Madzikane

Who is Madzikane?

Madzikane was the founder and a King of the Bhaca people. Before him his father's tribe was known as AbakwaZelemu but after Madzikane had united many multitudes of different people and different tribes his nation was known as amaBhaca consisting of many tribes including amazulu akwaZelemu amaWushe, amaNqolo, amaNzelu, amaZizi, amaNjilo, abaseNhlwangini, amaQwabe, abaThembu, etc. etc. Madzikane's father was Khalimesh. His firstborn was crown prince SONYANGWE followed by prince NCAPAI. However because of the mfecane wars Sonyangwe the crown prince was burnt to death at night in his hut by traitors from the Memela who were vassals of the amaBhele of uMdingi who were subjects of King Madzikane while King Madzikane was still reigning. Therefore prince sonyangwe died at Rode before he became King of amaBhaca. Soon after Sonyangwes death King Madzikane died, but before he died he split the Kingdom of the Bhacas between his deceased crown prince and his ever alive mighty warrior son prince Ncaphayi. Therefore on the death of King Madzikane, prince Ncaphayi was crowned King of all amaBhaca but because his elder brother Sonyangwe had left behind two sons in natal i.e. prince Mdutyane and prince Thiba King Ncaphayi was obliged to share the throne with Sonyangwes heir. When prince Mdutyane was only 21 king Ncaphayi died in a war againstt he amaMpondo King Faku. The crown prince Mdutyane was crowned King of all the amaBhaca tribes and hence became the supreme ruler of the whole amaBhaca nation consisting of more than forty four different tribes scattered all over from southern natal to beyond the Umzimvubu River. the young King Mdutyana had huge feet to fill and disliked war and therefore took a huge fraction of the tribe and went back to umzimkhulu where he had been raised. He left the House of king Ncaphayi i.e. prince Diko, prince Makaula etc. to reign independently from him as was ordered by the great king Madzikane. King Mdutyana became the king over all the tribes in the umzimkhulu, Harding, Bulwer, Underberg and IXopo districts while King Ncaphayis heirs became the supreme rulers in the whole mountfrere district and over other minor clans beyond the mountfree border.