Hungwe tribe

The Hungwe are a tribe of the Shona. The Hungwe chicken of present day Shurugwi can be traced back to the Zambezi valley. According to oral tradition as narrated by clan elder Jereman Mahla (1918–2000), the people of the Hungwe/Shiri/Nyoni (fish-eagle) totem originated from the Zambezi Valley.

Considering their proximity to the Zambezi River, it only makes sense they adopted the fish eagle as their totem. Although oral tradition among the Hungwe people consider them as originating from the Tonga-Tavara tribes, historical facts consider the Hungwe people descendants of the Kingdom of Great Zimbabwe where there fish eagle (Hungwe bird was a very important religious and political symbol).

The praise song of the totem goes:

Hungwe (fish eagle) Matapatira (sound of eagle’s flapping wings) Furaimashini (flying machine) Vakabva Zambezi nemudenga (who flew from the Zambezi) Zenda netyaka Chivara Maoko mavi, etc.

According to oral tradition, Nheva and his brother Vambe are considered the ancestor of modern Hungwe clan and they were hunters.

Nheva and Vambe are presumed to have lived during the decline of the Mutapa Empire.

According to history, the origins of the ruling dynasty at Mutapa (Munhu-(person) wekutanga-(the first) wepasi-(of the ground/Earth)) go back to sometime in the first half of the 15th century. According to oral tradition, the first "mwene" was a warrior prince named Nyatsimba Mutota from the Kingdom of Zimbabwe sent to find new sources of salt in the north. Prince Mutota found his salt among the Tavara, a Shona subdivision, who were prominent elephant hunters. They were conquered, a capital was established 350 km north of Great Zimbabwe at Zvongombe by the Zambezi. This migration to the north might explain how the Hungwe people found themselves in the Zambezi valley and living among the Tonga and Tavara people.

According to history, the major Karanga dynasties were the Rozvi of the Moyo (heart) Totem, Elephant (for the Mutapa state) and the Hungwe (Fish Eagle) dynasties that ruled from Great Zimbabwe. The Karanga had an adelphic succession system (brother succeeds brother) and this after a long time caused a lot of civil wars that after the 16th century. Underneath the King were a number of chiefs who had sub-chiefs and headman under them.

The Hungwe people are fortunate to be the only mutupo (totem) without a sub-totem (chidawu). You have Shoko (monkey totem) and Vhudzijena, Murehwa (sub-totems) or Shumba (Lion totem) and Madzore, Mhazi (sub-totems). This means that Shoko Vhudziijena and Shoko Murehwa can marry as they are considered unrelated due to difference in sub-totem. Hungwe is only one, intermarriage between the Hungwes is considered taboo and abomination.

Hungwe Migration

Due to shortage of game in the Zambezi valley, Nheva took his family and travelled East to present Tete in Mozambique. Vambe remained behind. There he met serious resistance from southern invaders running away from Shaka of the Zulus, notably the Shangaan who had set up the Gaza empire as well as the Portuguese who were moving further and further inland from the Mozambican coast. Nheva is presumed to have died in Tete.

His eldest son, Sakunara then led the people, travelling back into modern day Manicaland in Zimbabwe, and finally settling near Great Zimbabwe among their kinsmen of the Gumbo totem (their nephews, presumably descendants from one of their sisters). By the time Sakunara and his people arrived in present day Masvingo, power had shifted south from the Mutapa State in the north to the Rozvi State at Guruuswa in the south. The Rozvi were of the Moyo (heart) totem.

Decline of Mutapa, Rise of Rozvi Kingdom

By the 17th century, a dynasty of Rozvi pastoralists under the leadership of a changamire (king/general) began transforming the Rozvi Kingdom into new regional power. The Rozvi not only originated from the Great Zimbabwe area, but still continued to build their towns in stone, notable Khami.

As Sakunara consolidated his power having been allocated land by his kinsmen, no sooner did the hosts become jealous of the rising power of the vanasekuru (the uncles).

The Vaera Gumbo conspired to kill Sakunara, and this they achieved by sprinkling lethal poison on his favourite wild fruit, jiri ramashuku.

With Sakunara dead and the Hungwe people under siege, his son eldest son Chasura gathered the clan and travelled northwards and settled close to present day Zvishavane, at a place known as Chikomo chaChasura (Chasura’s hill). Chasura bought the land from MuRozvi (Rozvi King) by offering a beautiful maiden as a wife to the King.

When Chasura’s brother Ndanga tilled his fields on a chisi (sacred day), it was considered an abomination and there was a major fallout between the two brothers with the young Ndanga gathering his family and moving northwards to settle near present day Chachacha.

