THE NGUNI – TSONGA QN: WHO WERE THEY?

 THE WAY OF LIFE OF THE BANTU The organization of the Bantu was manly divided into viz, ngoni-tsonga and Sotho –Tswana THE NGUNI – TSONGA QN: WHO WERE THEY? ➢ They were commonly known as nguni people ➢ The nguni were part of bantu speakers of south Africa ➢ They had a clique sound in their language. ➢ The Nguni belonged to the southern group of people. ➢ They moved from Congo basin between the 13th and 16th century ➢ Later in the 17th century they gave birth to tribes like Xhosa, Zulu, ngwane Ndebele, thembu ndwandwe e.t.c ➢ These developed after their separation from the mother group for a period of about 200 years. ➢ They settled in areas between Indian Ocean and drankensberg mountains. ➢ They were the war worriers of Bantu in south Africa. ➢ They specifically settled in natal region east of cape. THEIR WAY OF LIFE ➢ Like any other group of people, they were politically, socially and economically organized as below; ➢ Economically they practiced gathering for their welfare. ➢ They hunted wild animals. ➢ They carried out some fishing from rivers and Indian ocean ➢ They grew crops like millet, beans, yams, sorghum, pumpkins and calabashes ➢ They were pastoralists who reared cattle. Goat and sheep. ➢ They traded with whites based at natal for example the Portuguese. ➢ They practiced iron working and made knives and arrows among others. ➢ They raided their neighbors for wealth ➢ Land was owned communally Summarized notes of the History of South Africa, July 2019 Page | 12 ➢ Cattle as a sign of prestige and used as food, pay bride price. ➢ Family was the most important smallest unit amongst the Nguni. ➢ They had extended family which included the father, mother, children, aunt, grandparents e.t.c ➢ They mostly practiced polygamous families. ➢ Elders were very important in settling disputes. ➢ The elders gave cattle to those who reached maturity. ➢ Initiation ceremonies were very important e.g. circumcision. ➢ A tribal chief headed each tribe. ➢ All elders belonged to the clan councils, which settled disputes in the society. ➢ The clan elders assisted the tribal chiefs on matters concerning the society.