THE HISTORY OF EMTHENGULENI

 A Sacred place for the Mphezeni Nation

The songs of the Mphezeni Angoni Nation immortalize a place called ;eMthenguleni'. The Ingoma dancers emotionally sing about this land which is about 25 kilometers from the city of Chipata, Eastern Zambia. In fact, every last February, the buzzword among the Ngonis is Mthenguleni. So why is this so? What is eMthenguleni and why is the place a 'sacred sanctuary' for the Mphezeni Ngonis?

The flying hair incident and original name of eMthenguleni

To answer this question, effectively, one needs to go back in time. A time not when the Ngonis where in constant skirmishes with the Chewas of Mbangombe. But a time even before the birth of Nthuto Mphezeni in present day Mozambique where he would also be named Sabangwa.

So the story begins from the infamous flying hair incident. To recap, Zwangendaba had demanded beer from the wives of Emveyeyeni -correct is Emveyeweni 'meaning place of prominence'- owing to the fact that this was the Queen Mothers village. So this was the village of the Ndwandwe sisters, Loziwawa and Soseya.

When the beer was presented to the King, behold there was flying hair which in those days was interpreted as a sign of witchcraft. A simple interpretation was that the wives of Emveyeyeni village wanted to kill the King. Incensed, Zwangendaba ordered that the village of Emveyeyeni and all its inhabitants be wiped of the surface of the earth.

The execution group was led by Gwaza Thole. When they arrived in the village of Emveyeyeni, they found Queen Soseya to have been pregnant. Thus, Gwaza instructed his men to carry out the order of the King but he spared the pregnant Soseya and hide her. He forbade his men against telling the King what had happened. Queen Soseya was then placed in the village of Loangweni.

Gwaza returned to the King to give a report that he had carried out the task. He even gave the large portion of the cattle and other livestock from the village to the King.

Ntutho Mphezeni finally sees his father and 'gets back' his mothers village.

For three years, Zwangendaba was kept in the dark. But they say lies have short legs. Zwangendaba soon got wind of the truth. The boy and his mother were then presented to the King. Instead of being angry with Gwaza, Zwangendaba was in fact overjoyed.

He welcomed his son and the mother with joy. He even gave out a command that the village of Emveyeyeni be REBUILT and that the Nwandwe sisters and the Prince should live in it again. This is the genesis of eMthenguleni. Whilst the 'new village' retained its old name, for some the village would be called EMTHENGULENI, from the verb ukuthungula, meaning to rebuild. It is this village that was the principal village which threw all its weight on Nthuto during the succession wrangles that engulfed the Angoni nation after the death of Zwangendaba.

This was the main village that sided with Nthuto and never left his side. Fast forward, when the Mphezeni Ngonis had passed through the predominantly Nsenga and Chewa Nations, they finally found a place where they would build their capital. And what a befitting way to name the same very first permanent settlement of a powerful nation that had been constantly on the move after the very village of Emthengeluni!

Ntutho shifts his capital

Emthenguleni birthed a lot of villages/ empires. Soon, even King Ntutho Mphezeni Jele left Mthenguleni and went to settle in the present day Luangeni area where he set up his new capital. His bloodline still rules from this area at a village called, Efeni. Today, Mphezeni's nation has grown with a number of historically important areas and yet none can rival the village of eMthengeluni. This place is indelible in the mind s of the Nguni Nation of Mphezeni.Its a sacred village which will continue glorifying a kingdom. The famous Ncwala ceremony takes places in the village of Mthengeluni.

A Mphezeni Ngoni dancing the Ingoma dance, is 'immersed' in the sacred grounds of the Mthenguleni arena where the Ncwala takes place.

Kings Mphezeni and M'mbelwa with their Makhosi at the eMthenguleni arena during the N'cwala'. Both Photos were taken by the Ncwala Official Facebook page team.