A lot has been said about the Nsingo connection to the Ngo(u)ni people of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. There are a lot of stories out there, others saying Nsingo are Vendas. The purpose of this research and blog is to work hard with facts, as oral tradition that was later published is not only unreliable but dangerous. It is dangerous because instead of having one account of a certain people or tribe, different accounts will be doing rounds out there, leading to tribal or ethnic divisions.
Some trace the first Nsingo ancestors to the time Mzilikazi entered southern Rhodesia, having run away with them from Shaka. How then would they identify themselves differently if they had the same identity as Mzilikazi?
Thorough research has alerted this blog that when Mzilikazi arrived in Southern Rhodesia, he built a new nation and called it Mthwakazi. He called the people of Mthwakazi, AmaNdebele. He then divided the Ndebeles into different clans, as per their chiefs, but the main purpose was mainly for war, a Ndebeles warriors' divisions. Per regiment of warriors, for example, 'Insingo,' was under a chief called Somabulane Dlodlo, of the BaVenda that Mzilikazi had brought with him into Southern Rhodesia. For more information click on this link; http://www.inkundla.net/ubbthreads7olde/ubbthreads.php/ubb/printthread/Board/5/main/784/type/thread. For more on Mzilikazi please click on this link; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mzilikazi.
Now, who are the BaVenda? The BaVenda have a very long but interesting history. Some souces believe that the Singo, of the Changamire Rozwi of Zimbabwe founded the Venda state. Please click on this link to read more; http://www.luonde.co.za/pdfs/vhavenda_early_history02.pdf. However, recent investigations into the history of the Venda state claim that the Singo were a division of the Changamire Rozwi of Zimbabwe, who came to dominate an already-existing Venda state. This then shows that the Singo were formerly Shonas. Fore more information please clink on the following link; http://newhistory.co.za/tag/singo-clan/. Let's assume that all the Singo from Changamire Rozwi went and dominated the Venda state, leaving no Singo at all back at Changamire Rozwi. The Singo in Venda married Venda wives, and so on, to the point all the Singo totally identified themselves as BaVenda, and vice-versa. Now, when Mzilikazi passed through Venda into Southern Rhodesia, he was joined by some Singo(s), under the chieftainship of Somabulane. Please remenber that our abovementioned sources have shown how the Singo dominated the Venda, therefore, we can safely assume that when Mzilikazi was joined by Somabulane, only a few Singos follwed him to Southern Rhodesia. Merit of the story - proof that a Singo born in Venda is a Venda since Somabulane may have left behind some of the Singo that had already integrated smoothly into the Venda state, and were now proud being identified as Vendas.
Then, 'Nsingo' is different from 'Singo'. Why, you may again ask? The 'N-' in the Nsingo could have been necessitated by Ndebeles' difficulty to pronounce 'Singo,' thus the 'Singo' in Southern Rhodesia became commonly-known as 'Nsingo'. To summarise the issue, the above analysis thoroughly proves that anyone using 'Nsingo' as their surname today is a Ndebele, since they originate from Mzilikazi's Mthwakazi state, whose people was known as the AmaNdebele. Those that use the surname 'Singo' are Vendas, since they remained behind in Venda as BaVenda, whilst Somabulane travelled with Mzilikazi into Southern Rhodesia. It may not be true then that Nsingo originated from the Zulu state based on the analysis above. It may be true that both Nsingo/Singo share the same Shona origins. Even if you listen to Venda-speaking people you will discover that the language is more closer to Shona language than Ndebele, which gives credence that the Singo had a huge influence in the culture, tradition and language of the BaVenda.
Please keep checking this blog as we keep digging further into the History of Nsingo(s).
by Fanuel Nsingo
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
New and Exciting Developments!
New and exciting developments for the proud Nsingo Family!!! We have some of the information that we need in order to find our true sense of belonging. We will post some of the responses to the Nsingo Facebook Family's request for family trees. If you have not sent in your Family Tree as yet please hurry and do so now. The email address is nsingofanuel@vodamail.co.za. As soon as it arrives you will get a response.
We also need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Nsingo(s) are really of Venda origin, not Ndebeles. We strongly believe that if you tell us which ancestors had which Venda names then we may be closer to solving the puzzle. Bruce Wekwa Nsingo raised a valid point on the subject that most of us have always feared to tackle. Isn't this the fear of oneself's identity, that we have always chosen to identify ourselves differently? But the proof will only be the discovery and realisation of the true origins of our ancestors. We will be glad if Bruce can also narrate some of the stories that he has heard in the past, and anything else that will contribute immensely towards achieving our goals as a family. The time is now to build a strong bond for the unfortunately geographically scattered Nsingo(s). Most of us grew up being told that we are originally Vendas, but geographically we grew up in Midlands Province, Matebeleland, Kwekwe, Silobela, Lower Gweru, Makulambila, Madlingogo, Tshokotshe, Sinangeni, Msilahobe, Crossroads, Ntobe, Loreto Mission, Queen' s Mine, Zvishavane, Fort Rixon, Mberenwa, Bulawayo and other parts of Mashonaland, Masvingo and Manicaland provinces. Now, only' we', can help ourselves trace our roots, where we come from, who and what are we. For now, please keep your emails coming!
