Lobedu queendom | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | State from c. 18th century–? Currently a non-sovereign monarchy within South Africa | ||||||||
| Common languages | Northern Sotho (Lobedu dialect) | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Modjadji | |||||||||
| |||||||||
The Lobedu queendom was a precolonial state belonging to the Lobedu people in northeastern modern-day South Africa, controlling the territory between the Great and Little Letaba rivers.
History
editOrigins
editHistorians consider the Lobedu to have originated in the Rozvi Empire in modern-day Zimbabwe (whose founder was an official in Mutapa), and to have migrated south around the late-17th century with the Singo (Venda) and Lemba due to "political dissension". They are thought to have settled near Dzata in the Soutpansberg for some time (supported by Venda traditions), before splitting from the Venda in the 18th century.[1][2]
Lobedu traditions periodise history into two cycles: the first where they are ruled by kings, purportedly beginning pre-1600 and ending c. 1800, after which they are ruled by queens. Traditions hold that the nuclear Lobedu ('Lobedu proper' or royal Lobedu) descend from the rulers of the Mutapa and Rozvi empires.[2][3]: 231–2 Versions recorded by Annekie Joubert between 1995 and 2001, and those by Eileen and Jacob Krige in Realm of a Rain Queen (1943), narrate a succession dispute between the sons of a Mutapa ruler, resulting in the empire being divided up between them, with one son building his capital at a mountain called "Maulwi" where his subjects prostrated themselves and called him "murozvi". They further say that a Karanga (Shona) ruler's daughter called "Dzugudini" (from incest) migrated southwards across the Limpopo with her son "Makaphimo" and a small group, carrying rainmaking medicines and sacral glass beads, to settle below the Drakensberg in the "Daja forest" near the Molototsi River. Another version recorded in 1938 by Albert Mathegka said that the Lobedu left modern-day Zimbabwe amid a succession dispute between the sons of Mambo; led by "Makaphele" and accompanied by his mother and rain calabash, they crossed the Limpopo and Mooketsi–Mosukudutswe confluence to settle at "Kgumelong" on a mountain. Ferdinand Kruger recorded a version in 1936 that said that a Lobedu king in modern-day Zimbabwe had two sons, the younger of which, "Magaphele", was given rainmaking abilities; accordingly the older son attacked him out of jealousy and Magaphele fled across the Limpopo to settle at "Khumelo".[4]: 5–6 [3]: 231–2, 241–4
Joubert's and the Kriges' versions say that after Makaphimo's death, "Muhale" came to rule at "Khumeloni" and is regarded as the founder of the Lobedu. Accordingly, Muhale subjugated a local tau (lion totem) group called "Khioga" (also "Kheoka" or "Seoka"; Kruger's version said this was done by Magaphele).[4]: 6 [3]: 232, 241–2 David Beach wrote that archaeological research is lacking on whether there were Ngano groups (a term for pre-Singo groups in Soutpansberg) in Lobedu territory.[5]: 218 Joubert's and the Kriges' versions portray the Khioga as primitive, and say that the Lobedu taught them how to cook food with fire and use hoes. Joubert's, the Kriges', and Mathegka's versions say that the Lobedu sought to take over the territory, and that they set fire to the forest to drive away the Khioga, killing most of them in the process. The Kriges' version said that Muhale was buried in the Daja forest, after which the Lobedu ceased fearing the ancestral spirits of the Khioga.[4]: 6 [3]: 233, 244
Era of kings
editJoubert's and the Kriges' versions say that Muhale was succeeded by his son "Malaji", who reportedly had a peaceful and prosperous reign. Accordingly, his death caused a succession conflict between two sons.[3]: 233 The Kriges' and Kruger's versions said that the older son, "Madaji"/"Madaze", drove away the younger son, "Makhoba"/"Phedole" (some versions say the latter name was earned later), who fled to a settlement at "Khebela"/"Khevela"/"Khivela" mountain (located near the Olifants–Selati confluence and c. 1740 according to Jacob Krige). Kruger's and the Kriges' versions say that Madaji/Madaze struggled to make rain, causing drought and famine, while Makhoba at Khevela received plenty of rain. Accordingly he was invited back to rule, and both versions say he returned to rule the Lobedu, some saying that he took on his father's/ancestor's name "Phedole"/"Phedola" (from which Krige wrote that a mountain near his old settlement derived its name). Phedole reportedly bore a praise name which translated as "Transformer of the Clouds".[4]: 7 [3]: 233, 239, 242
According to tradition, at some point the people moved from the Daja forest to "Lebyene" (with Zimbabwe-esque stonewalling) at a mountain summit. The Kriges' version said that "Khiale" succeeded Phedole, and that it was during his reign that Sotho groups invaded the lowveld, however Joubert's versions make no mention of Khiale.[4]: 7–8 The Kriges' versions say that Khiale had taught his youngest son, "Mogodu", how to use rain charms, ensuring Mogodu's succession, though Joubert's versions say this was done by Phedole. Mogodu was reportedly paranoid and believed himself "supernaturally guided", making spurious accusations against councillors and ordering the execution of his detractors. After an elder brother revolted, Mogodu reportedly drove him and his followers away. Mogodu also failed to intervene in conflict between two of his headmen, only doing so in objection to "rusty arrows fit for a rubbish heap", after which he entered into a dance (hu pebela) and made the following prophecy:[4]: 7–9 [3]: 233
I am going away to creep into the horn of a cow [i.e. die]. I do not like to sleep in the open, vainly counting the stars. I go to unloose the black ants in the east [referring to the Mfecane]. They will bite you and kill you, but in the end you will overcome them. Thereafter I shall unleash the red ants in the west [i.e. Europeans]; you will fight them, but you will fight them in vain. Further, I say this country will be ruled by a frontal skirt [i.e. a woman].
