Matiwane
King of the amaNgwane
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Matiwane (died c.1830, uMgungundlovu), of Masumpa kaTshani, was the king of an independent Nguni nation called AmaNgwane.[1]
Matiwane was an independent sovereign who led AmaNgwane and the royal house of Hlongwane during the Mfecane.[2] Attacks from Zwide kaLanga of the Ndwandwe and Jobe kaDingiswayo of the Mthethwa led Matiwane and the Ngwane to move southwest of the White Umfolozi River, into the Highveld.
Matiwane established the AmaNgwane paramountcy at Thaba Bosiu, collecting tribute from Moshoeshoe I.[3][4] Raids from the Matiwane, Shaka, and Mzilakazi pushed groups such as the Hlubi, Zizi, and Bhaca into Xhosa territory.
Matiwane and the Ngwane continued moving south until 1827 when they were met by the Thembu, Pondo, and, Xhosa. These group joined forces with the Cape Colony under Lieutenant Colonel Somerset and defeated the AmaNgwane at the Battle of Mbholompo on August 28, 1828.[2]
Matiwane returned to Zululand with the crown prince Zikhali, while a group of AmaNgwane remained at Umtata. The crown prince Zikhali was sent to Sobhuza I of Swaziland. Matiwane was then slain in Zululand by Dingane kaSenzangakhona, the half-brother of Shaka.[2] The new chief of the AmaNgwane, Zikhali, reunited the tribe at Mont-aux-Sources.
Migrations
After attacks on his homeland at the White Umfolozi River, Matiwane moved some of his cattle and people into the Highveld . Soon afterwards, in 1817 or 1818, Shaka serving as Dingiswayo's general,[5] 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.[6]
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.[5] Matiwane executed their king, Mthimkhulu II c.1818 and regent Mpangazitha c.1826. Some Hlubi abandoned their homeland and fled north or west, or joined Shaka,[5] 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.[7] 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 small sections of the Bhele (relations of the Hlubi) and Zizi.[8]
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.[7] When Matiwane turned south and threatened Moshoeshoe I, he sought the protection of Shaka and sent him tribute.[6] 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.[6]
Thunyiswa Hlongwane of Matiwane was born after the Battle of Mbholompo, in the territory of Hintsa kaKhawuta of the Xhosa.[9][10] Thunyiswa is hailed as yinganga yase beNguni, meaning "nobleman of the Nguni."[11] In the Xhosa Bible of 1975, yinganga is used in contexts of royal leadership, including in 1 Kings 1:35, 1 Chronicles 29:22, and 2 Samuel 5:2.[12] Thunyiswa Hlongwane can be styled as Inkhosana Thunyiswa Hlongwane. Inkhosana is a term of respect for royalty and nobility.[13]
Death
Dingane allowed Matiwane's residence at 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",[6] and had scores of his own enemies executed at KwaMatiwane, the Place of Matiwane.