Ndlovukati
Encyclopedia
Ndlovukati is a Swati
title (Indlovukazi in Zulu
)
that roughly means Queen Mother
or Senior Queen, and is given preferentially to the mother of the King or another female royal of high-status if the King's mother has died.
or Lion of Swaziland
. Her son however is seen as the administrative head of state, while the Ndlovukati herself is seen as the spiritual and national head of state. She controls important ritual substances (sometimes called medicines) and knowledge necessary to the inauguration of the rule of an Ngwenyama, to rainmaking
, and to the renewal of national and kingly strength each year in the Ncwala national-royal rituals, which link royal and national well-being through invocation of the powers of royal ancestors.
During the long reign of the Ngwenyama Sobhuza II
, (1899-1982), his grandmother the Ndlovukati Labotsibeni Mdluli
(also known as Gwamile) was the last great ndlovukati, being the primary Swazi political power from Sobhuza's succession as an infant in 1899 until his accession to full power in 1922. However, over the following 60 years the practical power and influence of the office of ndlovukati became greatly overshadowed, in part because the British chose to recognize the powers of the king (whom they called the "Paramount Chief
") over those of the senior, in part because of the force of Sobhuza's personality in contrast to the tindlovukati who succeeded his own mother after she died in 1938, and in part because of conservative aristocratic Swazi male reactions to colonialism, which created a new and more rigid form of patriarchy now called and argued by some to be mischaracterised as "traditional." The office of Ndlovukati suffered a further blow after the death of Sobhuza II, when a holder of the office was implicated in the political machinations of Prince Mfanasibili aimed at usurping the kingship. Thus the political-cultural ideals and historical meanings of the office expressed above do not really characterise the Ndlovukati today (2006), whose position has become much weaker than that of the Ngwenyama.
At any time where there is both an ngwenyama and an ndlovukati, which is most of the time, there are two royal headquarters villages. Even during a regency when the king is a minor, a proto-form of his headquarters is prepared. The King's headquarters is where he carries out his administrative duties; the Ndlovukatis, which is called umphakatsi
, (meaning "the inside," and a term also applied to the royal insiders and close allies as a group) is the national capital and spiritual and ceremonial home of the nation.
Swati language
The Swazi or Swati language is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Swaziland and South Africa by the Swazi people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 3 million. The language is taught in Swaziland and some South African schools in Mpumalanga and KaNgwane areas...
title (Indlovukazi in Zulu
Zulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
)
that roughly means Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
or Senior Queen, and is given preferentially to the mother of the King or another female royal of high-status if the King's mother has died.
Origins
Ndlovukati literally means She-Elephant. She is formally the joint head of state with her son, the NgwenyamaNgwenyama
Ngwenyama is the title of the male ruler or king of Swaziland, counterpart of the Ndlovukati. Ngwenyama means "lion" in Swati, but in an honorific sense distinguished from -bhubhesi, the usual way of referring to lions as animals...
or Lion of Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
. Her son however is seen as the administrative head of state, while the Ndlovukati herself is seen as the spiritual and national head of state. She controls important ritual substances (sometimes called medicines) and knowledge necessary to the inauguration of the rule of an Ngwenyama, to rainmaking
Rainmaking
Rainmaking refers to the act of attempting to artificially induce or increase precipitation, usually to stave off drought.In the US, rainmaking was attempted by traveling showmen. It was practiced in the old west but may have reached a peak during the dust bowl drought of the American West and...
, and to the renewal of national and kingly strength each year in the Ncwala national-royal rituals, which link royal and national well-being through invocation of the powers of royal ancestors.
History
Historically there have been a number of tindlovukati with great substantial power as well as influence, especially though not exclusively in periods of regency. The power of the ndlovukati was explicitly understood as a counterweight to that of tigwenyama (kings) and also to potentially rival princes of royal blood. Like royal governors who were not from the royal Dlamini lineage, the ndlovukati could not succeed to the kingship, thus offering an alternative source of power to rein in overweaning tingwenyama who could not challenge directly to be the ngwenyama.During the long reign of the Ngwenyama Sobhuza II
Sobhuza II of Swaziland
Ngwenyama Sobhuza II was the Paramount Chief and later King of Swaziland. He was the son of Ngwane V.-Biography:...
, (1899-1982), his grandmother the Ndlovukati Labotsibeni Mdluli
Labotsibeni Mdluli
Labotsibeni Mdluli also known as Gwamile, was daughter of Chief Mvelase Mdluli and wife of Ngwenyama Mbandzeni. She was royal regent, ruling Swaziland from the death of her son Bhunu on 1899 until the accession to the throne of her grandson Sobhuza II on 1921....
(also known as Gwamile) was the last great ndlovukati, being the primary Swazi political power from Sobhuza's succession as an infant in 1899 until his accession to full power in 1922. However, over the following 60 years the practical power and influence of the office of ndlovukati became greatly overshadowed, in part because the British chose to recognize the powers of the king (whom they called the "Paramount Chief
Paramount chief
A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. This definition is used occasionally in anthropological and archaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple...
") over those of the senior, in part because of the force of Sobhuza's personality in contrast to the tindlovukati who succeeded his own mother after she died in 1938, and in part because of conservative aristocratic Swazi male reactions to colonialism, which created a new and more rigid form of patriarchy now called and argued by some to be mischaracterised as "traditional." The office of Ndlovukati suffered a further blow after the death of Sobhuza II, when a holder of the office was implicated in the political machinations of Prince Mfanasibili aimed at usurping the kingship. Thus the political-cultural ideals and historical meanings of the office expressed above do not really characterise the Ndlovukati today (2006), whose position has become much weaker than that of the Ngwenyama.
At any time where there is both an ngwenyama and an ndlovukati, which is most of the time, there are two royal headquarters villages. Even during a regency when the king is a minor, a proto-form of his headquarters is prepared. The King's headquarters is where he carries out his administrative duties; the Ndlovukatis, which is called umphakatsi
Umphakatsi
In Swaziland, an umphakatsi is an administrative subdivision smaller than an inkhundla; there are 360 imiphakatsi in the country, each approximately equivalent to a local community....
, (meaning "the inside," and a term also applied to the royal insiders and close allies as a group) is the national capital and spiritual and ceremonial home of the nation.