Xivongo · Xitsonga
Bila
Also spelled Bilen, Bilene.
- PeopleVatsonga
- Grouping Bila group (Junod's fifth dialect group); also a xivongo treated by Mathevula
- Surnames recorded Bila
- Places recorded Limpopo, Mozambique, Sabie, Mpisane
Written down by families and by the people who recorded them.
About This Record
What Was Written Down
Junod names the Bila group after the fertile plain of the lower Limpopo, says its clans on both banks suffered most from the Zulu invaders who settled there, and that their dialect kept peculiar traits; after the Portuguese-Gungunyane war some Bila and Ngoni who refused Portuguese rule settled on the southern Sabie under Mpisane. Mathevula's table of contents includes a chapter on the xivongo Bila (not read). The Xitsonga poet Vonani Bila carries the name (Wikipedia list of notable people). 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
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- Henri-Alexandre Junod, The Life of a South African Tribe, Vol. I: The Social Life, Imprimerie Attinger Freres, Neuchatel — https://archive.org/details/lifeofsouthafric01junouoft
- Delvah Mathevula, Nkanelo wa Swin'wana swa Swithopo swa Swivongo na Nkucetelo wa Swona eka Vatsonga (An analysis of some clan totems/pr…, 2018 — https://univendspace.univen.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/714292a9-b2a4-46db-93bb-45b139eba861/content
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