The Historiographical Development of the Concept “mfecane” and ...

narrative is concerned, Godlonton’s Fingo account was repeated by all authors
examined in this thesis who dealt with the Fingo.
The purported devastation of the greater Caledon Valley area was blamed by all
authors on the invasions of the Ngwane and Hlubi states. A secondary force of
destabilisation mentioned was the Tlokwa chiefdom, which never had a good
press from the beginning. This may be blamed on Sekonyela who was a rather
indifferent ruler, 32 but his main disadvantage was that he was a rival of
Moshoeshoe, the only African ruler with a consistently positive image. This was
created by Smith and French missionaries in the mid-1830’s, at the same time
as Sekonyela’s negative image was formed by Methodist missionaries. 33 The
rivalry between the two states, situated in close proximity to each other,
together with anti-Tlokwa information fed to writers by the Basotho ruling elite
effectively sidelined Sekonyela and the Tlokwa. However it was not Sekonyela,
but his mother, who was the regent while he was a minor, who featured
prominently in the mfecane narrative. When the Methodist missionaries settled
with the Tlokwa state in 1833 they knew the conventional account of the
Mantatees and the battle of Dithakong of 1823. On hearing that the Morena’s
mother’s name was ”Ma-antatees”, they misidentified the Tlokwa as being
Mantatees and publicised this in newspaper articles which information was
included by Godlonton in his work. 34 There was however a curious dichotomy in
the treatment of the Tlokwa in the mfecane narrative. Most authors focusing on
the Transvaal invariably equated the Mantatees with the Tlokwa and after the
their defeat at Dithakong described how, after further wars with Tswana
chiefdoms, they returned to their former homes in the upper Caledon valley. In
1857 Livingstone added a further element to the Mantatee story when he
claimed that the Kololo were incorporated into the Mantatees by ”Ma-antatees”
32 See P.B. Sanders, ‘Sekonyela and Moshweshwe: Failure and Success in the Aftermath of the
Difaqane’, Journal of African History, 10 (1969), 439-55.
33 Journal des Missions Evangelique (1833-1836). Arbousset et al., Narrative of an Exploratory
Tour. Casalis, ' Northern Tribes'. Smith, Report of Expedition. See Footnote no. 34.
34 [Wesleyan Minister], 'Letter of 10 December 1833'. ‘Investigatus, 6 February 1834’. Edwards,
'Extract from a Letter, 17 March 1836', 349-50. See also: ‘Extract from a Letter from the Rev. J.
Edwards' , 789-90. Godlonton, Introductory Remarks, I, 53; and II and III, 158-166.
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