- Zakhele Magagula, who is a real Nsingo but chose to share his mother' s surname, uMagagula, sent in this email:
1. Peter Nsingo, I know he is our grandfather, but not sure if his father was Kanka.. or his father was a brother to Kanka. I can get some guys to confirm that.
2. Sikhatshana Nsingo. I know his was on the level of obaba, but not very sure if Kreda was his father or Sibling.
3. As from uMavial going down I have a lot of info, as it is where I directly come from...
- Zakhele Nsingo also sent us a Family Tree that we are still working on and post to this website later.
- Carol Nsingo emailed the following:
Our forefathers (3 of them) basuka eSouth Africa loMzilikazi bezinyanga zakhe. Their names were: Mgabeli, Mluge & Bhorongo. One of them was assasinated in other parts of Rhodesia but I'mnot sure where exactly.
Ok now follow this carefully:
uMluge wazala uKhanka loZinyika,
uKhanka wazala uMavila loNgundu,
uMavila wazala 4 brothers kuGogo wethu ( they had so many wives),
namely:
Jeremiah (born1919) and he later relocated to Zambia,
Excel 1923 (now late),
Madlekuseni (our dad also the late),
Madlekuseni was born in February 1927,
Our aunt Martha is still alive though a bit aged now, born in the '30s,
Zinyika (Khanka's brother) had a nephew called Prema, but I can't remember the name of Prema' s father,
Ngundu (Mavila's brother) wazala uBranda Sikhatshana and Creda,
Lakuqala (Mavila's other brother) wazala uPeter lo Sibonile abaseGumbalo.
Now going back to one of the 3 forefathers who came with Mzilikazi. I mean Mgabeli (brother of Mluge) wazala uMnyathi lo Mahogo
Laba labo bazala oMunyiki,
Izizukulwane zabo ngo bhudi uAmon born 1950s laboEllington but I'm not sure of their age groups but maybe they are in their early 60s.
God Bless us for this rich information so far! Let's meet on Facebook @ Nsingo Facebook Family Group! Enjoy!
by Fanuel Nsingo
We also need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Nsingo(s) are really of Venda origin, not Ndebeles. We strongly believe that if you tell us which ancestors had which Venda names then we may be closer to solving the puzzle. Bruce Wekwa Nsingo raised a valid point on the subject that most of us have always feared to tackle. Isn't this the fear of oneself's identity, that we have always chosen to identify ourselves differently? But the proof will only be the discovery and realisation of the true origins of our ancestors. We will be glad if Bruce can also narrate some of the stories that he has heard in the past, and anything else that will contribute immensely towards achieving our goals as a family. The time is now to build a strong bond for the unfortunately geographically scattered Nsingo(s). Most of us grew up being told that we are originally Vendas, but geographically we grew up in Midlands Province, Matebeleland, Kwekwe, Silobela, Lower Gweru, Makulambila, Madlingogo, Tshokotshe, Sinangeni, Msilahobe, Crossroads, Ntobe, Loreto Mission, Queen' s Mine, Zvishavane, Fort Rixon, Mberenwa, Bulawayo and other parts of Mashonaland, Masvingo and Manicaland provinces. Now, only' we', can help ourselves trace our roots, where we come from, who and what are we. For now, please keep your emails coming!
- Zakhele Magagula, who is a real Nsingo but chose to share his mother' s surname, uMagagula, sent in this email:
1. Peter Nsingo, I know he is our grandfather, but not sure if his father was Kanka.. or his father was a brother to Kanka. I can get some guys to confirm that.
2. Sikhatshana Nsingo. I know his was on the level of obaba, but not very sure if Kreda was his father or Sibling.
3. As from uMavial going down I have a lot of info, as it is where I directly come from...
- Zakhele Nsingo also sent us a Family Tree that we are still working on and post to this website later.
- Carol Nsingo emailed the following:
Our forefathers (3 of them) basuka eSouth Africa loMzilikazi bezinyanga zakhe. Their names were: Mgabeli, Mluge & Bhorongo. One of them was assasinated in other parts of Rhodesia but I'mnot sure where exactly.
Ok now follow this carefully:
uMluge wazala uKhanka loZinyika,
uKhanka wazala uMavila loNgundu,
uMavila wazala 4 brothers kuGogo wethu ( they had so many wives),
namely:
Jeremiah (born1919) and he later relocated to Zambia,
Excel 1923 (now late),
Madlekuseni (our dad also the late),
Madlekuseni was born in February 1927,
Our aunt Martha is still alive though a bit aged now, born in the '30s,
Zinyika (Khanka's brother) had a nephew called Prema, but I can't remember the name of Prema' s father,
Ngundu (Mavila's brother) wazala uBranda Sikhatshana and Creda,
Lakuqala (Mavila's other brother) wazala uPeter lo Sibonile abaseGumbalo.
Now going back to one of the 3 forefathers who came with Mzilikazi. I mean Mgabeli (brother of Mluge) wazala uMnyathi lo Mahogo
Laba labo bazala oMunyiki,
Izizukulwane zabo ngo bhudi uAmon born 1950s laboEllington but I'm not sure of their age groups but maybe they are in their early 60s.
God Bless us for this rich information so far! Let's meet on Facebook @ Nsingo Facebook Family Group! Enjoy!
by Fanuel Nsingo
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