Southern African Humanities
Vol. 16
Pages 79–111
Pietermaritzburg
December, 2004
The archaeology of the Nguni past
by
Thomas N. Huffman
(School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the
Witwatersrand, P. O. Wits, 2050 South Africa; [email protected])
ABSTRACT
Multiple strands of evidence help to clarify ancient Nguni history. Linguistics, anthropology and
archaeology indicate an Early Iron Age homeland in East Africa. The use of a special suffix for location, as
well as similarities in kinship terms, respect for in-laws, concepts of pollution and ceramic style all point to
the Interlacustrine area. Nguni speakers left that area sometime around AD 1000, probably because of
widespread drought and concomitant social disruptions. Many people moved south, but the movement
itself was probably not coordinated. Once in southern Africa, Nguni speakers continued to live in small
political units and to employ similar strategies in the face of drought and social disruptions. They built
defensive walling between AD 1300 and 1500, and they moved out of KwaZulu-Natal at least three times.
The scale of the last disruption, known as the mfecane or difaqane, was significantly greater, and it created
the first Nguni Empire in southern Africa. As I argue, trade and maize made the difference.
INTRODUCTION
Nguni-speakers form the largest division of the Eastern Bantu language in southern
Africa. In the recent past, most lived in a broad belt extending from Swaziland south
through KwaZulu-Natal to the Fish River. Within this broad zone, the Mtamvuma River
conventionally separates the Cape, or Southern Nguni (e.g. Xhosa and Mpondo) from
Natal, or Northern Nguni (e.g. Zulu and Swazi). Smaller groups still live on the interior
plateau of the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, while others live in Malawi,
Mocambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Fig. 1).
Although the anthropology, history and material culture of many Nguni-speaking
peoples are relatively well documented (e.g. Berglund 1976; Bonner 1983; Cobbing
1976; Gluckman 1940; Guy 1979; Hammond-Tooke 1962; Kuckertz 1990: Kuper 1947;
Ngubane 1977; Peires 1981; Read 1956; Shaw & Van Warmelo 1972; Soga 1931; Van
Warmelo 1935), archaeology and ancient history remain poorly understood.
Our ignorance about the Nguni past stands in stark contrast to the early history of
Sotho-Tswana speakers where archaeological sequences correspond remarkably with
oral histories (Huffman 2002). The Nguni past, however, cannot be approached in the
same way. For one thing, half the sequence extends beyond oral history. Furthermore,
when the Portuguese arrived in the sixteenth century, they largely ignored the Nguni
area because it lay south of the trade zone, and only a few shipwreck accounts are
available (e.g. Boxer 1959). When European contacts begin in earnest in the nineteenth
century, the Zulu state dominates the region to such a degree that older traditions are
largely obliterated. And finally, historical reconstructions such as Bryant’s (1929) are
fundamentally unreliable (Marks 1969). Instead of oral histories, then, the present study
is based first on linguistics, then anthropological and archaeological data. Towards the
end, I utilize oral history. Through these multiple strands of evidence, I present a broad
understanding of the Nguni past in South Africa. The evidence for much of this past
applies to areas north of the Vaal River.
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
Fig. 1. Location of major divisions of the Nguni language family.
ANCIENT HISTORY
Linguistics
First, the Nguni language, like Sotho-Tswana, uses the *-(i)ni suffix to indicate
location, as well as the proto-Bantu prefix (Gregoire 1975; Nurse & Hinnebusch 1993).
Although this point may seem small, its significance is large because the suffix evolved
in East Africa. For this and other linguistic reasons (see also Louw & Finlayson 1990),
Nguni speakers, like Sotho-Tswana, had to have lived in East Africa before they came
south.
Anthropology
The second line of evidence is anthropological. To anthropologists, kinship
terminology is something like deep structure, that is, it is an ancient form of indigenous
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
81
classification relatively resistant to change. Kinship terminology thus provides a clue
to cultural origins.
Within Southern Africa, most Eastern Bantu speakers have the Iroquois system (Nguni,
Sotho-Tswana and Venda), or the Omaha sub-type of Iroquois (Shona and Tsonga)
(Hammond-Tooke 2004). Within Iroquois, a limited number of groups share the same
term for cross cousin, namely some variation of mazala (umzala in Zulu). By comparing
cultural aspects of this limited group, Hammond-Tooke (2004) shows that the closest
cultural correlates of Nguni are with Interlacustrine Bantu (Fig. 1). This is a second
significant point.
In addition to the attributes noted by Hammond-Tooke, one should also consider the
unusual custom of hlonipha. This custom involves both action and speech as a form of
respect (Finlayson 1984; Herbert 1990). In terms of action, for example, a married
woman must act ‘bashfully’ in the presence of her elder in-laws. In terms of speech she
must not use the name of those in-laws, nor a word that contains the stem of those
names. A man also observes hlonipha under certain circumstances, for example with
his wife’s mother (Ziervogel 1957: 81–5). In southern Africa hlonipha is limited to
Nguni and Nguni-influenced groups and is often considered a unique characteristic.
