Nongoma is a town in Zululand,

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is the seat of the Nongoma Local Municipality. It is situated 300 km north of

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

and 56 km from Ulundi; it is surrounded by the Ngome Forest. It is a busy market town that serves a large surrounding area. It is assigned registration plate NND (Natal NDwandwe). This small town is also the home of King Bhekuzulu College, one of the popular boarding schools in the province. There are also TVET College, Mthashana TVET College Nongoma and KwaGqikazi Campuses.

Royal palaces (Izigodlo)

The area has six royal palaces belonging to the late Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini: * Osuthu Royal Palace - The King lived here. * Khethomthandayo Royal Palace — His first wife, Queen MaDlamini, lives here. * KwaDlamahlahla Royal Palace — Queen KaMathe lives here. * Kwakhangelamankengane Royal Palace — Queen Mother Mantfombi kaSobhuza II -Zulu lives here. * Linduzulu Royal Palace — Queen MaNdlovu, lives here. * Enyokeni Royal Palace — Queen MaMchiza lives here, and it is the King's only 'traditional' palace. In early September it is the site of the '' Umhlanga'' (Reed Dance). It now Belongs to the current king, King Misuzulu

History

This area was once the home of King Zwide, a late 18th-century

Ndwandwe The Ndwandwe are a Bantu Nguni-speaking people who populate sections of southern Africa. They owe their name to one of their early chiefs and are also known as the Nxumalo. Today, they can be found in South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique, Zimbabw ...

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

who was eventually defeated by

Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona (–24 September 1828), also known as Shaka (the) Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reform ...

at the beginning of the

Mfecane The Mfecane, also known by the Sesotho names Difaqane or Lifaqane (all meaning "crushing," "scattering," "forced dispersal," or "forced migration"), was a historical period of heightened military conflict and migration associated with state fo ...

wars. On 30 March 1883, a Zulu Mandlakazi force under Zibhebhu, defeated a larger uSuthu force (who represented Cetshwayo) in the Msebe Valley near Nongoma. In early March 1883, Zibhebhu had seized the uSuthu

kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an pen (enclosure), enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African Human settlement ...

s (livestock pens) in the heartland of the uSuthu in northern Zululand. which he had been allotted in an expansion of his chiefdom in the Second Partition of Zululand of 1882. In response Ndabuko (Cetshwayo's younger brother) gathered around 5,000 uSuthu warriors who marched northward under Makhoba kaMaphitha to retake the kraals. Known as the Battle of Msebe, Makhoba led the uSuthu in an attack on Zibhebhu's Mandlakazi forces. The defenders were assisted by five or six Boer allies. They killed over 1,000 of the uSuthu, estimates vary upwards. The town itself was only established in 1887 with the building of Fort Ivuna by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

as a buffer zone between the Zulu warring factions. It was originally called Ndwandwe but was later replaced by an earlier name given by the local tribesmen to the sacred area where the town stands: KwaNongoma ("place of the diviner or mother of songs"). In June 1888 Nongoma was destroyed by the uSuthu but later rebuilt. The fort was used during the

Bambatha Rebellion The Bambatha Rebellion (or the Zulu Rebellion) of 1906 was led by Bambatha kaMancinza (c. 1860–1906?), leader of the Zondi clan of the Zulu people, who lived in the Mpanza Valley (now a district near Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal) against Britis ...

of 1906. Three Zulu monarchs are laid to rest in the Nongoma area: * King Solomon kaDinuzulu (1891–1933), son of King Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo * King Cyprian Bhekuzulu kaSolomon (1924–1968), son of King Solomon kaDinuzulu and father of the former Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini. * King Goodwill Zwelithini (1948–2021), son of King Cyprian Bhekuzulu kaSolomon and father of the reining amaZulu monarch, King Misuzulu Sinqobile kaZwelithini

References

External links

Tourism site describing the Umhlanga ceremony
{{Authority control Populated places in the Nongoma Local Municipality

Royal palaces (Izigodlo)

History

See also

References

External links