THE BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HLUBI’S
The Ama Hlubi
are there to be found through out South Africa. All the Hlubis have one
common salutation “Radebe” or “Hadebe”. It was during the reign
of King Radebe that the Tribes name of ImiHuhu was changed to Ama
Hlubi in Honour of Queen Ma-Hlubi who’s first born was Dlomo.
The royal salutation or the Is-thakazelo of the royal
line is according to individual choice either Ntsele or Bhungane.
The descendents of Mlindazwe in the Cape Province, who was the great
grandson of Mvunga use the salutation of “Radebe” as they are not
the descendents of Bhungane but Radebe’s right hand house. There are people in South Africa with the clans
familiar to the royalty of the Hlubis such as Ntleles and Dlomos who have no
relationship to the Ama-Hlubi tribe at all. They are either Abe-Nguni or
Aba-Mbo, and yet the Hlubi belong to the Amalala stock. The latter were the
first new comers into Debezi, which was predominantly inhabited by Aba-Thwa in
the north, and Ama – Gquqwe “Hottentots” along South Coast. The Country was at
later period called Natal by Vasco Da Gamma that sailed along the coast of
Debezi on the 25th of December 1497. In fact the name Debezi was
given to the country by the later comers the Aba-Mbo as a nickname to the early
inhabitants the Ama lala because they had a custom of making scarification on
the face-thus they called their predecessors Ama-debe and the country was
called Debezi.
THE WARS BETWEEN THE-AMA-HLUBI AND AMA-NGWANE
In the second decade of the nineteenth century the Ama-Hlubi
was one of the largest and powerful tribes in Natal. All that was lacking with
the Hlubis was the real cohesion. Chief Mpangazitha Head of the Bhungane’s
Right Hand House was practically independent of his half Brother Mthimkhulu II
who was Bhungane’s heir and therefore the King of the Hlubi tribe. In times of
danger however they united for mutual protection. In 1819 Hlubis occupied the
valley of the buffalo River as well as of its upper tributaries Ncandu and
Ngagane and their source close under the Drakensberg mountains-
There was no conflict between Tshaka and the Hlubis, but
Tshaka certainly set other strong tribes against the Hlubis in order to
dissipate of so formidable a tribe. Another strong tribe that Tshaka feared was
the Ama-Ngwane under Chief Matiwane. At the instigation of Tshaka the
Ama-Ntshali under Chief Nkondlo and Abakwa-Mthethwa under chief Godongwane
under whom Tshaka served, attacked Matiwana who could not resist a combination
which became too strong for Him. He was ultimately defeated. At the beginning
of the Hostilities, Matiwane placed the cattle of his tribe of his immediate
neighbor King Mthimkhulu II.
When Hostilities were over, Matiwane sent for his cattle but
Mthimkhulu refused to give them up. Chief Matiwane made no secret of his
intention to attack the Hlubis for their treachery, and the Hlubis mad
preparations to meet the Ama-Ngwane. Both the great and the right hand sections
of the Hlubis combined to resist Matiwane under their respective chiefs
Mthimkhulu and Mpangazitha. The Hlubis did their best to stem the attack, but
Mthimkhulu fell and the Hlubis resistance withdrew away, they broke and fled.
Mpangazitha with great Portion of his force scaled the Drakensberg and fled to
basuthuland.
MATIWANE’S SECOND WAR
The second war was between King Tshaka and chief Matiwane.
That was in 1821, chief Mpangazitha heard that his old enemy who enforced him
to be in exile was at war with King Tshaka. He decided to be on the side of
king Tshaka in order to revenge. Mpangazitha immediately ascended Drakensberg
from the west, eager to assist in the destruction of a man who had caused, and
enforced exile for two years in BasutuLand – “Lesotho”. Tshaka’s army was
called back when Matiwane’s army was driven beyond the Drakensberg. Over the
mountains Matiwane’s army met Mpangazitha’s army. Both armies fought each other
violently and descended the eastern slopes of the Drakensberg locked in deadly
strife. They passed through Basotholand fighting until exhaustion compelled
both combatants to stop. From that time these two tribes settled along the
caledon river – e- Rugwane. It was here in 1850 that the Hlubi was finally
crushed and scattered by Matiwane’s Ama-Mangwane. The battle was long and
desperate. For five days it lasted but the battle became infavour of
Ama-Mangwane. It was during this battle when Mpangazitha died.
The Hlubis sought refuge with various tribes. One body under
Mehlomakhulu the right hand son of Mpangazithafled to territory of Mzilikazi
another sought protection under the BasothoLand. Chief Moshweshwe. Others
scattered far and wide. Mpangazitha’s son and heir chief Sidane together with a
number of followers, escaped from from the field of battle but had not gone far
before he was surrounded by Mzilikazi’s army. He escaped during the night with
his wife when he heard that Mzilikazi was planning to kill him. His Hlubis that
remained behind were to incorporated in Mzilikazi’s army. Chief Sidane set out
for for Gazaland Kwa Gasa where he did not stay very long. He eventually
returned to Rugwane, the territory of the Hlubis old enemy chief Matiwane who
ordered that he had to be immediately put to death for fear that the Hlubis who
were conquered and incorporated into his army would rebel. Fortunately his
descendants survived and it was 1895 when Zibi the heir of Sidane was given by
the Cape Goverment a portion of land in the district of Matatiele.
