Mbegha was the first "Lion King" (

Shambala language Shambala or Shambaa is a Bantu language of Tanzania. Overview Shambala, also Kishambala, (ki)Sambaa, (ki)Shambaa is spoken by the Shambaa in the Usambara mountains in the Lushoto District and Muheza District, Tanga Region, of northern Tanzani ...

: ''Simba Mwene'') of the

Shambaa people The Shambaa people, also called the Sambaa, Shambala, Sambala or Sambara (''Wasambaa'' in Swahili), are a Bantu ethnic group. Their ancestral home is on the Usambara Mountains of Lushoto District, Bumbuli District. They are native to the valley ...

, modern-day Northeastern

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, who lived during the first half of the 18th century. While his existence is undisputed among historians, his biography is mainly based on oral traditions. Numerous legends have made him a mythic hero. Mbegha was born to the Ngulu people from the hilly area of the

Nguru Mountains The Nguru Mountains are a mountain range in Morogoro Region, Tanzania, Africa. The Nguru Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The mountains are predominantly covered with rainforest, home to 83 species of birds (Romdal 2001) and A ...

. Because of disputes with relatives and because considered supernaturally dangerous, he was condemned from his homeland. He fled to Kilindi, where he became a hunter, hunting bush pigs with the local chief's son. While on a hunt, the chief's son was accidentally killed. In order to escape punishment from the chief, Mbegha had to flee again, this time further north into the

Usambara Mountains The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tang ...

. He lived in the open near a place called Ziai, in caves and camps, hunting wild animals. Upon learning that Mbegha was a skilled pig hunter, the locals asked him to rid their village of pigs, which kept on destroying their agricultural produce. He killed all pigs and was welcomed by the Shambaa. He was invited to live in Vuga, near modern-day

Bumbuli Lushoto is one of the eleven districts of Tanga Region in Tanzania. It is bordered to the northeast by Kenya, to the east by the Muheza District, to the northwest by the Kilimanjaro Region, west by Korogwe District and to the south by the Bumbul ...

, then chief town of the Shambaa people. Mbegha also helped the people of Vuga and all the other villages and was awarded with the kingship. He became known as a lion slayer after killing a lion on the way to their village. The grateful farmers gave him wives from each major clan and the respective firstborn sons were placed in charge of all clans, thereby also forging regional unity. Mbegha was the founder of the

Kilindi dynasty The Kilindi dynasty is a pre-colonial, Tanzanian royal family that has reigned over the Shambaa people of north-west Tanga Region for most of the 18th to 20th centuries In modern-day Lushoto District and Bumbuli District Bumbuli is one of the ...

. Mbegha's son Buge grew to become the chief of Vuga and when Mbegha died, Buge succeeded him as king. Buge's son

Kimweri ye Nyumbai Kimweri ye Nyumbai (or Shekulwavu) (died 1862) was the King of the Shambaa people of the Usambara Mountains in what is now Tanga Region of Tanzania between around 1815 and 1862. Under his rule the kingdom reached its greatest extent. However, ...

ruled the kingdom at its greatest extent. After he died there was a succession struggle, and in 1890 the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

took control and started

colonizing Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

the former kingdom.

References

* John Iliffe: ''A modern history of Tanganyika'', University of Cambridge, 1979 *

Jan Vansina Jan Vansina (14 September 1929 – 8 February 2017) was a Belgian historian and anthropologist regarded as an authority on the history of Central Africa, especially of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. He was ...

: ''Oral tradition as history'', James Currey Publishers, 1985, pages 141-142 * Steven Feierman: ''The Shambaa Kingdom: A History'', University of Wisconsin, 1974 * Philip Briggs: ''Bradt Tanzania: With Zanzibar,m Pemba & Mafia'', Bradt Travel Guides, 2006, pages 234-235 Shambaa people Tanzanian chiefs Precolonial Tanzania Tanga, Tanzania

Tanga Tanga may refer to: Places Burkina Faso * , a town in eastern Burkina Faso * Tanga, Sidéradougou, a village in western Burkina Faso * Tanga-Pela, a village in northern-central Burkina Faso Other places * Tanga, Tanzania, a city and port on the ...

See also

References