The Mandlakazi are a Zulu clan in

kwaZulu/Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locat ...

and formerly in Zululand. They started out as allies of

Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...

as he founded the Zulu nation. The Mandlakazi derived wealth not only from cattle but from an extensive trade network that extended from northern Zululand north and east to

Delagoa Bay Maputo Bay ( pt, Baía de Maputo), formerly also known as Delagoa Bay from ''Baía da Lagoa'' in Portuguese, is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique, between 25° 40' and 26° 20' S, with a length from north to south of over 90&n ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The leader of the Mandlakazi was an ''inkosi'' (chief), and the position generally passed from father to son. Ndaba was the first known Mandlakazi ''inkosi'' and he was followed by his son

Jama ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of biom ...

, who was Shaka's grandfather. Jama's son

Senzangakhona King Senzangakhona kaJama (c. 1762 – 1816) was the king of the Zulu Kingdom, and primarily notable as the father of three Zulu kings who ruled during the period when the Zulus achieved prominence, led by his oldest son King Shaka. Biography ...

fathered Shaka, and his son Sojiyisa was the ''inkosi'' of the Mandlakazi who befriended his young nephew Shaka. His son, Maphitha was the ''inkosi'' of the Mandlakazi until 1872, although as early at 1856 and the Second Zulu Civil War his son Zibhenhu played a significant leadership role. In 1872

Zibhebhu kaMaphitha Zibhebhu kaMaphitha Zulu (1841–1904) (also called Usibepu/Ziphewu) was a Zulu chief. After the defeat of the Zulu Kingdom by the British, he attempted to create his own independent kingdom. From 1883 to 1884, he fought the Zulu king Cetshwayo, i ...

succeeded to ''inKosi'' of the Mandlakazi people.

Notes and references

{{Portal, South Africa Zulu topics Zulu history History of KwaZulu-Natal