People Of Matsamo - History
A short history of the Swazi
The area of what now is Swaziland has been inhabited by various different ethnic groups of people for a very long time, in eastern part Swaziland human remains dating back 100,000 years belonging to the oldest homo sapiens have been discovered. The Bushman was as is evident from the large number of San (Bushman) cave paintings among the first inhabitants of this region. The Swazi themselves arrived relatively late in history.
The Swazi have their origins in East Africa around the great lakes, speaking siSwati having its origin predominantly in the Nguni group of Languages.
In the late 15th century as part of the general southward expansion of the Nguni the Swazi's crossed the Limpopo River to settle in southern Tongaland (Now part of Mozambique.) Under their Chief Dlamini I they remained here for about 200 years, until they moved, still ruled by a Dlamini Chief (Dlamini III), into the fertile Pongola valley (now part of South Africa).
Here economic pressure and land shortages soon resulted in a number of skirmishes and battles with the neighbouring Ndwandwe clan, which ultimately resulted in a further migration of the Swazi into what is now central Swaziland. From here the Swazi’s by way of absorption and conquest of Sotho and baPedi peoples build up a large Kingdom.
Ngwane III established his headquarters in Zomboze. His grandson Sobhuza further expanded the Kingdom of Swaziland by absorbing Sotho, Tsonga and Nguni chiefdoms. His rule was marked by the "Mfecane" when the Zulu under Shaka threatened the entire sub region. Sobhuza met Shaka's advances with diplomacy, giving two of his daughters to the Zulu King. He outlived Shaka and brought peace and prosperity to all his subjects. The Swazi under Sobhuza went on to defeat the Zulu's under Dingane at Hlatikulu. Sobhuza the First is regarded as the founder of pre-colonial Swaziland. Sobhuza I is also credited with bringing Maize (now the staple food for southern Africa) from the Portuguese to the subcontinent.
At the death of Sobhuza I, the mother of Sobhuza’s son Mswati II, became Queen Regent until Mswati became of age. His influence and power gradually grew to envelope the area from the Limpopo in the north the Pongola River in the south and the Crocodile River in the west covering an area of about three times the size of modern Swaziland, today forming part of South Africa including the area where Matsamo is situated. Hence, more Swazis live in these areas in South Africa as South African citizens, than those living in the Kingdom of Swaziland itself.
The Swazi were the dominant power in the region for a period of 15 years. In 1865 when Mswati died he left a strong nation ruled by a cohesive ruling class. King Mswati was to be the last truly independent ruler of Swaziland for the next 100 years.
A period of peace followed under the Queen regent prior to the reign of Mbanzeni. At this time the relationship between the Swazi People and the arriving white settlers was friendly and co-operative. Swazi's treated both British and Boers as allies. However both groups of whites had their own agenda. The Boers were looking for both arable land and a rout to the sea where they could establish a port of their own - thereby avoiding the hated British. The British in return was reluctant to lose the trade provided by the Boers. To aggravate matters gold was found in Swaziland in 1882, leading to hundreds of European settlers rushing to Swaziland.
Although Mbanzeni frequently asserted the sovereignty of the Swazi, he had no control over the whites and he was coerced into granting land concessions and prospecting rights. These often clashed with the rights of customary land usage. In the 1881 Pretoria Convention, Swaziland was guaranteed its independence but its borders were defined. This independence meant that Swaziland lost large parts of its territory including the Matsamo area. King Mbanzeni died in 1889 and was succeeded by King Ngwane V also known as King Bunu.
In 1894, without consulting the Swazi, the two white powers concluded a convention whereby the Boer republic of Transvaal was granted control over Swaziland. Swaziland ceased to be an Independent State. After the Anglo-Boer War(1899-1902) Britain made Swaziland a protectorate and the Transvaal became part of the Union of South Africa, taking with it two-thirds of Swaziland.
At the death of King Ngwane in 1899 the wife of King Mswati II Labotsibeni Mdluli took over the reign. In this troubled time when the Swazi came to grips with the loss of sovereignty, the queen Mother fought to get the land and independence back, petitions were sent to Britain, delegations of Swazi went to lobby in Britain. Most legal arguments were lost on technicalities. Labotsibeni organised a campaign to buy back the lost land from the British and Boers, to this effect many Swazi went to work in the mines in South Africa. Gradually land was returned to the Swazi until in 1968 about two thirds of the land had reverted back to the Swazi Nation. Labotsibeni recognized the changing times and the need to introduce western style education to her people, she therefore started the Swaziland National School, and Sobhuza became one of its first students. Sobhuza went on to study at Lovedale college in South Africa were he came into contact with many future leaders of Africa.
This is the time when Sobhuza became a founding member of the ANC.
In 1922 King Sobhuza II was installed as Paramount chief of Swaziland and King to the Swazi nation. He took over from his grandmother Gwamile, who had been Queen Regent whilst he was underage King Sobhuza died in 1982 after 60 years on the throne; he died as the longest reigning monarch.
King Mswati III ascended the throne in 1986 at the age of 18. He is the youngest reigning monarch in the world.
Matsamo Cultural Park is named after Chief Matsamo a prominent Shongwe Chief and contemporary of King Mswati II, who was the first Swazi Chief who resided permanently in the area and established 13 rural villages between 1840 and 1925. Today this area is under control of the Matsamo Tribal Authority.
Although the residents of these thirteen villages are today still predominantly Swazi in custom and traditions, they are part of the diverse South African Nation. |
