The Qwabe Kingdom ( zu, amaQwabe) is the senior branch of the House of Malandela, the royal pre-Zulu family, descendant from Qwabe (1575) the son of Malandela or Mayandeya.

Origins

The amaQwabe are the senior and larger clan of the Makhanya and the Zulu clans all descending from one common ancestor, Malandela. They are descendant from Qwabe (whose name means a Large '

musical bow The musical bow (bowstring or string bow, a subset of bar zithers) is a simple string instrument used by a number of South African peoples, which is also found in the Americas via slave trade. It consists of a flexible, usually wooden, stick 1. ...

') the eldest son of Malandela and his wife Nozidiya/Nozinja of the Zungu clan. Following the death of Malandela, Qwabe became the king. In accordance with Nguni customary practices when Qwabe inherited the kingship, he went and built a new homestead to serve as the center of the kingdom, leaving his younger brother Zulu to rule over a few people who remained at their father Malandela's estate. The kingdom thrived sometime in the 18th century as "one of the most ancient and famous tribes in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

and Zululand". At its peak the amaQwabe occupied central

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 locate ...

, they were found beneath the Amandawe and Ngoye Hills, south of the

Mhlathuze River __NOTOC__ The Mhlathuze River ( af, Mhlatuzerivier) is a river in South Africa. Located in KwaZulu-Natal, its catchment area has a surface area of 4,209 km2. It rises in the west in the Babanango hills at an altitude of 1,519 m and flows over ...

until it reached the

Mthethwa Mthethwa may refer to: * Mthethwa Paramountcy, a Southern African state that arose in the 18th century south of Delagoa Bay and inland in eastern southern Africa * Nathi Mthethwa Emmanuel Nkosinathi "Nathi" Mthethwa is a South African politician ...

and Dube areas, up the Mhlathuze River almost as far as Nkandla forest, winding up between the Mhlathuze and

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 ...

s and finally overflowing into Natal.

Expansion and political structure

After separating from his brethren with the majority of Malandela's people, Qwabe and his followers settled beneath the Ngoye hills. This is where Qwabe built the kingdoms new center, eMthandeni. Before amaQwabe occupation the area between the Mhlathuze and Tugela rivers was occupied by the Cele clan a sub-branch of the

kingdom. The Qwabe drove out the Thuli and Cele clans as well as the amaMbili, amaKwela and amaKomo tribes, from between the Mhlathuze and the Tugela rivers into the coast district of Natal. Before the Shaka era the amaQwabe kingdom had already expanded control over parts of Natal south of the Thukela River. The expansion of this kingdom over territory and smaller chiefdom's was enough to regard it as one of the few larger kingdoms of the region. The kingdom under Phakatwayo kaKhondlo and generally was characterized by seven large villages, each headed by an important member from the ruling lineage. Regiments were round up by village rather than age, this included women regiments also. Evidence suggest that the authority to form women regiments (isigodlo) was only given to senior powerful kings such as Phakatwayo of The Qwabe, Dingiswayo of the Mthetwa and Zwide of the Ndwandwe for instance.

Lineage of AmaQwabe kings from its founder

*King Malandela KaLuzumana fathered Prince Qwabe kaMalandela & prince Zulu kaMalandela *King Qwabe KaMalandela he was the oldest son of King Malandela kaLuzumana he became king the very same year his father died but didn't succeeded him directly instead he want on to build his own kingdom named after himself (he reigned from:1551 to 1564) *King Sidinane KaQwabe his very own son succeeded him after he died 13 years later (he reigned from: 1564 to 1574) *King Simamane 1st KaSidinane (he reigned from:1574 to 1581) *King Mahlobo KaSimamane 1st (he reigned from:1581 to 1602) *King Khuzwayo KaMahlobo (he reigned from:1602 to 1622) *King Simamane 2nd KaKhuzwayo (he reigned from:1622 to 1636) *King Nomageja KaSimamane 2nd (he reigned from:1636 to 1653) *King Gobhoza KaNomageja (he reigned from:1653 to 1671) *King Mzimba KaGobhoza (he reigned from:1671 to 1692) *King Mbizbo KaMzimba (he reigned from:1692 to 1705) *King Mkhonto KaMbizbo (he reigned from:1705 to 1727) *King Mncinzeni KaMkhonto (he reigned from:1727 to 1743) *King Lufutha KaMncinzeni (he reigned from:1743 to 1769) *King Mncinci KaLufutha (he reigned from:1769 to 1783) *King Khondlo KaMncinci (he reigned from:1783 to 1808) *King Phathwayo KaKhondlo (he reigned from:1808 to 1834) *King Godolozi KaPhathwayo (he reigned from:1834 to 1858) *King Musinzeni KaGodolozi (he reigned from:1858 to 1885) *King Meseni KaMusinzeni (he reigned from:1885 to 1910) *King Mtshingwa KaMeseni (he reigned from:1910 to 1931) *King Sizibani KaMtshingwa (he reigned from:1931 to 1968) *King Magwaza KaSizibani (he reigned from:1968 to 1990) *King Makhosini KaMagwaza (he reigned from:1990 to present date)

References

{{reflist KwaZulu-Natal African rulers