Mpande's - University of Zululand Institutional Repository

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rushed reinforcements to his mauled forces, and eventually Nonkatsha and
many of his adherents were caught and slain. Noziyingili returned to
Maputoland as undisputed king and ruled from 1854 until his death in
1886. 41 By armed intervention Mpande increased his tributary grip over
the Tsonga, and Noziyingili paid homage to the Zulu kings." His throne
had been saved by Zulu intervention and as long as tribute was paid
annually, his position was underpinned and his power enhanced through
his links with the Zulu kingdom.
Of all Mpande's campaigns the most successful in its outcome was one
against Mlotshwa KaSiwele, head of the abakwaNkosi junior branch of
the senior Khumalo house." Mlotshwa was much more famous as the
crackbrain mentor of his clan, to whom black oxen were regularly sent as
propitiatory sacrifices to the clan ancestors. His realm comprised the
country round the iziMpondwana hill on the northern side of the upper
Mkhuze. The iziMpondwana hill stood as a rugged and solitary mass
amidst an extensive plain. Whenever invasion was feared, the mountain
summit was, as a precautionary measure, provisioned and the cattle
moved there for safety'"
4.
49
so
C. Ballard: Trade, Tribure and Migrant labour - Zulu and Colonial Exploitation ofthe
Delagoa Bay Hinterland, 1818 - 1879. cr J.B. Peires (Ed): Before and After Shaka,
p. 105.
Ibid., p. 105.
A.T. Bryant: Olden Times in Zululand and Natal, p. 602.
Ibid.. p. 603.