Ndebele People
The Ndebele people are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Africa, particularly in Zimbabwe and parts of South Africa. Their history is deeply intertwined with the broader narrative of colonization in the region, notably during the late 18th and 19th centuries when European settlers sought control over valuable resources. The Ndebele kingdom was established under the leadership of Mzilikazi, who migrated from Zululand, and faced significant challenges due to European expansion and internal conflicts with other ethnic groups, particularly during the rise of the Zulu kingdom.
Throughout the colonial period, the Ndebele experienced profound disruptions, losing land and autonomy as British colonial interests took precedence. The late 19th century saw the establishment of the British South African Company, which manipulated treaties to gain control over Ndebele territories, leading to decades of repression. Despite the challenges, the Ndebele have maintained a rich cultural identity and contributed to Zimbabwe’s history, particularly in the context of the independence movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
Since gaining independence in 1980, the Ndebele community has faced ongoing political and socioeconomic challenges, often marked by tensions with the Shona majority. These dynamics have influenced Zimbabwe's political landscape, with historical grievances occasionally surfacing during elections. Today, the Ndebele culture remains a vital part of Zimbabwe's national identity, even as the region they primarily inhabit, Matabeleland, struggles with underdevelopment.
Ndebele People
The Ndebele are one of the many ethnic populations in southern Africa. As with many traditional ethnic groups in Africa, the preservation of ethnic history and identity has a complex history. European colonization exacerbated and in some instances created interethnic competition and violence among ethnic groups in creating the boundaries of their colonial territories, which in most instances included diverse ethnic populations that were previously at peace or not in competition. In southern Africa, major clashes between Europeans and indigenous nations reached levels of intensity from the very beginning of contact. Desire for gold, diamonds, and other valuable natural resources in demand in the industrializing economies of Europe, drew European settlers to the region in large numbers and created permanent settlements. The history of the Ndebele is integral to the emergence of two states in region, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Brief History
The origins of the Ndebele kingdom in the region of Zimbabwe dates to the period during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when changes were occurring in the larger indigenous kingdoms in the region, Shona and Zulu. The Zulu were expanding their territory and the Shona Kingdom was in decline. Also, during this period, British and Afrikaner settlers were migrating in larger numbers and expanding their colonial control in the region.
Under the leadership of Shaka Zulu, the Zulu kingdom emerged as the most powerful state in the region. Many leaders, defeated by the Zulu, lost power and resisted Zulu domination by succeeding in other regions in Southern Africa. Mzilikazi, founder of the Ndebele, was an ally of Shaka Zulu. In 1821, Mzilikazi and his loyal followers moved westwards into a region between the Vaal and Limpopo rivers.
The Ndebele grew rapidly, but faced with the unrelenting incursions and persistent expansion of the Afrikaners, Mzilikazi strategically moved his kingdom from the south to the north into another region he believed would be less vulnerable to intrusion. The kingdom divided into northern and southern parts. Contrary to Mzilikazi’s strategy, the northern Ndebele kingdom did not escape European expansion. The region eventually became southern Rhodesia, under the control of European migrants from South Africa and Britain. Key to the creation of Rhodesia was the complicity between the British government and British businessman, Cecil Rhodes, who formed the British South African Company (BSAC).
British and Afrikaner conflicts over control of South Africa (the Boer Wars) and the consolidation of British economic control and monopoly of resources in Rhodesia by the BSAC, set in motion a tragic period of history for the Ndebele, who through intrigue and deceit, lost control of their land and independence. The first deception by the BSAC negotiators was convincing the Ndebele king, Lobengula, that he had control over all of Zimbabwe, and therefore control over the territories of the Shona kingdom. Rhodes and his confederates in the BSAC then manipulated Lobengula to sign a treaty giving the BSAC complete and exclusive mineral and metals rights in all territories of his kingdom, as well as the authority to do whatever necessary to procure access. The latter condition was used by the BSAC to take control of the territory in order to fulfill the terms of the agreement. The quid pro quo was the sale of rifles and ammunition. By 1900, despite Ndebele military efforts to stop European expansion, the BSAC was in control of all of Zimbabwe.
Ndebele People Today
European control of Zimbabwe and repression of all of the indigenous ethnicities lasted from 1897 to 1980. The company rule of the BSAC ended in 1923 when they gave political and governmental control to the white settler populations, but the British colonial office in England maintained the power to veto any legislation and maintained control of the army. In 1924, all power was transferred to the small white minority settler population, creating a racially segregated, or apartheid, state, excluding and marginalizing all indigenous African populations. These domestic and regional policies of the Rhodesian state set in full motion the processes of resistance and revolution that led to the final demise of the Rhodesian state and the end of white rule in 1980.
European control of southern Africa reached a zenith in the 1930s and 1940s. The brutal domestic repression of the Ndebele and ethnicities in Zimbabwe was met with resistance and persistent efforts to achieve justice. Ndebele ethnic interests were incorporated into the common interests of all Africans in Zimbabwe, the region, and the continent, who were suffering under the heavy weight of colonial rule, repression, racial supremacy, and apartheid.
The 1960s and 1970s were known as the decade of African independence. But, in southern Africa, the struggle for independence in the region lasted two decades longer, and the last remnant of official white domination came to an end in 1994 with the fall of apartheid in South Africa.
Zimbabwean resistance to white rule became an organized rebellion and counterinsurgency, and what were multiple and ethno-nationalist organizations unified their organizational structures and members to end internal white rule and colonization. The road to independence and the collapse of the Rhodesian state took a decade of armed resistance between 1970 and 1980. In April 1980, after ninety years of colonial rule, Zimbabwe achieved independence under the leadership of Robert Mugabe.
In the years since independence, ethnic rivalries and nationalist tensions between the Ndebele and Shona have, from time to time, been elements in post-independence Zimbabwean electoral politics. The origins of the post-independence ethno-nationalist political tensions are debated. It is argued by some political historians that ethno-nationalist elements were present during the liberation struggles of the 1960s and 1970s between the Shona towards the Ndebele, but muted by the common cause of independence. Others argue the struggle for independence was ethnically neutral because the major nationalist organizations, Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) and Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) were multiethnic.
Questions about ethnic intentions of elected officials in the country frequently arise during national and presidential elections. Concerns and allegations of anti-Ndebele and genocidal policies have come to the attention of the international community. Matabeleland, the region with the majority of the Ndebele population and associated with Ndebele culture, is one of the most underdeveloped regions of the country. Political polling data during several elections in the country have not substantiated ethnic roots of political violence because of the interethnic fluidity of party affiliation. However, Ndebele culture and history remains integral to the national identity, culture, and history of Zimbabwe.
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