laNgolotsheni (Lomawa) Ndwandwe (died September 1938) was the

Ndlovukati Ndlovukati (literally, "She-Elephant", pl. ''tiNdlovukati''; also spelled Indlovukazi) is the Siswati title for the female monarch of Eswatini. The title is given preferentially to the mother of the reigning king (styled the ''Ngwenyama'', "Lion o ...

(Queen Mother) of Swaziland, the wife of King

Ngwane V Ngwane V (also known as Mahlokohla, Bhunu, Hhili) (11 May 1876 – 10 December 1899) was the King of Swaziland from 1895 until his death on 10 December 1899. Ngwane was born the son of Mbandzeni and his mother was Labotsibeni Mdluli. He ascende ...

, and the mother of King

Sobhuza II Sobhuza II, (; also known as Nkhotfotjeni, Mona; 22 July 1899 – 21 August 1982) was the Paramount Chief and later Ngwenyama of Swaziland for 82 years and 254 days, the longest verifiable reign of any monarch in recorded history. Sobhuza was ...

Biography

Early life

Ndwandwe, of the Esikoteni branch of the

Ndwandwe The Ndwandwe are a Bantu Nguni-speaking people who populate sections of southern Africa. The Ndwandwe, with the Mthethwa, were a significant power in present-day Zululand at the turn of the nineteenth century. Under the leadership of King Zwi ...

clan, was born to Chief Ngolotjeni Nxumalo and Msindvose Ndlela. She was the eldest of three sisters. Her siblings included her full sister (and ultimately, co-wife)

Nukwase Ndwandwe Nukwase Ndwandwe (c. 1890 – 15 September 1957) was the Queen Mother of Swaziland, aunt of Sobhuza II, and the sister of Lomawa Ndwandwe. Early life King Ngwane V Ngwane V (also known as Mahlokohla, Bhunu, Hhili) (11 May 1876 – 10 De ...

, who succeeded her as Ndlovukati, and her brother

Benjamin Nxumalo Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

, who later provided counsel to Sobhuza II. As a descendant of Zidze Ndwandwe and as the daughter of a respected chief, Ndwandwe was selected by the council of elders as the main wife for Ngwane V.

Reign

Following the death of Ngwane V, Ndwandwe was selected from among his widows, by the council of elders, as the next Ndlovukati, and her infant son Nkhotfotjeni was named King Sobhuza II. As the Queen Mother, Ndwandwe was the guardian of Swazi rituals.

Death

Ndwandwe died in September 1938. In order to avoid weakening King Sobhuza II via association with death, the King was prevented by the council of elders from attending his mother's funeral. Ndwandwe was buried with her church membership cards, at the insistence of her sister, Nukwase Ndwandwe.

Religious views

Ndwandwe was not baptized, in deference to the wishes of

Labotsibeni Mdluli Labotsibeni Mdluli, also known as Gwamile (c. 1859 – 15 December 1925), was the Queen Mother and Queen Regent of Swaziland. Early life She was born at Luhlekweni in northern Swaziland around 1859, the daughter of Matsanjana Mdluli. At the tim ...

. Nevertheless, Ndwandwe became a recognised supporter of the

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. She was also sympathetic to a nearby Zionist Separatist church whose local leader espoused political views that overlapped strongly with her own. The question of which denomination Ndwandwe identified with was, in any case, not of significance to Sobhuza II, who was critical of divisions between sects.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ndwandwe, Lomawa Year of birth missing 1938 deaths Swazi royalty