CHIEF MEHLOMAKHULU THE RIGHT HAND SON OF MPANGAZITHA
After his fathers death at Caledon river Mehlomakhulu
attached himself as a surbodinate to chief Mzilikazi Khumalo the son of
Mashobane. For sometime chief Mzilikazi treated Mehlomakhulu with consideration
but realized that this young man was held in great respect by Hlubis, he began
to suspect that ultimately Meholmakhulu would dispute his authority and decided
to get rid himself of so dangerous and office, Mehlomakhulu learned that
Mzilikazi was planning to kill him. The Hlubis advised him to escape. Before
escaping they collected all the cattle, women and children during the night.
They were followed by Mzilikazi’s army which had a large section of Hlubis who
joined their own tribe when the two armies were about to fight. Mzilikazi’s
army was defeated.
Mehlomakhulu’s name in consiquence of his success, attained
a certain fame. Hlubis scattered among different tribes railied to his standard
and it seemed as if the Hlubi tribe would again rise on the ashes of the past
to something like its former importance. He accordingly set out for Natal but on reaching Natal he
found Marwanqa one of Bhungane’s minor houses at loggerheads with the paramount
Chief Langalibalele. Mehlomakhulu attached himself forthwith to Marwanqa’s
party and strain relations calminated in war. Marwanqa was defeated.
Mehlomakhulu realized that the enmity he had caused, he then thereupon appealed
to the British colonial Government which settled him in the district of
Herschel in the Cape Colony.
PARAMOUNT CHIEF LANGALIBALELE
Langalibalele was the heir of king Mthimkhulu II and his
mother Ngiwe was the daughter of Sobuza I the King of the Ama-Swazi. A young
brother of heir and by the same mother was Ludidi who eventually settled in the
district of Mt Frere in the Cape colony now called the republic of Transkei. Paramount Chief Langalibalele
left his residence at south of Tugela in 1848. the colonial government placed
him close up to the Drakensberg in order to chase away the bushmen whose
special prey were horses and cattle. The Hlubis drove the bushmen across the
Drakensberg in 1849. In 1872 the discovery of diamonds at Kimberly caused a
large number of Hlubis to go there in search for work. It happened that the
Hlubi became interested in buying guns with their wages. The buying of guns
caused anxiety to the Natal Europeans. Langalibalele was asked to put a stop to
the importation of firearms into the country. Apparently no notice was taken by
the paramount chief on those instructions.
Two government forces were sent to arrest him of course they
knew that it would not be easy to arrest him as the Hlubis would not agree and
war took place. One force was under the command of Sir B. Pine and the other
under colonial Durnford, the latter fought with the Hlubi at Xowe among the
escarpments of the Drakensberg. Durnford’s forces was defeated. Langalibalele
then proceeded to Basuto-land “Lesotho”,
but ufortunately the British government representative in Lesotho Mr. Griffith
arrested him and he returned him to Natal government. He was exiled to Cape
flats.
KING BHUNGANE AND THE NATAL GOVERNMENT
The Author uses two royalty titles when writing history of
the South Eastern Bantu “Blacks”
(i)
King for the dynasty that reigned prior to the arrival
of Europeans in natal
(ii)
Paramount chief for all those who ruled during the Colonial
government up to the present era.
King Bhungane’s date of birth is not clearly known but the
fact is that he was already an old man during the reign of King Tshaka. We
understand that his son and heir king Mthimkhulu II had “ascended the throne for
some time when war broke out between chief Kondlo of the Ama-Ntshali tribe and
Chief Matiwane of the Ama-Ngwane tribe in 1819. again we learn that the Boer
government requested him to meet the
members of parliament in Pietermaritzburg in the year 1840. The Boers did not
know that he was a very old monarch.
King Bhungane was the most popular among the Hlubi Monarchs.
He was known and praised by the Hlubis as Bhungane O-makhulu-khulu. The praise
was not in reference to the thousands of his subjects or cattle but to his
wives who were more than three hundred. He lived peacefully with his
neighbours. No neighbouring chief that ever threatened him or thought of
invading his country because the chiefs of other tribes respected him as their
son in law. He had almost married the daughter of all the minor and principal
chiefs in Natal, Swaziland and Lesotho.
The Hlubi revered their chief as a man with super natural
powers. He was believed that he was responsible for the abundant harvest of all
type of agricultural products. The chief of their neighbouring states appealed
to him for rain during dry seasons. In 1840 King Mpande of Kwazulu informed the
Boer government in Natal that he was not practically reigning all the blacks in
Natal as the whites had thought, hence there was a powerfull tribe of the
Hlubis which was under King Bhungane. That tribe was fortunate to remain free
from king Tshaka’s conquering powers and Dominations.
