Nongalaza KaNondela (c.1805 - after 1856) was a Zulu warrior who was the principal military commander of King
Mpande
Mpande kaSenzangakhona (1798–18 October 1872) was monarch of the Zulu Kingdom from 1840 to 1872. He was a half-brother of Sigujana, Shaka and Dingane, who preceded him as Zulu kings. He came to power after he had overthrown Dingane in 1840.
...
of the Zulu kingdom.
When Mpande was chieftain of the Nyandwini clan, Nongalaza commanded his forces against the invasion by
Robert Biggar and rebel Zulus, successfully destroying them at the
Tugela River
The Tugela River ( zu, Thukela; af, Tugelarivier) is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of , it is one of the most important rivers of the country.
The river originates in Mont-aux-Sources of the Dra ...
in 1838.
[Labland, John, ''Historical Dictionary of the Zulu Wars'', Scarecrow Press, 2009, p.201] In 1840, Mpande allied with the Boers and moved against his brother
Dingane
Dingane ka Senzangakhona Zulu (–29 January 1840), commonly referred to as Dingane or Dingaan, was a Zulu chief who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828, after assassinating his brother Shaka. He set up his royal capital, uMgungundlovu, a ...
in a bid for the Zulu throne. Nongalaza led Mpande's main army, while Mpande took a separate route towards Dingane with a force of Boers under
Andries Pretorius
Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (27 November 179823 July 1853) was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the South African Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Republic, in present-day South Africa ...
. Nongalaza encountered Dingane's army before the Boers arrived, and decided to attack immediately. At the
Battle of Maqongqo
The Battle of Maqongqo was fought on 29 January 1840 during the First Zulu Civil War. Due to military defeats, the Zulu king Dingane had lost the respect of a significant portion of the Zulu people. His brother Mpande sought to separate his foll ...
Nongalaza crushed Dingane, and when Mpande arrived he was installed as king.
Under Mpande's rule, Nongalaza continued to enjoy the king's support, and was enriched with land and cattle.
The trader and hunter William Clayton Humphreys reported that Nongalaza was "exceedingly kind" to him during his trip into Zululand in 1851.
[Pridmore, J., "Hunter, Trader and Explorer: the Unvarnished Reminiscences of H.F. Flynn", ''Alternation'', 1996, 46-56.]
In 1856, a civil war broke out between
Cetshwayo
King Cetshwayo kaMpande (; ; 1826 – 8 February 1884) was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1873 to 1879 and its Commander in Chief during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchw ...
and Mbuyazi, the king's two oldest sons. Cetshwayo was supported by most of the territorial sub-chiefs, but Mpande favoured his younger son Mbuyazi. Nongalaza joined Mbuyazi. At the
Battle of Ndondakusuka
The Battle of Ndondakusuka (2 December 1856) was the culmination of a succession struggle in the Zulu Kingdom between Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi, the two eldest sons of the king Mpande, often known as the Second Zulu Civil War. Mbuyazi was defeated at ...
Mbuyazi was defeated, and Cetshwayo massacred almost all his followers, including five of his brothers.
[Gump, James, ''The Dust Rose like Smoke: The Subjugation of the Zulu and the Sioux'', University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 1994, p.64-68] Nongalaza barely escaped by diving into the Tugela River and swimming to safety.
References
{{reflist
History of KwaZulu-Natal
Zulu people
19th-century African people