Butua
Encyclopedia
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. Butua was renowned as the source of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
for Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
and Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
traders. The region was first mentioned in Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
records in 1512.
The kingdom was governed by the Torwa dynasty
Torwa dynasty
The Torwa dynasty was the ruling family of the Butua kingdom that arose from the collapse of Great Zimbabwe in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, founded perhaps by the legendary Dlembeu....
until 1683 from its capital at Khami
Khami
Khami is a ruined city located in what is now Zimbabwe. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Butua of the Torwa dynasty. It is located 22 kilometers west of the modern city of Bulawayo, capital of the province of Matabeleland North. Its ruins are now a national monument in Zimbabwe. Khami is...
. Its people were ancestors of the Bakalanga
BaKalanga
The Kalanga, also known as the Bakalanga are one of the first Bantu speaking tribes to migrate to present day Botswana, followed by the Bakgalagadi and then the Batswana . The Kalanga had first settled in Mapungubwe in South Africa, the first Kalanga state. They later moved to the Great Zimbabwe...
, a people related to the Shona. In 1683, the kingdom was conquered by the Rozwi Empire
Rozwi Empire
The Rozwi Empire or Lozwi Empire was established on the Zimbabwean Plateau by Changamire Dombo.-History:In 1693, Portuguese militia tried to take control of the gold trade in the interior of sub-saharan Africa by invading the Rozwi empire...
.
The foundations of the Khami Ruins show a striking resemblance to the pattern of masonry at the base of the Zimbabwe Ruins. Hence the Kalanga are thought to have built Khami, Lusvingo, Mapungugwe and other ruins scattered across western Zimbabwe and east Botswana.