Although this question is boarder than we think. tonight something came to me as I was watching a recent host on Ndebelesconnect' snapchat. he was at a meeting to discuss the dismissal of the recent discovery of the Ndebele nation, otherwise known as Mthwakazi, king. for those unfamiliar with this name - youre not alone, I too, was absolutely oblivious to this name and who it stood for and its members.
Lets do a quick history lesson. The Ndebele people of modern day Zimbabwe came from South Africa, lead by the none other Mzilikazi a close relative of Shaka Zulu who was the last official King of Southern Africa region of Kwa-Zulu before the colonisation of the British. Mzilikazi fled South Africa and headed north into what is now known as Zimbabwe. On his way he would kill anyone who got in his way - a trait learnt from Shaka - and take the women north with him. Of course not doing this alone but with a small handful of people from the tribe of the Ndebele - side note - there are loads and loads of tribes in Africa let alone South Africa. South Africa, with 13 official languages along with their tribes, you can see what I mean. To name a few there are the Zulus, the Tswana, the Venda, the Tsonga, the Ndebele (still ;) going strong) and many many more. - back to the main deal - he settled in Zimbabwe and I believe he owned quite a large bit if it. With both the Midlands and Matabeleland being vastly bigger than Mashonaland. However due to the whites (the British) after he died his son, Lobengula, made a dodgy deal which signed away his rights to the land otherwise now known as Matabeleland and the Midlands. As it stands now the Matabeleland, the Midlands, Mashonaland and Manicaland were combined into one country now known as Zimbabwe.
Other tribes include the Kalanga tribe, the Venda, the Shangaan, and the Tonga.
The tribe of the Kalanga, of which I was born into dominates most of Bulilima and parts of Francistown in Botswana, speaking the recognised language of tjiKalanga. It seems quite strange that the don't inhabit just one country but this is also because of that dodgy deal that Lobengula signed which divided the Kalanga's who where living together as one group into two different groups where some - a small minority - live in Zimbabwe and some live in Botswana. Which brings me back to my main question of who am I? Although my decent is mainly Kalanga and South Africa can I really claim to be a Ndebele?
My last name has become something of a puzzle to me. My last name is Ndlovu, a name seen as a Ndebele/Zulu. I speak isiNdebele. however my whole family name is Ndlovu-Habelengan. The Habelengan bit being aggressively Kalanga. My family speaks fluent tjiKalanga and even lives among Kalanga people in Bulilima. Manje my question is why? Why is there a Ndlovu infront of our non - negotiable and very much Kalanga Stemo. Could it have been the whites? Just trying to classify us as one? and why have I been claiming to be a tribe which I don't really belong to? This creates more questions than it does answers. Why is there not that much representation of the Kalanga's in Zimbabwe? What can I do to represent us?
Well I posed this question on the family group chat, and this is what I got from my Uncle (Babomndala):
In conclusion, I can say throughout this journey of discovering who I am... and I still haven't finished... I can say that from my fathers side I am Kalanga but from my mothers side, which I haven't disclosed much on I am from South African decent - you could say I'm Ndebelefied by her. So I guess I'm both!!
Thank You.