Something similar, significantly, occurs in the Interlacustrine area. In Rwanda, for
example, people must avoid words related to the king, sacred drum and cattle. The
name for the special vocabulary, ubah, means ‘to respect’ (Coupez 1978). Throughout
the region, furthermore, a man must avoid the name of his father-in-law as part of the
larger system. As a rule, he replaces it with something similar; for example, a name that
includes ‘shield’ may be replaced with ‘way of protection’. These similarities involving
respect and in-laws suggest that ubah and hlonipha have a common origin.
Another characteristic cultural trait involves the ideology of pollution. Throughout
southern Africa, most people express pollution concepts through the metaphor of ‘hot’
and ‘cold’. Menstruating women, for example, should not enter a cattle kraal because
their ‘heat’ could endanger the cattle (Schapera 1938). Nguni, on the other hand, usually
express these concepts through metaphors of ‘dirt’ and ‘inner darkness’ (Berglund 1976;
Krige 1950). As part of this different system, Nguni expel unclean elements inside their
bodies with enemas and vomiting (Berglund 1976: 328–31). Indeed, the headman of
every homestead should rise early and vomit against the kraal fence to purify himself.
In the traditional past, Buganda people in the Interlacustrine area also tried to rid the
human body of pollution. Blood, for example, was taken from the head, back (for the
lungs), stomach and deep abscesses in the limbs to remove alien objects introduced by
witches or ancestors (Roscoe 1911: 99). As a second example, a person’s expectoration
was thought to be a particularly potent channel for malign influences. And thirdly, a
person’s urine was an essential ingredient in medicines to counteract negative social
actions, such as adultery. These three examples dealing with blood, expectorations and
urine are sufficient to demonstrate the concern in the Buganda worldview with internal
pollution. As with ubah and hlonipha, this unusual concern in both Buganda and Nguni
worldviews may well have a common origin.
The kingdoms within the Interlacustrine area, my next point, had complex social
organizations. In Rwanda, for example, upper class, pastoral Tutsi ruled over agricultural
Hutu. Class-based kingdoms in East Africa may not have evolved as early as 1000
years ago, but it is reasonable to presume that the underlying processes had begun. The
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
significance for ancient Nguni history lies in the dichotomy between cattle and
agriculture. While Interlacustrine societies express this division through class, Nguni
use gender. Indeed, relative to other societies within southern Africa, Nguni greatly
exaggerate the dichotomy between men and cattle on the one hand and women and
agriculture on the other. As Hammond-Tooke (1993) notes, this dichotomy permeates
the whole of Nguni life, creating a patrilineal, pastoral arrogance (for more on the
association between these attitudes and a pastoral ideology, see Goldschmidt 1965). In
addition, because cattle are a volatile form of wealth, Nguni society institutionalises
raiding and retaliation. These are some of the reasons why an earlier generation of
anthropologists and historians classified Nguni as part of the East African cattle complex
(e.g. Wilson & Thompson 1969).
Because of the volatility of cattle wealth, and the exaggerated emphasis on cattle,
Nguni place a high value on political independence. As a result, most political affiliations
before the nineteenth century were limited to low-level units, such as neighbourhoods,
or at best small-scale chiefdoms. Even so-called ‘paramount chiefs’ among Southern
Nguni held ritual, rather than political power, and their settlements were small
(Hammond-Tooke 1975a; Soga 1931). Shipwreck accounts, such as the São Thomé
(Theal 1898), strengthen this point further. In the late sixteenth century, only groups
involved with external trade in the greater Delagoa Bay area had large territories, or
‘kingdoms’, whereas chiefs further south controlled only a few villages each.
Because of their emphasis on cattle, Nguni homesteads cluster in a middle zone with
easy access to upland sourveld, for summer grazing, and the lowland sweetveld, for
winter use (Hall 1981; Hall & Mack 1983). Furthermore, Nguni place their homesteads
on slopes well above the valleys and fertile agricultural soil where Early Iron Age
Fig. 2. Nguni homestead near Eshowe, KwaZulu-Natal.
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
83
Fig. 3. Beehive hut, National Museum, Swaziland.
settlements once stood (Fig. 2). This hillside location differs markedly from the
settlements of other mixed farmers in southern Africa, and it is clearly significant. As
Maggs (1980) surmised, the difference is rooted in ideology.
The emphasis on pastoralism also extends to material culture. Above all, Nguni
build beehive houses (Fig. 3) like those among pastoralists in East Africa. Indeed,
this house form is probably the premier symbol of pastoralism throughout Africa.
Other items emphasise male dominance, such as wooden milk pails used exclusively
by men, male meat platters, male headrests that represent bulls, and tightly woven
baskets made by men for drinking beer. Until the nineteenth century, in fact,
Northern Nguni men did not drink beer from the ceramic pots made by women
(Jolles in press).
As another aspect of male dominance, some material culture represents the indirect
control over women through medicines. For example, pottery, which is the supreme
symbol of women, may bear incised decorations that resemble medicinal incisions on
the human body, and they both have the same name—izinhlanga. Among other things,
these medicines serve to dilute the potential for witchcraft. Further, reeds are used
both to make the incisions and as an enema to remove ritual impurities in babies—and
a thicket of reeds is called izinhlanga. Other appliqué decorations resemble the bumps
caused by the insertion of medicines beneath the skin (sometimes called amasumpa).
