Xwalile was at one time the great wife of Lobengula, king of the Ndebele people in present-day Zimbabwe.[1] The dates of her birth and death are unknown, but she is known to have lived at least from the 1870s to the 1890s.
Xwalile | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | African |
| Known for | Great Wife of Lobengula |
| Spouse | |
| Father | Mzila |
Daughter of Mzila, king of the Gaza people, Xwalile married Lobengula in 1879; seven other Gaza royal women married him in the same ceremony, which was designed as an exchange of royal wives.[1] Conflict over the payment of bridewealth soon caused trouble in the marriage, as did the fact that there was a dearth of Ndebele women who would marry Mzila in exchange. Furthermore, she proved to be infertile. Eventually Xwalile was forced to return home; she may in part have been driven away by witchcraft practiced against her by her sister-in-law Mncengence, who would be executed in 1880 for her behavior.[2][3]
References
edit- ^ a b Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Sabelo J. (2008-09-22). "Who ruled by the spear? Rethinking the form of governance in the Ndebele state". African Studies Quarterly. 10 (2–3): NA–NA.
- ^ Kathleen E. Sheldon (2005). Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5331-7.
- ^ "2 Who Ruled by the Spear? Rethinking the Form of Governance in the Ndebele State SABELO J. NDLOVU-GATSHENI Abstract: The current intellectual stampede over". www.ab.i-pdf.info. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
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