous people; most of whom, in Zimbabwe, were the Naletale people.
BaTalaote are an ethnic group found in the central district of Botswana and south-western parts of Zimbabwe. They are part of a large group of ethnic groups called Bakalanga. Over the years Batalaote lost their language and adopted Kalanga for those in Zimbabwe and Sengwato, which is spoken by the Bangwato, for those in Botswana. The Talaunda and the Wadoma could share a common ancestor. Both tribes have significantly high cases of ectrodactyly.
The population of Botswana is divided into the main ethnic groups of Tswana people (73%), Kalanga people (18%), and Basarwa (2%). The remaining 7% consist of other peoples, including some speaking the Kgalagadi language, and 1% of non-African people.
Batalaote is an ethnic group in Botswana, part of a larger group called Bakalanga-Banyai. They speak dialects such as:
Mthwakazi is the traditional name of the proto-Ndebele people and Ndebele kingdom and is in the area of today's Zimbabwe. Mthwakazi is widely used to refer to inhabitants of Matebeleland Province in Zimbabwe.
Nambya, or Nanzwa/Nanzva, is a Bantu language spoken by the Nambya people. It is spoken in northwestern Zimbabwe, particularly in the town of Hwange, with a few speakers in northeastern Botswana. It is either classified as a dialect of Kalanga or as a closely related language. The Zimbabwean constitution, in particular the Education Act, as amended in 1990, recognises Nambya and Kalanga as separate indigenous languages.
Hwange District is an administrative district in northwestern Zimbabwe, in southern Africa.
References
- ↑ Hasselbring, Sue; Segatlhe, Thabiso; Munch, Julie; Project, Basarwa Languages (1 January 2001). A sociolinguistic survey of the languages of Botswana. Tasalls. p. 6. ISBN 9789991293271.