According to Mayr (1906), some of the pottery bumps were also called izinhlanga.
Whatever the correct names, bumps, reeds, incisions and pollution concepts are clearly
intertwined.
In this regard it is worth exploring the possible association between ‘blistering’ and
bumps in Buganda. There, healers heat a small three-pronged iron rod to cause blisters
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
as another way of drawing alien influences out of the body (Roscoe 1911: 100). In
addition, appliqué bumps on ceramics and smoking pipes are associated with skin
diseases manifested as sores and spots. Those afflicted smoke from one of the special
pipes to remove the affliction (Black 2003, pers. comm. 2004). Although the association
between pottery and concepts of internal pollution requires further research, it is clear
that amasumpa and izinhlanga in South Africa and blistering and bumps in East Africa
probably have a common origin.
Archaeology
The nature of Nguni material culture affects archaeological evidence. Nguni
archaeology is difficult to study because beehive huts do not preserve well and the
ceramics are seldom decorated. Even so, the ceramic sequence provides a useful culturehistory framework because of the high causal correlation in southern Africa between
language, culture, material culture and group identity (see Huffman 1989, 2002 for
details).
The ceramic sequence contains three facies: Blackburn (AD 1050–1300), Moor Park
(AD 1300–1700) and Nqabeni (AD 1700–1850).
Blackburn phase
Blackburn pottery is on record along the north and south coasts of KwaZulu-Natal,
often in shell middens (Beater & Maud 1963; Davies 1971; Robey 1980; Schofield
1938, 1948). The sparse decoration includes rim-notching, appliqué bumps and incised
parallel lines in position 2, and oblique panels of punctates and stamping in position 3
Site
Blackburn
Mpambanyoni
Lab. No.
Pta-162
Pta-2527
Pta-2528
Pta-2534
a.d.
1050 ± 40
970 ± 50
1020 ± 50
1065 ± 50
AD
1170–1235
1025–1175
1045–1220
1170–1250
(Figs 4a, 4b). The available radiocarbon dates place Blackburn between about AD 1050
and 1300.
This first phase is so dissimilar to the earlier Msuluzi to Ntshekane sequence
that it has to represent a new group of people (Fig. 5). Presumably, the new arrivals
absorbed earlier inhabitants, although this and similar questions remain for future
research.
The precise ceramic origins of Blackburn are not yet known, but similarities with the
Kalambo Branch of the Urewe Tradition in East Africa (Fig. 6) suggest a likely source
(Huffman 1989). This source is compatible with the linguistic and anthropological
evidence.
Whatever the exact source, early Nguni probably left East Africa for climatic
reasons. Climatic cycles in East and southern Africa are in tandem but work in
reverse (Tyson et al. 2002), so while southern Africa was enjoying higher rainfall
from about AD 1000 to 1300, East Africa suffered serious drought. These adverse
conditions probably caused Tsonga and Sotho-Tswana to move south, as well as
Nguni.
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
85
Fig. 4a. Blackburn types. Samples are fragmented and so the type series may be incomplete. Numbers
indicate decoration positions.
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
Fig. 4b. Blackburn pottery.
87
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
Blackburn
Ntshekane
Ndondondwane
Msuluzi
Fig. 5. Msuluzi to Ntshekane sequence. Note disjunction with Blackburn.
B = black, R = red.
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
Fig. 6. Late Iron Age movement of the Blackburn Branch of the Urewe Tradition.
Moor Park phase
Moor Park pottery, the second phase, is also sparsely decorated and less variable.
Nevertheless, it continues some of the earlier features. The style includes rim notching;
appliqué bumps, parallel lines and bands of punctates in position 2; and oblique punctate
lines and spaced motifs in position 3 (Figs 7a, 7b). Moor Park was first recorded in the
Escourt midlands (Davies 1974; Whitelaw 2000, 2001), and then along the Transkei
coast where it was called Umgazana ware (Derricourt 1977: 130–3). Because Moor
Park, and not Blackburn, appears south of the Mtamvuma River, the division between
Southern and Northern Nguni probably began at this time. Radiocarbon dates place
Moor Park between about AD 1300 and 1700. South of the Mtamvuma, Moor Park
pottery probably continued into the nineteenth century (see Southern Nguni pottery in
Lawton 1967: 369–70).
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HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
Site
Buffelsfontein
iGujwana
Malore Hill
Moor Park
Mhlopeni
Mzinyashana,
layer 1
layer 2
Ntomdadlane
(bone)
Sewula Gorge
Lab. No.
Pta-3612
Pta-8101
Pta-8335
Pta-5129
a.d.