Onset of the era of queens
editAccording to the Kriges' version, following Mogodu's reign there ensues vicious civil war between his sons, accompanied by severe famine. "Malegudu" ("Mmalekutu" in Mathegka's version) reportedly seizes control for some time but is driven away by his sister, Modjadji I, who comes to rule c. 1800.[4]: 8 [3]: 244 Kruger's version differs and has Mogodu expelling two quarrelling sons and giving the kingship to his daughter, Modjadji.[3]: 242
The queen did not rely on a military to maintain the state, instead leveraging her widely-renowned ritual power (such that groups avoided attacking her due to fear of drought and famine) and marriage ties to other groups, with her location in the mountains also serving a defensive purpose.[3]: 227
Government
editSuccession to the queenship was hereditary, and went to the queen's eldest daughter.[6]: 1128 The state controlled the territory between the Great and Little Letaba rivers.[3]: 229
The queen built ties between the nuclear/royal Lobedu and the wider population by requiring every headman to send a daughter to be one of her wives. The wives were then have a child with a close relative of the queen, and the children were considered her own and to belong to the royal lineage (because Lobedu society was patrilineal and the queen played the role of the husband in these cases). Some headmen's daughters were given in marriage to other important subjects of the queen, building ties that benefited both the queen and the father headmen.[3]: 227–8
Culture and society
editDespite the state being ruled by women, its society was and is organised patriarchally, such that people 'belong' to and inherit from their patrilineal line, and marriage is patrilocal.[3]: 225 Women that were unable to have children were treated as men, and were able to inherit cattle, receive bridewealth, and exert significant influence.[6]: 1120
List of rulers
editEra of kings
editAnnekie Joubert summarises traditions narrated to her between 1995 and 2001.
| Joubert (2004) | Krige (1975 and 1985) | The Kriges (1943) | Kruger (1936) | Mathegka (1938) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makaphimo (son of Dzuguduni) | Makaphimo (son of Dzuguduni) | Makaphimo (son of Dzuguduni) | Magaphele | Makaphele/Phetole (son of Tsukutleng) |
| Muhale | Mohale | Muhale | Mohale | Mohale |
| Malaji | Maladji | Malaji | Kheale kha Mmamohale Ledaza | Mokoto (last) |
| Pheduli (defeated his brother Madaji) | Phedule/Makhoba | Madaji | Phedola-Khefhedola-Maru-a-daza | Mmalekutu |
| Mogodu | Khiale | Pheduli (brother of Madaji) | Madaze | |
| Mogodo | Khiali | Makhoba (brother of Madaze) | ||
| Mogodo | Mogodo | |||
| Malegudu |
Era of queens
editReferences
edit- ↑ Loubser, J. H. N. (1991). "The Ethnoarchaeology of Venda-Speakers in Southern Africa: Chapter 5: Revised culture history of the early Venda". Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum: Researches of the National Museum. 7 (7): 377–399. doi:10.10520/AJA00679208_2848.
- 1 2 Loubser, Jannie (21 August 2024). "The Venda-Speaking People". In Spear, Thomas (ed.). Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.1215. ISBN 9780197851722.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Joubert, Annekie (2004). "The Lobedu of Queen Modjadji". The Power of Performance: Linking Past and Present in Hananwa and Lobedu Oral Literature. Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-017998-9.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Krige, Eileen; Krige, Jacob (1943). "Pageants of the past". The Realm Of A Rain Queen. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Beach, David (1980). "The Torwa and the South before 1650". The Shona & Zimbabwe 900–1850: An Outline of Shona History. Pearson Education. ISBN 978-0-435-94505-3.
- 1 2 Moagi, Lefatshe Anna; Mtombeni, Butholezwe (2021). "Women in Pre-colonial Africa: Southern Africa". In Yacob-Haliso, Olajumoke; Falola, Toyin (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-030-28099-4.