Zwide and Dingiswayo

A dance in honour of King Dingiswayo. Image credit dailysun.co.za

• Dingiswayo(circa 1780-1817) was born Godongwana
• He staged a failed coup against his father who was the king of the Mthethwa
• He fled and adopted the name Dingiswayo which means wanderer
• He came back to take the throne after the death of his father
• The Mthethwa were one of the largest clans in Nguniland
• Dingiswayo was a military genius
• He was very innovative
• He came up with the idea of a standing army which was made up of young men of the chiefdom
• His army was organized into age regiments called amabutho
• Each regiment wore a distinctive colour
• The regiments joint forces in times of battle
• He also introduced strict training programs for his army to instill discipline
• With his military brilliance, Dingiswayo fought man successful wars around 1810 until his death which expanded his kingdom

Dingiswayo versus Zwide

• The Ndwandwe became the Mthethwa’s greatest rival
• Zwide was also a military genius as well
• Rival ambitions between the two led to great wars being fought between the two groups by 1816
• In 1818 Dingiswayo was then captured by Zwide and executed
• Shaka who was a regiment commander let Dingiswayo down as he withdrew his forces
• Dingiswayo’s death led to succession disputes in the kingdom and paved way for the ascension of Shaka Zulu to power
• Shaka executed the legitimate heir to the Mthethwa throne and seized power
• Zwide noticed that Shaka was going to be a threat to Ndwandwe dominance and decided to send his army to attack him but Shaka manage to defeat the army
• Late 1818 Zwide launched an attack whereby he sent his whole army to attack Shaka
• Shaka knew that Zwide’s army was too strong to be fought head on so he launched the scorched-earth military tactic and surprise attacks
• This was a military tactic of burning or destroying crops and other resources that could be used by an invading enemy force
• When the Ndwandwe army was exhausted and returning home Shaka then attacked them and crushed them
• He then followed with an attack on the Ndwandwe capital and destroyed it
• Zwide and his subjects fled from the state with two of his regiment leaders Soshangane and Zwangendaba leading the remnants of the army
• Shaka finally defeated Zwide the remaining big three leader in 1819
• Shaka then remained in control of the land formerly inhabited by the Ndwandwe and this led to his rise and intensification of the Mfecane

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