Xana ku hambana exikari ka Mutsonga na Muchangana ku le kwihi? naswona Mantimu ya vona hi wayi?

[phel...@hizworld.net]

Vatsonga and Machangana have for over two centuries been historically,
politicaly and culturaly intertwined. This has led to many of us
falling into the distortion of history that resulted into two major
misconceptions in understanding our history: i.e

1. Vatsonga/ Machangana are one thing
2. Vatsonga originate from Kwazulu and are a descendants of the Zulus.

These are two myths that i want to dimistify and demethologise while
responding into the topic, guided by proper history.

MUCHANGANA KUMBE MUTSONGA?

There was a man who was called Manukuze (a.k.a SOSHANGANE) at about
1800 in Kwazulu. He was the leader and a commander in Chief of the
Junior section of the Ndwandwe's(NB THIS WAS A ZULU CLAN). After Shaka
defeated the Ndwandwe's during Mfecane in 1819, he fled and lived in
the Mkuzi area.

Six years later (1825) he/SOSHANGANE fled with about 300 followers and
entered Mozambique through the Matsolo and Nkomati river where he
found Zwangendaba Hlatswayo of the Jele [Jere] clan , a former
Ndwandwe subsidiary chief. They briefly formed an alliance. After
clashing with Soshangane, Zwangendaba and his followers left for
Vendaland, between Limpopo (Vembe) and Levubu (Ribvubye) rivers, where
they lived there for a while, before migrating to Rozviland, near
present day Bulawayo. He defeated the Changameri Rozvi. When he
entered Mozambique, he found among others Chopis, Ndawus and VATSONGA
among other tribes. The Vatsonga tribes which he found there include
Nkuna, Rikhotso, Van'wanati, Shiburi, Mavundza and others.

The Nkuna, Valoyi, Mavundza and Rikhotso left for the Transvaal in
1835 after refusing to accompany Soshangane in his pursuit of
Zwangendaba. Soshangane’s attempt to pursue them and failed in 1842
1842 in the battle of Matshengwana.

But when these groups (Nkuna, Valoyi, Mavundza and Rikhotso ) flee
from SOSHANGANE in Mozambique and came to the Transvaal (S.Africa),
they found that a section of the Maluleke (or Van’wanati) clan had
long established itselfs around the northern part of the present day
Kruger National Park and around the confluence of South Africa,
Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In other words, although they were raided by
the Gaza(SOSHANGANE's Kingdom) and the Ndebele, these group refused to
be subjugated. For over a period of about 150 years to this date,
these groups lived OUTSIDE THE GAZA KINGDOM(led by SOSHANGANE BY THE
WAY), they re-established themselves as independent polities.

Now up to this far i think you understand that there is no Mutsonga
who came from Kwazulu and Vatsonga did not come to South Africa under
the leadership of either SOSHANGANE or his successors including
Mdungaze (Ngungunyana) as we were all made to believe.

But we need to make it very clear that SOSHANGANE militarily fought a
lot of battles in Mozambique and conqured a lot of people including
some of the Vatsonga tribes, not all. But he lacked time to entirely
subjugate them because his was more of a raiding kingdom. Shocking?

But the revelation continues.......

THE DEATH OF SOSHANGANE

Another group of the Vatsonga people left with the Portuguese hunter
Joao (aka Jiwawa or Juwawa) Albasini to settle in Riyondze, near the
present day Makhado Town. He established the Xipilongo empire, which
was constituted by the “Magwamba” community.

In 1850, Muzila (Soshangane's son) fled to Xipilongo due to a civil
war with his brother Mawewe. He was taken care of by the Vatsonga and
Magwamba people under the leadership of Jiwawa. Soshangane then died
in Mozambique in October 1858. After his death a struggle ensued among
his sons. Modanise was his eldest son by his first wife, Muzila, by
his second wife, and uSihono and Mawewe, by his third wife. The third
wife was the ‘great wife’ as her lobolo was paid by the nation.
uSihono, the elder brother of Mawewe, was technically the rightful
heir to the throne after Soshangane’s death. The Gaza elders (who
supported Mawewe) kept Soshangane’s death a secret and organized war
against Modanise, uSihone, Yopanjwa, Mzila and Mhlabandabuka. As i
indicated earlier, Mzila had already fled to the Xipilongo whilst the
other brothers fled north to the vicinity of the Zambezi river where
Mawewe’s armies followed and killed them all by May 1859, except
Mhlabandabuka who managed to cross the Zambezi river into Malawi.
Mawewe was left to rule the Gaza empire.

Muzila returned to Mozambique at about November 1861 armed with more
support from Jiwawa Albasini, Hosi Magudu Khosa of Khoseni, Hosi
Mahuntsi of Makwakwa (This were Vatsonga Chiefs helping out a
Muchangana) and the Portuguese of Lourenco Marques, which enabled him
to drive Mawewe into Swaziland where some of his descendents live to
this day. Muzila ruled the Gaza Kingdom from Musapa (Mustapha or
Mussourize), in the Chimanimani mountains in the present-day Zimbabwe
for over 20 years until he died in 1884.

