Embo-Dlamini (also called Dlamini-Nguni, Tekela-Nguni or Emalangeni and sometimes Thonga-Nguni[1]) refers to a historic Nguni-speaking community in the Maputaland-Lubombo region of Southern Africa that formed the modern Swazi people. It is a branch of the Embo-Nguni ethnic group that falls within the broader Embo identity.[2]
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Eswatini, South Africa | |
| Languages | |
| Siswati | |
| Religion | |
| Traditional African religion |
Context
editAccording to Swazi oral tradition recorded by historians such as J.S.M. Matsebula and A.T. Bryant, Dlamini I was a son of Chief Langa, leader of an Embo-Nguni community that settled within the Tembe territories near Delagoa Bay.[2] Dlamini I and Hlubi's followers later separated and migrated in different directions.[2] Dlamini’s followers moved northward across the Lubombo Mountains and formed early Ngwane communities or the Embo-Dlamini, while Hlubi’s followers migrated southward along the Pongola River and became the ancestors of the amaHlubi.[2]
References
edit- ↑ Matsebula, J. S. M. (1988). 3rd edition. Longman.ISBN 0582031672 pp. 1–7.
- 1 2 3 4 Sikhondze, Bonginkosi Bhutana. State Within A State: The History of the Evolution of the Mamba clan of Swaziland Transafrican Journal of History, vol. 15, 1986, pp. 144–63. JSTOR. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.