NDEBELE/MATABELE
Ron McGregor
of variously as Matabele and Ndebele, while the Ndebele people from the area
north of Pretoria are NEVER referred to as Matabele?
Anyone like to explain the relationship between the Ndebele of the Transvaal
and the Matabele/Ndebele of Zimbabwe. Did the guys in the Transvaal get
left behind when Mzilikazi hit the road, or what?
Are the terms Ndebele and Matabele simply different renderings of the same
word, or do they have different meanings?
According to Dr Peter Becker (Path of Blood) >tabele< means to sink out of
sight, referring to the way the warriors could disappear behind their long
shields during battle. Hence the sobriquet, People of the Long Shields.
shin...@my-dejanews.com
"Ron McGregor" <ron...@iafrica.com> wrote:
> Can anyone out there suggest why the people of western Zimbabwe are spoken
> of variously as Matabele and Ndebele, while the Ndebele people from the area
> north of Pretoria are NEVER referred to as Matabele?
>
> Anyone like to explain the relationship between the Ndebele of the Transvaal
> and the Matabele/Ndebele of Zimbabwe. Did the guys in the Transvaal get
> left behind when Mzilikazi hit the road, or what?
>
> Are the terms Ndebele and Matabele simply different renderings of the same
Matabele refers to the inhabitants of Matabeleland - in all probability a
Shona-fication of the Ndebele identity in Zimbabwe, hence Mashonaland, et al -
which may or may not include people of the Ndebele clan (most likely, though)
and does not confer clan identity.
Hence KwaNdebele, Matabeleland are mutually exclusive place names, whereas as
the plural Ndebele are the most likely inhabitants of both places.
It would seem therefore that Matabele and Ndebele are not necessarily one and
the same.
(I really am prepared to get hammered for the above analysis, but it was an
honest attempt.)
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