After his death his son Mdungazi (a.k.a NGHUNGUNYANI), who moved his
capital from Musapa to Mandlhakazi, near Bileni in 1889, to try to
reestablish the shaky authority of the Gaza empire. Just like his
father, Ngungunyani did nothing to conquer the Vatsonga people who
were already living South Africa and elsewhere outsied the Gaza
Kingdom in Mozambique, but instead he formed diplomatic relations with
them

In 1894, a war broke out between Nghungunyani and the Portuguese
settlers in Lourenco Marques (the morden day Maputo) - named after a
Ronga King, Maputsu. Ngungunyani was captured in the war in 1895. The
royal family then abandoned the war and go hiding in the bush, leaving
Magigwana Khosa – the army chief general - fighting with his generals.
Magigwana Khosa continued with the fight until 1897 when he was killed
by the Portuguese army at a place called Mapulangweni. The royal
family abandoned the war at the time when the people needed them to
give direction. The core of the royal family located in
Bushbuckridge.

In Bushbuckridge, the Machangana/Nxumalos/ Ndwandes of SOSHANGANE
established their own Amashangane Tribal Authority. When they arrived
in Bushbuckridge, they found that most of the Vatsonga clans like the
Khosa, Hoxani (other Nkuna), and Mnisi were already living there. On
the other side, the “Magwamba” in the Hlanganani, Giyani, Louis
Tritchardt and Malamulele districts; Mavundza in Tzaneen and eastern
Giyani districts; Valoyi also in eastern Giyani and Tzaneen districts;
the Xika in Komatipoort and Barberton districts; Hoxani and Nhlanganu
groups who lived near them in Bushbuckridge; and the Nkuna in the
Tzaneen district were already living there.

Another group of the Machangana (Nxumalos) fled led by Gija, fled to
Xipilongo under a Venda Chief Tshimbupfe Davhana as his ndhuna and he
and his people were later removed to Xaswita in Maluleke country
(under hosi Xikundu). They did not stay long there as they were
expelled from the area by hosi Xikundu when they refused to live by
Xikundu’s rules on his land and they were settled in Ntlhaveni on land
traditionally belonging to other Maluleke clans, but which had been
confiscated by the Boers.

Now when the Machangana/ Ndwandwe's/ Nxumalos of Soshangane through
their interaction with Vatsonga since the 1800, when they came to
South Africa, they abandoned their original langauge (ZULU) and
embraced Xitsonga, Vatsonga tradition and culture such as Ngoma and
Vukhomba. (We all know that Mazulu ava yimbi). That qualified that
Machangana into Vatsonga.

NOW IN RESPONDING TO THE TOPIC......

In conclusion Vatsonga and Machangana is NOT one thing. Vatsonga is a
tribe in which the Machangana clan belong. e.g. If history was not
distorted, Vachangana was supposed to be equivalent to the Nkuna (from
which i belong), Van'wanati, Valoyi. etc

As much as i cant address a Maluleke as a Mutsonga Nkuna or Mnyamatsi,
I also can't address a Mutsonga Nkuna, Maluleke etc as a Mutsonga
Mchangana(which simply means Soshangana, Ndwandwe, Nxumalo, Mngoni)

If you call Mutsonga a Muchangana, You might be imposing a clan name
or surname which does not belong to him where as he already has his
own surname or clan name.

If you know the lineage of the chieftainship of the Amashangana Tribal
Authority (kingdom established by Machangana/ Nxumalo), you will know
what i'm talking about, but may be let me just list it chronologically
for the uninitiated (lava nga yimbangiki hi tlhelo ra swa matimu)

1.Manukuze (Soshangane) (Kwazulu & Mozambique), ku landzela

2.Muzila (Took refuge in Xipilongo but ruled from Moz), ku landzela

3.Mdungazi ( Ngungunyani) (Moz), ku landzela

4.Mpisana (as regent for Buyisonto) (SA), ku landzela

5.Thulamahashi (also as regent for Buyisonto) (SA), ku landzela

6.Buyisonto, ku landzela

7. Nghobo,(SA), ku landzela

8.Mafemani, (SA),ku landzela

8.Kheto, (SA), ku landzela

9.Eric (Mpisana II) (current ruler)

But on the other side of Malamulele, we have Gija, Magona and SDW of
whom i am not clear of their leanage.
By now i think you understand the difference or rather the commonmity
of the two.

Mina ni Mutsonga xo sungula,
Ivi ndzi va mu Nkuna (equivalent to Mchangana/ Mngoni/ Nxumalo)
Ndzi wa Shikwambana xa Mhunti.
Shikwambana lexo tshwa emahangama hi ku tlula ngopfu,
Ndzi jaha ra le Maceni evurila chweni entshaveni ya Mhamavala,
Le Nghomeni eka Mavandzana,
Ekaya ka Tihomu ni Vanhu.
Ndzi tlhevule,

What I'm saying is Machangana are a great deal of Vatsonga just like
the Valoyi (Varodzwi), Manganyi (Magoda), Sithole (Ndzawu) etc, but we
should not equate a clan (Machangana/ Nxumalo) to a tribe Vatsonga. So
the double barrel of Vatsonga Machangana just does not cut it....
Machangana should rightfully remain what they are a clan under the
Vatsonga tribe just like the Valoyi, Manganyi, Nkuna, Sithole,
etc..........

NDZI MUTSONGA!!!!!!! (Mutsari, Neil Shikwambana)