Lobengula biography template

Lobengula Khumalo c. Both names in the Ndebele language mean "the men of the long shields", a reference to the Ndebele warriors' use of the Nguni shield. The Matabele were descendants of a faction of the Zulu people who fled north during the reign of Shaka following the mfecane "the crushing" or difaqane "the scattering".

Lobengula letter to queen victoria

Shaka's general, Mzilikazi led his followers away from Zulu territory after a falling-out. In the late s, they settled in what is now called Matabeleland in western Zimbabwe , but they claimed sovereignty over a much wider area. Members of the tribe had a privileged position against outsiders whose lives were subject to the will of the king. In return for their privileges, however, the Ndebele people both men and women had to submit to a strict discipline and status within the hierarchy.

That set out their duties and responsibilities to the rest of society. Infringements of any social responsibility were punished with death, subject to the king's seldom-awarded reprieve. This tight discipline and loyalty were the secret of the Ndebele's success in dominating their neighbours. After the death of Mzilikazi, the first king of the Ndebele nation, in , the izinduna , or chiefs, offered the crown to Lobengula, one of Mzilikazi's sons from an inferior wife.

Several impis regiments led by Chief Mbiko Masuku disputed Lobengula's ascent, and the question was ultimately decided by the arbitration of the assegai , with Lobengula and his impis crushing the rebels.