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Wozekhaya

Xivongo · Xitsonga

Hlabi

Also spelled Ba-Hlabi, Vahlave, VaHlave.

  • PeopleVatsonga
  • Grouping Dzonga-speaking cluster east of the Limpopo (Junod); VaHlave cluster (Wikipedia, uncited); Malungana counts Vahlave as one of the main dialect groups
  • Surnames recorded Mapsanganyi / Maswanganyi, Tsungu, Mavundja / Mavundza, Nkwinika, Makamo, Ndhzove, Ntsumele, Mabunda
  • Places recorded Limpopo, Shengan, Olifants, Mozambique

The Swiphato swa swivongo

Ba Nhlabi ba ku vengwa, Nhlabi ya Makamu ya Mavuse ya nkonwana

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

About This Record

What Was Written Down

Junod describes a group of clans on both sides of the Limpopo who called themselves Ba-Hlabi and spoke a dialect close to Dzonga, naming them from the Olifants confluence southward as Mapsanganyi, Tsungu, Mavundja, Nkwinika and Makamo, with Nkuna settled near the confluence. Many Hlabi migrated into the Transvaal with the Nkuna during Manukosi's wars. Wikipedia's VaHlave cluster lists Mavundza, Maswanganyi, Nkwinika and Ndhzove. Malungana's Mabunda informant declared her people Vahlave. VIV Magazine pairs the surname Ntsumele with Nkwinika. 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
  • Henri-Alexandre Junod, The Life of a South African Tribe, Vol. I: The Social Life, Imprimerie Attinger Freres, Neuchatel — https://archive.org/details/lifeofsouthafric01junouoft
  • Shidjabadjaba John Malungana, Vuphato: Praise Poetry in Xitsonga (D.Litt. et Phil. thesis), 1994 — https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/esploro/outputs/doctoral/Vuphato---praise-poetry-in/9913242107691
  • VIV Lifestyle Magazine (Shitshembiso Mabasa Pty Ltd), Xana a wu swi tiva? [Swivongo Edition] (and reader comments, 2019-2020), 2017, vivmag.co.za — https://www.vivmag.co.za/xana-a-wu-swi-tiva-swivongo-edition/
  • Wikipedia contributors, Tsonga people, read 2026-09-05, Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsonga_people

Recorded Alongside

  • Bila Also recorded among the Vatsonga.
  • Cawuke Also recorded among the Vatsonga.
  • Hlanganu Also recorded among the Vatsonga.
  • Hlungwani Also recorded among the Vatsonga.
  • Honwana Also recorded among the Vatsonga.
  • Khosa Also recorded among the Vatsonga.

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If Your Family Holds More Of This

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