There are Tsonga groups within the Nguni ethnical and linguistic groups, and there are Tsonga people with Nguni sounding surnames. The Tsonga groups in the Nguni ethnical and linguistic groups were historically assimilated into various Nguni groups, some due to voluntary assimilation (like in cases of migrations) and some by force. The Tsonga people with Nguni sounding surnames happen not to be assimilated into any Nguni group; however their surnames have been altered to sound Nguni for a variety reasons.
There are cases where a Nguni translation or mis-translation of a Tsonga surname occurred like:
- Nyarhi to Nyathi
- Ritshuri to Lithuli, Uthuyi
- Xirindza to Silinda, Silindani
And, there are cases where Tsonga surnames were given Nguni spellings, though in their new Nguni spellings, the words end up without a Nguni meaning, for they mean nothing in Nguni languages, like:
- Makhuvele to Makhubela
- Mavunda to Mabunda
- Ndhove to Ndobe
All in all, what makes a surname to be Nguni is neither a similarity with a Nguni word, nor having a Nguni sounding surname, but one has to be of Nguni heritage. So without taking away anyone’s license to be Nguni, here is a list of popular Nguni surnames of Tsonga origin:
- Bvuma – originates from va ka Mavundza (Nhlave Tsonga grouping)
- Hlenga, Hlengwa – originates from Cawuke (Hlengwe Tsonga grouping)
- Mabona – originates from va ka Khosa (Khoseni Tsonga grouping) // “Mavona-khoseni”
- Manyisa – originates from va ka Tembe (Rhonga Tsonga grouping)
- Masinga – originates from va ka Hlungwani (Hlengwe Tsonga grouping)
- Masiya – originates from va ka Khosa (Khoseni Tsonga grouping)
- Mazibuko – originates from va ka Zivuko (Nhlave Tsonga grouping)
- Mbiza – originates from va ka Cawuke (Hlengwe Tsonga grouping)
- Mkhathini – originates from va ka Khosa (Khoseni Tsonga grouping)
- Mpofu – originates from va ka Valoyi (Lozwi Tsonga grouping)
- Mthombeni – originates from va ka Mbita-nkulu (Nhlave Tsonga grouping)
- Myiyo, Mlilo – originates from va ka Mavasa (Hlengwe Tsonga grouping)
- Sono – originates from va ka Hlungwani (Hlengwe Tsonga grouping
- Thwala, Twala – originates from va ka Makamu (Nhlave Tsonga grouping)
- Zitha – originates from va ka Nkwinika (Nhlave Tsonga grouping)
Khoza – originates from va ka Khosa (Khoseni Tsonga grouping) // Khoza is a Nguni version of Khosa, used not only by those in KZN, Swaziland, but by some within their own Tsonga jurisdiction.
Mabaso – originates from va ka Mavasa (Hlengwe Tsonga grouping) // only those of Xinyori’s (Shinyori) bloodline are Hlengwe, majority of people who use the Mabaso surname are amaNtungwa.
Mabuza – originates from va ka Mavhuza (Hlanganu Tsonga grouping) // Nguni dialects translate “V” of Xitsonga into a “B”.
Masondo – originates from va ka Sono (Hlengwe Tsonga grouping) // Masondo is the Nguni version of Makondzo (Makondo), some use Nqina which is Nkondo in Xitsonga.
Mathebula, Matsewula – originates from va ka Valoyi (Lozwi Tsonga grouping) // Spelt Mathevula hi Xitsonga. Ku thebula means ‘ku loya’ in Nguni, the name was given to them by Nguni’s who translated “Valoyi” to Mathebula (Matsewula is a Swati version of Mathebula).
Mthembu, Themba – originates from va ka Tembe (Rhonga Tsonga grouping) // Most Tembe people in northern KZN had to use Mthembu and Themba as surnames, after the forced inclusion of the Tembe Kingdom into the Zulu orbit by the British. Note that the Zulu NEVER waged any war against the Tembe Kingdom.
Ndzimande – originates from va ka Ndhimandhe (Nkomati Tsonga grouping) // A southern Sambo group, who got assimilated into mainly the Swazi group.
Shabalala – originates from va ka Chavalala (Vaxingwidzi Tsonga grouping) // Shabalala is a Nguni version of Chavalala.
Ubisi – originates from va ka Rivisi (Khoseni Tsonga grouping) // A Nguni translation of Rivisi to Ubisi.
Note that Ndzawu surnames are found in various ethnic groups; surnames such as Sithole, Ndlovu, Mhlanga, Simango, Moyo etc are all over Southern Africa. They are not an exclusive property of the Nguni linguistic groups. Vatsonga happen to be one of the ethnic groups which host Vandzawu in a quite large number, due to geographical and historical factors.
#Titivi
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