Kgosi Sekonyela
Kgosi Sekonyela | |
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Herschel |
Kgosi Sekonyela (1804 – 20 July 1856) was a chief of the
Early life
Sekonyela was born around 1804,
Reign
Following the outbreak of the Mfecane wars, Manthatisi led her people on two years of wandering between the Sand and Orange Rivers. During that period, the Batlokwa lived mainly through plunder before finally settling at Marabeng during the winter of 1824. By then both the population of the tribe and its cattle herds had been significantly reduced. It was at that time that Sekonyela re-joined the tribe and effectively took over leadership from his mother. The exact year he ascended to chieftainship is unknown, he had certainly done so by 1834.[4][5]
One of his major challenges was encounters with the European missionaries in the 1830s. While some black kingdoms were friendly towards the missionaries, others were hostile. Sekonyela was one of the rulers who remained distrustful of the missionaries.
In 1836 French missionary Arbousset visited Sekonyela, estimating his tribe to number approximately 14,000 people; of whom 1,400 lived around Marabeng.[8] The same year, the Batlokwa were attacked by Korana raiders. Sekonyela was impressed by their skills, which included horse riding and shooting, and requested them to impart those skills on to his people. Their relations did not last long, as soon disputes led the Korana out, who relocated to Koranaberg (Excelsior and Marquard). This was after stealing most of the cattle of the Batlokwa. Sekonyela then relocated across the Caledon. A year later there were encounters again with the Korana, which led the Batlokwa deep into the Maloti Mountains and their cattle were once again looted.[9] The wars with the Korana and his indiscriminate cattle raiding cost Sekonyela heavily in both in cattle and followers. At one point he only commanded 700 people.[10]
In 1837, Sekonyela's tribesmen stole some cattle from the Zulu chief Dingane. When the latter requested restitution, Sekonyela sent an insulting reply. Dingane employed the services of Voortrekker leader Piet Retief who imprisoned Sekonyela by trickery.[11] The Batlokwa were forced to return Dingane's stolen cattle along with ransom totaling 700 cattle, 70 horses and 30 muskets for his release. Sekonyela obliged and was freed. Retief decided not to surrender Sekonyela to Dingane, who had initially asked for 300 cows. The rest, Retief took for himself. He also confiscated guns from the Batlokwa, which Sekonyela had obtained through barter. Retief decided to put the blame on Sekonyela so that he could negotiate a Voortrekker settlement in Dingane's area. This however did not work in Retief's favour as Dingane went ahead and executed him and his entourage.[12][13]
In May 1849, Sekonyela and the Korana, particularly their leader Gert Taaibosch, were reconciled and this is when a number of attacks against Moshoeshoe I were carried out. In the past, the Korana and Moshoeshoe I had disputes over land, particularly land near the Caledon.
In March 1852, the Batlokwa stole 10 of Moshoeshoe's best horses. Moshoeshoe assembled warriors from across his kingdom and was joined by tributaries such as
Defeat and death
After the
According to oral traditions recorded by his great-grandson, Felix Maketekete Sekonyela, Sekonyela had seven wives who bore him children and several more who did not. Foreign visitors were unanimous in their unfavourable descriptions of Sekonyela. This was owing partly to his persecution of Christian converts, three of whom he had personally executed on accusations of witchcraft. Modern day Batlokwa refer to Sekonyela as bohale meaning fierce or angry, due to his propensity for anger and the poor treatment he meted to his followers.[21]
Footnotes
- ^ Sanders 1969, p. 439.
- ^ a b Eldredge 2015, p. 260.
- ^ Sanders 1969, p. 440.
- ^ Sanders 1969, pp. 441–443.
- ^ a b Lipschutz 1978, p. 210.
- ^ Setumu 2014, p. 301.
- ^ Setumu 2014, p. 304.
- ^ Sanders 1969, p. 444.
- ^ Erasmus 2015, p. 71.
- ^ Sanders 1969, p. 446.
- ^ Sanders 1969, p. 445.
- ^ Nishino 2011, pp. 111–112.
- ^ Setumu 2014, pp. 308–309.
- ^ Pfeffer 2009, pp. 163–165.
- ^ Erasmus 2015, p. 72.
- ^ Sanders 1969, pp. 448–449.
- ^ Sanders 1975, pp. 183–185.
- ^ Pfeffer 2009, p. 165.
- ^ Futhwa 2011, p. 139.
- ^ Setumu 2014, p. 310.
- ^ Sanders 1969, pp. 451–452, 454.
References
- Eldredge, Elizabeth (2015). Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of South Eastern Africa: Oral Traditions and History, 1400-1830. New York: University of Rochester Press. ISBN 978-1580465144.
- Erasmus, Piet (2015). Thee battle of Mamusa: The Western Transvaal border culture and the ethno-dissolution of the last functioning Korana policy. Bloemfontein: Sun Press. ISBN 9781920382773.
- Futhwa, Fezekile (2011). Setho: Afrikan Thought and Belief System. Alberton: Nalane. ISBN 9780620503952.
- Lipschutz, Mark (1978). Dictionary of African Historical Biography. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520066111.
- Nishino, Ryota (2011). Changing histories: Japanese and South African Textbooks in comparison (1945-1995). Göttingen: V&R Unipress. ISBN 9783899718164.
- Pfeffer, George (2009). Contemporary Society Tribal Studies: Structure and Exchange in Tribal India and Beyond. New Delhi. ISBN 9788180696237.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Sanders, Peter (1969). "Sekonyela and Moshweshwe: Failure and Success in the Aftermath of the Difaqane". The Journal of African History. 10 (3): 439–455. S2CID 161299840.
- Sanders, Peter (1975). Moshoeshoe, chief of the Sotho. Heinemann. ISBN 978-0435327934.
- Setumu, Tlou (2014). Until lions document their heritage: Southern Africa's fighters against colonial plunder. Makgabeng Heritage Research & Publishing. ISBN 9780620574884.