1620 ± 50
1560 ± 50
1590 ± 50
1700 ± 50
Pta-8491
Pta-8501
Pta-8531
Pta-5480
1200 ± 50
1290 ± 50
1350 ± 50
1660 ± 70
AD
1520–1660
1460–1635
1485–1645
1655–1685
1745–1805
1275–1300
1300–1405
1325–1425
1530–1800
Pta-6715
Pta-6541
Pta-8697
1290 ± 50
1160 ± 50
1320 ± 50
1295–1405
1250–1290
1305–1410
Pta-8370
Pta-8372
1240 ± 50
1290 ± 50
1285–1385
1295–1405
Moor Park walling (Davies 1974; Whitelaw 2000, 2001) is the first walling type in
southern Africa associated with the Central Cattle Pattern. At an abstract general level,
all settlements with this pattern are similar: meaningful differences are expressed at a
lower level (Huffman 2001; Kuper 1982). In this case Moor Park walling appears to
emphasize the front/back axis: low hut platforms supported beehive huts in the residential
zone located behind cattle enclosures and middens (Fig. 8).
Dating from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, this type of walling extends across
the midlands from about Bergville to near Dundee (Fig. 9). Moor Park walling partially
served defensive purposes. Located on spurs and the ends of hills, stonewalls cut the
settlement off from the remaining terrain. Perimeter walls enclose about two-thirds of a
settlement, leaving the back protected by steep slopes. The need for defence may not
have been necessary throughout this period, and there may have been other, less defensive
sites occupied during peaceful phases (Whitelaw 2001).
The first appearance of this defensive walling coincides with a sharp drop in
temperature, starting the Little Ice Age (Tyson & Lindesay 1992; Tyson et al. 2000);
the ensuing decline in agricultural productivity must have created severe tensions over
various resources (Whitelaw 2000, 2001). Among other things, rival groups would have
raided each other for livestock and for women. Even though they maintained a pastoral
ideology, the people needed agricultural produce to live. As agricultural returns declined,
rival groups would have competed for what good lands there were and for enough
women to work them. And of course they needed women to help enlarge their following
because larger groups had a better chance of survival in times of military tension.
Normally, KwaZulu-Natal is an optimal area for mixed farming. According to the
1911 government census, some two-thirds of all black people residing in traditional
dwellings (usually a thatched roof) lived in the Natal physiographic region (from
Swaziland to Eastern Cape). This region is good for several reasons. For one, permanent
rivers flow at right angles off the mountains, and between each pair the same basic
resources of woodland, grasslands and arable land are more-or-less equally distributed
(see Sansom 1974). As the 1911 census shows, with sufficient rainfall and time, both
livestock and people will multiply.
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Fig. 7a. Moor Park types.
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
Fig. 7b. Moor Park pottery.
91
Fig. 8. Moor Park walling on Makebeni Hill near Estcourt. After Davies 1974.
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
93
Fig. 9. Distribution of Moor Park walling (:::) and pottery (|||).
Between AD 1300 and 1500, the period of Moor Park defensive walling, population
numbers were still probably low, land was probably available near the coast, and dispersal
was probably not an attractive option. At this point, one should note that people with a
pastoral ideology, such as the Nguni, have a low tolerance for high population densities.
As populations naturally increase, social tensions become more acute, and movement
to less populated areas becomes more attractive.
Some Nguni-speaking people established several defensive settlements in the
Waterberg in the Limpopo Province. Investigations at Buffelsfontein yielded small
beehive houses (Aukema in Huffman 1990) towards the back on small hut terraces
(Figs 10 & 11) located behind kraals, middens and the court, while the sparsely decorated
pottery includes rim-notching and punctates. Named after a prominent hill in the
Lephalala drainage, Malore walling derives from Moor Park. Defensive walling on
Malore Hill itself follows the edge of the hilltop, surrounding the entire settlement.
Radiocarbon dating from the mid-sixteenth to early eighteenth centuries, Malore
settlements such as Buffelsfontein represent the earliest known Nguni movement up
onto the interior plateau. This first movement out of KwaZulu-Natal probably coincides
with cool and dry conditions (see Tyson et al. 2000) that affected the subcontinent at
around AD 1600 (Table 1). This earliest movement appears to have predated oral history,
and we do not yet know their descendents. We suspect that these people were in conflict
with Sotho-Tswana people making Rooiberg pottery (Huffman 2002), because there
are Rooiberg sites in defensive positions on hilltops in the Waterberg during the same
period (Hall 1985).
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
Fig. 10. Malore walling at
Buffelsfontein. After
Aukema field notes.
Fig. 11. Foundation of a beehive hut at Buffelsfontein.
Courtesy of Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, UNISA.
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HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
TABLE 1
Broad outline of climatic changes in southern Africa over the last 1000 years.
After Tyson et al. 2000; normal = present day.
1900
1850
1800
1750
1700
1650
1600
1550
1500
1450
1400
1350
1300
1250
1200
1150
1100
1050
1000
Temperature
Available Moisture
warm
normal
cool
normal
cool
cool
cool
cool
cool
cool
high
high
normal
warm
warm
high
normal
very wet
wet
very dry
normal
dry
very wet
wet
wet
very wet
wet
wet
very wet
normal
very wet
very wet
wet
very wet
Event
mfecane/difaqane
second movement
first movement and Malore walling
Moor Park defensive walling
First appearance of Nguni speakers
Fortunately, the history of many Nguni-derived groups on the plateau today is
accessible through oral traditions. Generally, those who live north of the Springbok
Flats are known collectively as Northern (Transvaal) Ndebele and those below as
Southern (Transvaal) Ndebele. Many northern groups claim Langa as a legendary leader,
and many of those to the south claim Musi (Van Warmelo 1930, 1935, 1944). If they
retained the Nguni language, they are called Ndebele, while those who adopted SothoTswana are Koni (Sotho-Tswana for Nguni).
