Last modified: 2006-12-23 by bruce berry
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by Martin Grieve, 01 Dec 2006
KwaNdebele was a small contiguous territory in the central Transvaal
(today's north-western most Mpumalanga).
Antonio Martins, 30 May 1999
KwaNdebele was situated north-east of Pretoria and was granted internal
self-government on 1 April 1981. The name KwaNdebele means the place or
home of the Ndebele.
Bruce Berry, 01 Dec 1998
The Ndebele of
both Mpumalanga and Limpopo
Province are not, as commonly thought, offshoots of the Zulu. The abeNguni of Natal (KwaZulu-Natal)
can only be referred to as Zulu from the time of Shaka onwards. Before
that the Zulu were a very small clan. The Ndebele of the Transvaal
region settled in their present homes at least a century before Shaka's
kingdom emerged. Although they most likely are offshoots of the Natal Nguni,
they predate the Zulu kingdom. These two groups are constantly confused
with the Ndebele of Mzilikazi, who was a breakaway from Shaka, and who
took in many refugees fleeing from Shaka's reign of terror. An additional
reason for this confusion is that during Mzilikazi's early period of kingdom-building,
he operated in the regions now called western Mpumalanga
and Gauteng, close to the home of the Southern
Ndebele. Under pressure from the Voortrekkers
he moved first to the Marico district (now in North
West Province) and then to Bulawayo (now in Zimbabwe).
Mention of abeNguni in Natal and Zulu calls to mind another distinction
(now obsolete). When the Colony of Natal was established,
only the abeNguni falling into the Zulu kingdom were referred to as Zulu,
by either black or white. The Nguni-speakers within the colony referred
to themselves by their clan names, not by the name of any larger grouping.
The white colonists referred to them as Kaffirs (a word now avoided, and for good reason).
However, when the Nguni language was recorded in Natal by Bishop Colenso,
he took to referring to it, and to its speakers, as Zulu. Gradually white
colonists began referring to colonial Nguni as Zulu. It took another generation
before the colonial Nguni used the term Zulu of themselves. But by then
political developments had aroused a great deal of sympathy for the Zulu
royal house, because of the way the colonial authorities were treating
the king (who at times was even deprived of his title). The result was
that whereas the Nguni within Natal (south of the Tugela River) had seen
themselves as being beyond the authority of the Zulu kingdom in the 1840s,
by the end of the century they were loyal subjects of the Zulu paramount.
Without this development, it would not have been possible for the Zulu
Bantustan of KwaZulu to incorporate the tribal
lands south of the Tugela in the 1960s.
Mike Oettle, 16 Dec 2001
kndb-1.gif)
image by Martin Grieve, 01 Dec 2006
The knobkerrie is a symbol of authority vested in the government to
maintain law and order, while the battle axes are symbolic of the struggle
for self-determination.
The Act became law on 19 July 1982 and was published in the Official
Gazette of KwaNdebele on 06 October 1982.
KwaNdebele was a "self-governing" territory within South Africa and
was moving towards full independence when internal unrest during 1986 put
a stop to the process. The KwaNdebele flag was flown alongside the South
African national flag until the homeland was re-incorporated into South
Africa on 27 April 1994.
The area is now part of the Mpumalanga
Province
and the KwaNdebele flag is no longer in use.
Bruce Berry, 01 Dec 1998
kndb.jpg)
scan by
Bruce Berry, 01 Dec 2006
By Government Notice No. 1599, published in the South African Government Gazette (Number 7400 of 13 February 1981), it was notified that a coat of arms had been registered for the KwaNdebele Legislative Assembly in terms of the South African Heraldry Act (Act No. 18 of 1962) with a Certificate of Registration No. 1213 being issued on 19 February 1981.
The blazon of
the coat of arms is described as:
Arms: Per fess battled embattled Or and Brunatre, masoned sable,
in chief a mealie head seeded Argent leaved Vert; behind the shield a battle-axe
and assegai in saltire, proper, and in pale a bundle of woodstaves Or and a
knobkerrie, resting in a quiver, proper.
Crest: In front of an otter skin Brunatre pendanrt from the
woodstaves by a neckband Vert, a breast feather of the red-breasted shrike
issuant proper.
Wreath: A head ring Sable.
Supporters: Dexter a rietbok (reedbuck) and sinister a wildebeest, both
proper.
Motto: KUVUSWA EZIVUSAKO
(He who helps himself, is helped).
With the
re-incorporation of KwaNdebele into South Africa on 27 April 1994, these Arms
are no longer in use.
Bruce Berry, 01 Dec 2006