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Sibaya

Isithakazelo · isiZulu

Ndlovu

  • PeopleamaZulu
  • RegionKwaZulu-Natal
  • TotemiNdlovu (the elephant)

The Izithakazelo

Ndlovu,Gatsheni,Boya benyathi, obusonga busombuluka,Mpongo kaZingelwayo,Nina bakwaNdlovuzidl' ekhaya, ngokweswel' abelusi,Zaze zeluswa intombi uDemazane,Nina bakwaKhumbul' amagwala,Nina bakwaDemazane Ntombazana,Nina bakwaS'hlangu sihle,Mthiyane,Ngokuthiy' amadoda emazibukweni,Nina bakwaMdubusi!

The Name

"Elephant" — a totemic name; the Ndlovu-Gatsheni line traces to a Sotho/Hlubi chief absorbed into the Zulu nation.

The History Behind This Name

This account was passed down by word of mouth.

The Ndlovu clan carries the elephant as a totem, and oral history traces the Gatsheni branch (one of the largest Ndlovu lineages) through Gatsheni, whose descendants included Lamula, Zingelwayo, and Mpongo. King Mpongo kaZingelwayo led the Ndlovu people as neighbours and, for a time, subordinate allies of the powerful Chunu (Mchunu) chieftaincy under King Macingwane, before Mpongo's death at Zulu hands during Shaka's expansion prompted the Ndlovu to relocate to the Nsuze River area beneath Qhudeni mountain, near the amaMbo/Mkhize people led by Zihlandlo kaGcwabe.

Because "Ndlovu" functions partly as a descriptive or totemic name rather than a single unified lineage, present-day Ndlovu families trace to several distinct historical roots: some of Nguni origin (the Gatsheni line), and others, by separate account, of Sotho origin absorbed into the Zulu nation during the upheavals of the early nineteenth century. This diversity is openly acknowledged within Ndlovu oral tradition itself, which distinguishes branches while affirming a shared clan identity.

Recorded from: Zulu oral-history archives (see sources)

Written down by families and by the people who recorded them.

About This Record

Families Tell This Differently

Families who carry this name tell parts of it differently. Each way it has been told is below.

Ndlovu origins

A commenter asserts that the Zulu Ndlovu were originally a Sotho traditional healer's line captured by Shaka and absorbed, and that the Hlubi Ndlovu are a separate matter. This corresponds to the split-origin account recorded in the original Zulu document and in the Ndebele document, where Ndlovu is shown to cut across the Zansi, Enhla and Hole groupings

A word that changed

Supplied as Nalovu, read as Ndlovu (the first word of the recitation).

This clan already carried a text from a different authority and the two do not agree. Neither reading has been chosen: both are on record (izPrevious keeps the earlier one) and a first-language reader decides. Elision and word-boundary differences change meaning in isiZulu, which is exactly why this is not a tidy-up.

Where This Comes From

Written down by
  • Supplied by Themba, 2026-08-10
  • Community compilation: iafrika.org
  • Community compilation: zuluring.blogspot.com
  • Community compilation: izithakazelo.blog
  • Community compilation: izithakazeloizibongo.blogspot.com
  • Community compilation: izithakazelo.wordpress.com

Recorded Alongside

  • Maseko The same line stands in Maseko's recitation as "Ndlovu ezidl'ekhaya ngokweswela abelusi".
  • Bhebhe Also recorded among the amaZulu.
  • Bhembe Also recorded among the amaZulu.
  • Bhengani Also recorded among the amaZulu.
  • Bhengu Also recorded among the amaZulu.
  • Bhuyeni Also recorded among the amaZulu.

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If Your Family Holds More Of This

A family saying its own izithakazelo knows them better than any directory does. If yours has more than what is on this page, it belongs here.

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