Based on such datable phenomena as initiation cycles, most of the Northern and
Southern Ndebele groups are thought to have left northern KwaZulu-Natal between
about AD 1630 and 1670 (Jackson c. 1982; Krige 1937; Van Warmelo 1930). At about
the same time, around AD 1700, cool, very dry conditions prevailed throughout the
subcontinent. Indeed, according to climatic data (Tyson et al. 2000), this was the worst
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
time in the Little Ice Age. Dated with remarkable precision, this event is so close to the
historical dating that the severe conditions were the most likely reason for the second
set of movements (Table 1). Although the reason may have been the same, so many
small groups dispersed at slightly different times that a coordinated movement was
unlikely.
As part of this uncoordinated movement, several small groups entered the Pretoria
area. These include the well known Manala and Ndzundza Ndebele who claim Musi as
a legendary leader (Van Warmelo 1930). Significantly, Ndzundza capitals in the
Steelpoort area to the northeast, such as KwaMaza (Schoeman 1998a, b), belong to the
Moor Park group of stonewalling: kraals and middens lay down slope of the most
important residential zone (Fig. 12). Cattle kraals and the central assembly area were
built to look the same with two lobes, for cattle and calves, and a side chamber for a
small court. This KwaMaza variant dates to between AD 1700 and 1840. Today, Southern
Ndebele settlements on commercial farms, although they lack stonewalling, still maintain
the front/back emphasis (Fig. 13).
Because Ndzundza settlements are a variation of Moor Park, and Ndzundza claim
Musi, it follows that Musi people most probably inhabited Malore settlements in the
Waterberg. It further follows that the Estcourt midlands, the locus of Moor Park walling,
was the original homeland of the Musi cluster.
Because of the geography of KwaZulu-Natal, Musi immigrants probably followed
the valleys at the base of the escarpment up past Newcastle to the plateau around Volksrust
and then west towards Pretoria (Fig. 14). I call this the Musi route.
Other Musi groups include the Po, whose chief in historic times, Mogale, gave his
name to the Magaliesberg. In the early nineteenth century, the capital of the Po was at
the base of Wolhuterskop east of Rustenberg (Breutz 1953). The stonewalling there is
collapsed
stone walling
stone mound
mound/midden
HF house floor
H homestead
M midden
grainbin/rock
platform
neat walling
15 m
N
terrace walling
midden
HF
HF
M
M
H
M
upper
main
enclosure
M
M
M
M
M
H
M
M
M
lower main
enclosure
M
upper main
enclosure
H
lower main
enclosure
M
M
Fig. 12. Musi pattern at KwaMaza. After Schoeman 1998a.
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
97
Fig. 13. Southern Ndebele homesteads in Mpumalanga. Note circular kitchen in middle of each household
and rectangular sleeping room at the back. Courtesy of National Cultural History Museum, Pretoria.
Fig. 14. Musi, Langa and central routes of Nguni dispersal.
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an example of the Molokwane type (Mason’s (1986) Bupye and Taylor’s (1979) Group
II) made by Western Sotho-Tswana (Pistorius 1992); and so, Western Sotho-Tswana
‘Sotho-ised’ the Po.
Other Musi Ndebele headed north and crossed the Springbok Flats. For example, the
Sebietela and Moletane gave their names to the areas around Mokopane (Potgietersrus).
They became ‘Sotho-ised’, probably through interaction with the mixed Fokeng/Tswana
people responsible for Rooiberg pottery. The related Kekana in the same area retained
Nguni as a language (Van Warmelo 1944). Later in the eighteenth century, Ndzundza
joined the Sebietela and Kekana.
This second set of movements also included various groups that claim Langa as a
legendary leader. At the scale of my analysis, these various groups form a Langa cluster.
Most of these Langa people were supposed to have followed the escarpment north
through Swaziland to the Leysdorp area in the Mpumalanga lowveld before turning
west to climb onto the plateau (Jackson c. 1982). Thus, there was a different Langa
route out of KwaZulu-Natal.
The Ledwaba are an example of Ndebele in the Langa cluster who followed the
Langa route. They settled in the Polokwane (Pietersburg) district in about AD 1840 and
found that the Sebietela (Musi) to the south and the Bakoni ba Matlala (Langa) to the
north had preceded them (Krige 1937; Van Warmelo 1930). The Matlala had also
followed the Langa route. Before this time, the Bambo line of headmen lived in the
district. Many of these Langa groups, from the Ledwaba to Bambo, built stonewalled
settlements at the base of hills (Huffman & Steel 1996; Loubser 1994). These settlements
(Loubser’s Group II) belong to a variation of the Central Cattle Pattern that emphasizes
a centre/side axis: from above the walling forms concentric circles distinct from the
Moor Park variant associated with the Musi cluster (Fig. 15).