The Boers were not happy to hear that there existed a man
was called a king in their new republic of Natal. Infact they had a wrong idea
that all the blacks in Natal and Kwazulu
were automatically under the reign of the new monarch King Mpande. On
hearing the unexpected news the Boer government sent emissaries to request king
Bhungane to meet the members of the parliament in Pietermaritzburg for
discussions. King Bhungane being very much advanced in age, he could not
possibly travel all the way to Pietermaritzburg, besides old age he was afraid
of the Boers because he knew how they treated King Dingane. However he promised
that their request would be considered. On the departure of the white
messengers, a special meeting was held at the palace to make quick decisions
before the feared whites felt offended. The councilors mistrusted the whites
but Nyangane one of the King Bhungane’ sons of minor houses volunteered to go
to Pietermaritzburg .He was then given the king’s attire so as to appear
exactly like a King, Most fortunately the messengers did not see the face of
the king as it was great privilege and honour for a stranger to be brought to
the presence of the king –partly that was done for the security reasons.
The boers were pleased to meet Nyangane who introduced
himself as king Bhungane. They told him that their intention was to establish
good neighbourliness with all Blacks in Natal as they had already done the same
with King Mpande in Zululand. Nyangane was Cooperative and he told them that he
had no objection to their proposals of signing documentary agreements to that
effect.
When Nyangane reached home, he told his father, that the
were no problems encountered in Pietermaritzburg. The Boers were friendly and
all what they wanted from him was to sign a friendship agreement with emphasis
on that the Hlubis and the Boer government would assist each other in times of
war. He also told the aged king that the Boers did not have the slightest doubt
that he was not a king. King Bhungane felt that the Boers would be furious in
case they learned later that he had fooled them by sending one of his sons of
minor houses not even Mthimkhulu II to pose as a king and to sign important
documents with them.
The king then instructed his son Nyangane to return to
Pietermaritzburg with a group of people “Hlubis” men, women and children who
were willing to go. He had to tell the Boers that he changed his mind when he
reached home as he felt that there was a dire need for him to live closely to
his new whites friends, for his own security and for the good of the whites in
times of war. The whites thanked him for his good ideas. they placed him and
his followers next to the Ntlangwini tribe under chief Sidoyi a section of
which was left behind when a large section under chief Nombewu and his heir
Fodo trekked to uMzimkhulu district.
Nyangane’s Mission for being of service at a short notice to
Boers was very brief because the British colonial government took over from the
Boers, stating that the remained being the being the subjects of the British as
they were conquered by them in the Cape colony. Nyangane then told his
followers that they had to return home because the Boers that were feared by
his father were then powerless. The Hlubis were unwilling to return instead
they wanted to join chief Sidoyi who had intentions to proceed to a no man’s land across the uMzimkhulu river with his
Ntlangwini tribe. The Hlubis enforced Nyangane to also join chief Sidoyi
Baleni. The Hlubis feared that they would be labeled as mutineers in case their
leader returned to his father being alone. They knew what would be the results.
The Hlubis were incorporated to the Ntlangwini tribe which was of course a
large body.
Chief Sidoyi and his tribe finally settled in the district
of uMzimkhulu. They selected a beautiful land along the Gungululu River. At the
time when it became compulsory by Act of Parliament in Cape Town that all the
Blacks “Natives” had to be registered in magistrate offices for a statistical
records and in order not to evade tax, Nyangane instructed all the members of
his large family to use Bhungane as their surname lest the future generations
forget that they were the direct descendants of King Bhungane. Nyangane heir
was Ngoxwane the latter’s heir Mjaro. The old man had several wives but among
his sons he favoured Gwembeshe who inherited the European attire, which was a
special gift from the Boers in Pietermaritzburg in1840. The attire was just as
good as new as the owner always kept it in an iron box. It was likely that the
old man presented the kit to his son Gwembeshe in recognition of his valour in
warfare during Hope’s war in 1880 (Mr. Hope was a magistrate of Qumbu who was
killed together with his three white clerks by chief Mhlontlo). The Basotho
under the chief Lerothodi and Chief Masupa joined the rebellion of the
Pondomisa’s under chief Mhlontlo. The Basotho in the district of Matatiele and
at King Scote area, also joined their fellow men Lesotho. The cause of the
rebellion was the disarmament act of 1872, which was also responsible for the
war between the Natal Government and Hlubis in Natal under their paramount
chief Langalibalele. In fact all the chiefs were against that act.
Chief Sidoyi offered himself to assist the Cape government
in breaking the back bone of the rebellion. Chief Sidoyi who was very old 1880
requested Gwembeshe Bungane tp lead the Ntlangwini army which was immediately
joined by the Bacas. Gwembeshe became a commander in chief to both armies. Mr.
Walker “Mhlongohlongo” was delegated by the magistrate Mr. McDonald Straghen to
supply the large native army with guns and to keep the names of the recruits or
mercenaries in a register so as to make it easier to pay them at their end of
their services. Chief Mhlontlo and his Friends were totally defeated. Chief
Mhlontlo fled to Lesotho where he remained in hiding for many years.
REFFERNCE: THE SOUTH EASTERN BANTUS by H. Soga