Ndanga Chieftainship

With the death of Chasura, Ndanga established a paramount chieftainship that stretched from Gwamakunguwo near Zvishavane to present day Ruchanyu, Shurugwi town and Shayamavudzi hill near Hanke Mission, all the way to Svika in the north west.

The Rozvi King had assigned one of his subjects Chief Mazivisa, to mark out the territory for the Hungwe people (he became a chief under Ndanga, and his chieftainship is found at the foot of Shamba mountain). A new visitor arrived and requested for a piece of land to settle and hunt and this was granted north of Shayamavudzi hill, this was the Nhema clan and they were hunters.

Hondo yamaDumbuseya (War of the Dumbuseya's)

Consolidating his power over the various other clans in the area under his control did not come easy for Ndanga. Remnants of from smaller Rozvi clans rejected the new chief and war broke out – this was known as Hondo yemaDumbuseya (war of the Dumbuseya's). It was fought around Shayamavudzi and Hungwe clan elders beam with pride of how their forefathers slayed the Dumbuseyas and rolled their lifeless bodies down the steep slopes of Shayamavhudzi. The hill is called Shayamavhudzi (hairless) for it does not grow any trees and has very slippery slopes.

Rise of the Ndebele (Madzviti)

By this time, the Rozvi power was declining and new force was coming in the form of Madzviti (as the Ndebeles were known).

There are many references to on-going wars with the Madzviti and how they took away Hungwe man and women into slavery, hence today we have Nyoni people as Ndebele speakers.

Colonisation and First Chimurenga

No sooner had the Ndebele subjugated the Hungwes did a new threat come in the shape of Varungu (whitemen).

The Ndebele destroyed the Rozvi state in the 1830s and the Portuguese slowly eroded the Mutapa State which had extended to the coast of Mozambique. The British destroyed traditional power in 1890 and colonised the plateau which was named Rhodesia.

According to oral tradition, although the Hungwes had developed their own mugigwa and zvifefe (guns), the varungu had superior fire power. The mugigwa was a long pipe and would be loaded with bullets made from iron. Dry rock rabbit urine which they scrapped from Bokai mountains provided the gunpowder which enabled the mugigwa to fire like a regular gun.

Rusere (not sure if any relation of Gatsi Rusere) was the marksman and he is credited with [...] the first whiteman atop Bokai mountain. The whiteman had a large gun with wheels that could fire many bullets at once, and Rusere is fabled a hero among the Hungwe people.

Due to their resistance to colonial rule, the Hungwe people where disefranchised by the white regime in favour of loyal but lesser chiefs.

Whites took over all fertile land and forced the Ndanga and his subjects into the unfertile reserves around Chachacha. The whole area stretching from Ruchanyu and Shurugwi, and from Chachacha to Shayamavhudzi was converted into white farms.

After independence in 1980, and even with the resettlement programme giving back to the land to people, Ndanga has lost all his land stretching from just after Chachacha and Vungwi all the way Shayamavhudzi, this is now under Chief Nhema.

Overview of the Ndanga Chieftainship

Families

1. Chiunye 2. Mandemwa 3. Pavi 4. Mapendere 5. Makara

Chiunye Family

1. Machisa 2. Matandare

Mandemwa Family

1. Mahla 2. Mandishona

Pavi

1. Masvimbo 2. Hofisi

Mapendere (Own chieftainship)

1. Mapendere 2. Rusere 3. Chacha

Makara Family (Own Chieftainship)

1. Makara 2. Ndaraza

''<1935 Ndanga

1910-1935 Mandemwa (acting position as his father had gone blind)

1935-1967 Pavi

1967-1990 Matandare

1975-1993 Ndawora (acting position as his father had gone blind)

1993–Present Christmas Ndanga of the house of Pavi''

It is worth noting that two families, Mapendere and Makara already have their own chieftainships and therefore cannot claim any rights to the paramount Ndanga chieftainship. Within the Mapendere chieftainshp, Chacha was excluded from future claims to the throne by the colonial government after he destroyed a white settler known as Stokeri’s (Storkel) maize field. This should however be set aside under the new dispensation.

The house of Pavi ruled between 1935 and 1967, and due to corruption and political interference, were awarded Ndanga chieftainship for the 2nd time with current Chief Christmas Ndanga also coming from the house of Pavi. This has already caused confusion and sawn the seeds for future conflict in choosing the next chief. The house of Mandemwa has only taken the throne in an acting capacity from 1910 and therefore cannot be considered to have ruled.