While living in the northeastern lowveld, some members of the Langa cluster,
including the Ledwaba, were greatly influenced by the Zimbabwe culture in general
and the Lovedu (Krige 1938; Krige 1937) in particular. Loubser (1994) interprets Letaba
pottery, characteristic of the lowveld, as evidence for this influence in Ledwaba sites.
As another result of Lovedu prestige, several Langa groups claim to have lived in
Zimbabwe: one group even reversed the normal migration route, claiming they went to
Swaziland from Leydsdorp and then joined the Ndzundza before settling in Polokwane
(Loubser 1994).
Other members of the Langa cluster entered the region in the eighteenth century. The
Mphahlele and Kgaga, for example, probably came at the same time (Hammond-Tooke
1981). These Koni were ‘Sotho-ised’ by different groups: the Kgaga stayed in the lowveld
and adopted various Lovedu features, while the Mphahlele moved up to Moletane.
Other Koni are identified with the extensive Badfontein type of walling found along
the Mpumalanga escarpment. Badfontein walling emphasises the centre/side axis of
the Central Cattle Pattern expressed through concentric circles: the inner circle
encompassed cattle, the next marked the men’s court, and the outer ring the zone of
houses. Rock engravings in the same area depict this settlement pattern (Maggs 1995;
Van Hoepen 1939). Because this is the same pattern as Ledwaba settlements, the
Badfontein Koni most likely had Langa origins.
Associated engravings, terrace walls, cattle lanes and circular settlements (Fig. 16)
extend over an enormous area along the escarpment south of Lydenburg (Collett 1982;
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
Fig. 15. Badfontein walling at Bambo Hill (CD9B), Polokwane. After Loubser 1994.
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
Fig. 16. Badfontein walling in Mpumalanga. Courtesy of Trigonometrical Survey of South Africa.
Marker & Evers 1976). From a geographical perspective, these Badfontein Koni probably
would have taken a central route out of northern KwaZulu-Natal on to the escarpment.
Oral traditions place Koni in this escarpment area before the Pedi (Hunt 1931), and so
some walled settlements must date to before AD 1650, perhaps as early as AD 1600 and
the first dispersal. Perhaps these people were first ‘Sotho-ised’ by people in the Fokeng
cluster living along the Swaziland border. Later, as the associated ceramics show (Collett
1982), they became allied to the Pedi. These Badfontein Koni probably chose the
escarpment because it is part of a mist belt that would have offered some relief to the
dry conditions of the Little Ice Age.
The main route most Langa Ndebele took north, through the Swaziland and
Mpumalanga lowveld, suggests that the original Langa homeland was in northern
KwaZulu-Natal. It is significant that most KwaZulu-Natal Nguni groups today who
claim a Langa ancestry, live in that area (Marks 1969). Loubser (1994), on the other
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HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
hand, favours an early Nguni homeland in Vulaudi, the area between Swaziland and
Phalaborwa. The ceramic sequence south of Phalaborwa, however, makes this unlikely.
In this area the Doornkop facies (AD 750–1000) changes to Klingbeil (AD 1000–1300)
and then to Maguga (AD 1300–1500). Klingbeil overlaps in time with Ntshekane in
Natal, while Maguga is contemporaneous with Moor Park. Thus an Nguni presence in
the Swaziland and Phalaborwa lowveld is unlikely to predate the first dispersal. Rather
than Vulaudi, northern KwaZulu-Natal is still the most likely Langa homeland.
The combination of oral history, routes and settlement patterns shows that the division
between Langa and Musi is ancient, extending back to at least the middle of the Moor
Park phase, and that the division has a geographical expression.
The antiquity and geography of the Langa/Musi clusters clarify the origin of Nguni
features in Fokeng material culture noted by archaeologists (e.g. Dreyer 1992; Maggs
1976). For instance, the Fokeng settlement pattern, Type N (Maggs 1976), emphasises
the centre/side axis like the Langa. So, the beehive huts and applied decoration in Fokeng
pottery are probably the result of interaction in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Their movement
from there to Ntsuanatsatsi, the legendary place of origin in Free State, most likely
occurred in the mid-fifteenth century when climatic conditions had ameliorated. Thus,
they probably lived amongst Langa Nguni for over 100 years.
Nqabeni phase
The third set of Nguni movements occurred in the Nqabeni phase. Nqabeni pottery
emphasizes a high burnish with black or red colouring, appliqué decoration and panels
of fingernail impressions (Figs 17a, 17b). This style centres on northern KwaZuluNatal, and dates from about AD 1700 to after 1800.
Site
Enkwazini
Mgoduyanuka
Mabhija
Nqabeni
Lab. No.
Pta-2485
Pta-1848
Pta-1698
Pta-1699
Pta-1770
a.d.
1650 ± 50
1790 ± 45
1770 ± 50
1835 ± 50
1890 ± 50
AD
1505–1805
1670–1950
1660–1950
1675–1950
1700–1950
Nqabeni pottery is associated with a type of walling that follows the Langa pattern,
that is, it emphasizes the centre/side axis. In this case stonewalling only designates the
central area. Separate, single stock enclosures are common around Mgoduyanuka (Maggs
1982; Maggs et al. 1986), while secondary walling link the central stock enclosures in
the Babanango area (Hall 1981; Hall & Maggs 1979). Both differ from the Zulu pattern
in that kraal entrances face uphill. At the scale of my analysis, both Mgoduyanuka and
Nqabeni belong together. Nevertheless, these regional differences illustrate the small
scale of Nguni group identities.
