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Sibaya

Mutupo · Tshivenda

Vhangona

Also spelled Ngona, BaNgona, Vhongwani wapo.

  • PeopleVhavenda
  • Mutupo Ndau — lion (the typescript says the Vhangona's mutupo is Ndau and that they call thems
  • Grouping Original inhabitants of Venda; the collective name for the pre-Singo, pre-Karanga clans
  • Surnames recorded Mudau, Nḓou
  • Places recorded Eastern, Soutpansberg, Stayt's, Levubu, Vhuronga

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

About This Record

What Was Written Down

Every source read treats the Vhangona as the earliest layer of the Venda population, conquered first by other arrivals and then by the Singo. Stayt could find almost no one who would admit to Ngona descent in 1931 but found hereditary Ngona priests (Netshitumbe at Tshaula, later Luvhimbi; others at Thengwe, Thenzheni, Mianzwi and Mukula) whose cooperation certain rituals required; he records Diwase as their chief at the time of conquest and Bohwane of the MaKhwinde as the conqueror. Luonde records Raphulu as the senior Vhangona royal house, a kingdom of many chiefdoms with seven districts, and a claim that most modern Tshivenda vocabulary descends from Tshingona. The typescript names Raphulu as the great Vhangona khosi, places him variously at Vuvha, Tshivhula or Sunguzwi, and says the Vhadau of Raphulu and the Vhadau of Damani at Tshakhuma were the Vhangona's chiefs. The Ramunangi docum. Recorded from the sources named on this entry; the wording here is Sibaya's own.

Families Tell This Differently

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

Where This Comes From

Written down by
  • Luonde.co.za - Brief History; Ngomalungundu (community heritage site), accessed 2026-09-05, luonde.co.za — https://luonde.co.za/brief-history/ and https://luonde.co.za/brief-history/ngomalungundu
  • Munyadziwa Magoma and co-authors, Retrieving Intangibility, Stemming Biodiversity Loss: The Case of Sacred Places in Venda, Northern South Africa, 2021 — https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/4/4/249
  • Vhadau vha Tshakhuma (Tshivenda-language typescript on the Vhadau of Tshakhuma and the early peoples of Venda; author… — https://repository.up.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/e2593648-436f-4316-87cf-b72e71970958/content
  • Nthambeleni Charles Ṋetshisaulu (University of Venda), The Role Played by Nicknames and Totems in the Development of Tshivenḓa Surnames, 2025 — https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/EHASS20256715.pdf
  • Hugh A. Stayt, The Bavenda, 1931 — https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/59437
  • Wikipedia contributors, Venda people (Wikipedia article), accessed 2026-09-05, Wikimedia Foundation — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venda_people

Recorded Alongside

  • Dzivhani Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Kwinḓa Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Lambani Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Luvhimbi Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Makuya Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Manenzhe Also recorded among the Vhavenda.

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