IS IT ‘MADZIMAWE’ OR MANZAMABI?
By Gumbi Kaziguda Jele
In Eastern Zambia, one of the most hard working traditional figures of a generation is mostly known as ‘Gogo Madzimawe’. This is in fact one of the Nguni traditional leaders of Zambia who is under iNyandezulu Inkosi YaMakhosi Mphezeni kaZwangendaba.
But what does his name mean? How did it come about and is it in it’s correct form given most of the Nguni names in Zambia and Malawi are in their corrupted versions?
Inkosi Manziamabi is his correct name. The now common ‘Madzimawe’ is not correct as it’s meaningless in the Isinguni language.
His name as given at birth is MANZAMABI meaning bad or bitter water as the water at the Matambazi stream where he was born in 1868 was bitter in taste. The Matambazi is located in Mambo Nyanje area in Sinda but it pulls into the Lwatizi river in Mozambique. Manziamabi was in fact born very near the Mozambican side as his father, Ntutho Mphezeni, was just coming from the foot of the Mpinduka Hill where he had camped.
His mother was Queen Chipolo who founded Chipolo village (also known as Fisheni) along the Great East Road. But at one time he was nursed by Queen Loziwawa of Mthenguleni village, his grandmother.
The Chewas had nicknamed him ‘Mthaonga’, a monicker simply teasing the whites that sought to assassinate him that they were wasting time and their gun powder would finish without killing him.
But the Ngonis themselves who prided on having such a military genius would also give him another name, uZhyangayo meaning ‘kutwanga’ in the local Nyanja dialect.
He survived multiple assissination attempts by the British and would even end up marrying two wives of his slain elder brother, Nsingo; these were Mushabase and Munyuse, one of who was the mother of Amlod Jele KaManziambi, a well known driver from Phangweni in the colonial days.
Attached: Inkosi Pearson Chimozi Jele was the grandson of Manziamabi 1. He reigned as Inkosi Manziamabi 3 from the late 1960s upto his demise in April 1985.
IS IT ‘MADZIMAWE’ OR MANZAMABI?