The third set of movements out of KwaZulu-Natal during the Nqabeni phase was
part of the troubled period known as the mfecane or difaqane (referring to ‘wandering,
marauding hordes’). This was a period of tremendous insecurity and military stress.
Conventionally, it began in AD 1821 when the Hlubi moved onto the highveld from
KwaZulu-Natal and attacked the Tlokwa. In the conventional view Shaka and the Zulu
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
Fig. 17a. Nqabeni types
were prime causes of the upheaval (e.g. Omer-Cooper 1966). One lone dissident view
placed the blame on the European slave trade and challenged the whole concept (Cobbing
1988). Other more considered reanalyses show that Shaka and the Zulu were the result,
not the cause, of several processes that led to the troubles (Hamilton 1995; Omer-Cooper
1995). This period has received considerable academic attention, and here I only outline
the main processes.
The first important process began in the mid-eighteenth century. At that time,
competition began in earnest in northern KwaZulu-Natal for the trade with Europeans
at Maputo (Hedges 1978; Smith 1969). Before this time, the Arab/Swahili trade did not
extend so far south, and the sixteenth century Portuguese concentrated most of their
effort on gold-producing areas in Zimbabwe. As the late sixteenth century account of
the São Thomé shows, however, some trade transpired in the greater Maputo area. It is
significant that, even then, only trading groups had large territories (Theal 1898: 199).
It was not until the development of the Dutch and British interest in the ivory from the
Delagoa Bay area that most Northern Nguni became heavily involved in the coastal
trade. As a source of excess wealth, the ivory trade was a significant factor in the
development of larger political units, as it had been earlier further north.
What is more, in addition to ivory, cattle raiding increased markedly from about AD
1780 to supply European ships (Wright & Hamilton 1989). By AD 1800, the demand
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
Fig. 17b. Nqabeni types.
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
for cattle surpassed the ivory trade. Future research may show that the demand for
cattle was more important than ivory in the rise of military states among Northern
Nguni. Whatever the case, competition for trade was stiff.
At the same time, the Portuguese introduced maize, or if was present earlier, it now
spread widely through the trade network, and many African communities began to
consume it extensively. This started the second most important process. Marked in the
archaeological record by special grindstones, by the beginning of the nineteenth century,
even Sotho-Tswana people living in the Suikerbosrand were cultivating maize. Some
historians disregard this evidence, however, because of a misunderstanding about the
significance of the grindstones. Before this time, soft sorghum and millet grains were
prepared with an upper stone, held in one hand, containing at least two facets that
pressed the grains against the sides of a long channel. Maize kernels, on the other hand,
are too hard for this treatment; and so people use a two-handed upper stone that grinds
against a wide flat surface specially pitted to catch the pips (Fig. 18). These different
grindstones require different technologies, and they are reliable indicators of different
crops.
Fig. 18. Stone querns used to grind maize (top) and sorghum (bottom).
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
Fig. 19a. Doornspruit type of settlement, North West Province.
Fig. 19b. Doornspruit settlement inside older walling, North West Province.
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
Extensive maize cultivation was possible at this time because southern Africa
experienced a period of unusually high rainfall and warmer conditions after the Little
Ice Age (Tyson & Lindesay 1992). With adequate rainfall and temperatures maize
fields yield greater results than sorghum and millet because, in addition to the size and
number of cobs, the husks protect the seed. For the same reason more fields can be
cultivated with the same labour force, and it is therefore likely that maize cultivation
contributed to a substantial population increase. Indeed, Maggs (1989: 42–3) attributes
the large number of stone-faced earthworks and stonewalled sites in the KwaZuluNatal interior to maize cultivation. Furthermore, the increased number of huts in
Klipriviersberg settlements in Gauteng (Huffman 1986; see also Taylor 1979) also
supports this conclusion. Maize, however, is not drought resistant like the other grains.
According to tree-ring studies (Hall 1976), a severe drought occurred in KwaZuluNatal at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The oral and written accounts of
widespread famine at this time and mass emigration to distant lands slightly later must
surely reflect a new population imbalance.
It is worth noting that Shaka and the Zulu did not start any of these processes. The
impact of the aggressive policies of Zwide of the Ndwandwe (Bonner 1983) on
population imbalance, as well as the ivory and cattle trade, were at first more important.
The coalescing of multiple forces therefore contributed to the next set of Nguni
movements, especially the famous Hlubi attack on the Tlokwa that conventionally started
it all.
This third set of movements involved several separate events. First, Xhosa were
raiding across the Orange River by about 1805 (Legassick 1969). The years 1821–2
saw the Hlubi leave the Langa heartland and attack the Tlokwa. Mzilikazi
left the Khumalo area, also in the Langa heartland, at about the same time. He
may have gone to the Pedi area before heading for the Vaal, and then Pretoria and
Zeerust (Rasmussen 1978). More likely, it was Zwide who attacked the Pedi (Delius
1983).
In the Pretoria area, Mzilikazi’s people created the Doornspruit type of stonewalling
(Pistorius 1997) based on Zulu military centres, such as Mgungundlovu (Parkington
& Cronin 1979; Roodt 1992). At Doornspruit (Dreyer 1995; Jones 1935; Walton 1956),
long scalloped walls, marking the back of the residential zone, closely surround a
complex core (Figs 19a, 19b). In contrast to Type N, and Molokwane sites, the open
space probably protected cattle surrounded by a wooden stockade, while the stone
rings of the core enclosed kitchens and small stock. As is well known, Mzilikazi
incorporated many Sotho-Tswana women, and so this pattern represents ‘Nguni-ised’
Sotho. Once in Bulawayo, Mzilikazi dominated western Zimbabwe.
As a further result of the troubles, other Nguni moved away to Mozambique (Liesegang
1974), Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia (Omer-Cooper 1966). In the 1930s, both Ngoni
in Zambia (Barnes 1954) and Malawi (Read 1956) preserved traditions about their
departure from KwaZulu-Natal under Zwangendaba and his connection to Zwide of
the Ndwandwe.
The Sotho-Tswana West
Although much happened in the east, the factors that led to the troubled times,
and their results, were not limited to KwaZulu-Natal. For instance, Western Sotho-
HUFFMAN: THE NGUNI PAST
107
Tswana began competing for control of coastal trade goods also at about 1750
(Manson 1995; Parsons 1995). Tsonga-speaking traders even reached the Marico
area at this time, and the new trade contributed to the rise of Ngwato power in
eastern Botswana. Secondly, Sotho-Tswana populations probably also increased
as a result of higher yields from traditional crops, if not always maize, because
climatic conditions had improved across most of southern Africa, not just KwaZuluNatal. Higher populations in turn probably led to greater competition for land.
Whatever the case, tensions undoubtedly intensified with the expansion of the
Northern Frontier in the 1780s and 1790s as armed Griquas on horseback raided
extensively for cattle to trade for more guns (Legassick 1969). These armed
marauders were a serious scourge to Southwestern Sotho-Tswana. Furthermore,
armed Boers trekked into the region in the 1830s. Throughout the period, settled
communities of Sotho-Tswana also attacked each other (Lye & Murray 1980; OmerCooper 1966): some Sotho-Tswana groups even sought refuge in caves (e.g. Hall
1995), while others moved to Zambia.
During this troubled time, many Sotho-Tswana concentrated in large towns on
defensive hilltops. Other than capitals, large towns such as these did not exist
before now. Some historians (e.g. Manson 1995; Parsons 1995) contest this
statement, but they are unfamiliar with the archaeological evidence and its
significance. Ceramics and stratigraphy show that the earlier radiocarbon dates
from places, such as Mason’s (1986) Kaditshwene, are associated with unrelated
levels beneath the main deposits. There is thus no archaeological evidence for a
continuous development towards state formation before the difaqane. On present
evidence, aggregation began sometime between AD 1750 and 1800 and probably
not before 1780. Given the precision of radiocarbon dating, the mid- to late
eighteenth century is a reasonable estimate for the beginning of defensive
aggregation throughout southern Africa.
Although aggregation began in the west before the major mfecane movements out of
KwaZulu-Natal, the causes of trouble in both areas were nevertheless linked. The Maputo
ivory trade along with increased agricultural productivity and then drought show that
the Sotho-Tswana west and Nguni east were part of the same interaction sphere.
Ceramic interaction shows that much of southern Africa was interconnected.
The Rustenburg-Pretoria area, on the edge of the Sotho-Tswana west, provides an
example of complex interaction during the Late Iron Age. First, Olifantspoort
pottery (Southwestern Sotho-Tswana) appears between AD 1500 and 1700
(Huffman 2002). At about the same time, Ntsuanatsatsi (i.e. Fokeng) also appears
and spreads as far west as Zeerust. Next, at about 1700, various Nguni groups,
including the Po, entered from the east. Because the Po capital at Wolhuterskop
appears to follow the Molokwane pattern, Western Sotho-Tswana, such as the
Kwena, were probably dominant by then. Certainly, by the late eighteenth century,
several thousand Kwena lived at Molokwane (Pistorius 1992) and Olifantspoort
(Mason 1986). The Rustenburg-Pretoria area was therefore a meeting ground of
several different groups before the difaqane, including Southwestern Sotho-Tswana
(from the north), Southern Sotho-Tswana (from as far east as KwaZulu-Natal),
Western Sotho-Tswana and Musi Nguni. It is thus a mistake, as Boeyens (2003)
attempts for the difaqane, to consider the Sotho-Tswana west in isolation.
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SOUTHERN AFRICAN HUMANITIES, VOL. 16, 2004
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank the curators of the Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg, the National Cultural
History Museum, Pretoria, the Polokwane Museum and UNISA for access to their
collections. Wendy Voorvelt helped to produce the illustrations. Phil Bonner and Gavin
Whitelaw made useful comments on early versions of this paper.
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