Sibisi Clan Names History and Origin
The surname Sibisi occurs more often in South Africa than any other country in the world. It may also be found in some other countries.
Historical records offer a window into your family’s past. These records include birth certificates, death records, and immigration data. Learn more about the origin of your surname and how it came to be.
Sibisi Clan Names
- Sibisi
- Zulu
- Buthelezi
- Mthethwa
- Ndlovu
- Khumalo
- Ntuli
- Mthembu
- Ngcobo
- Nxumalo
- Cele
- Dlamini
- Gumede
- Shabalala
- Zungu
- Mkhize
- Majozi
- Hlongwane
- Zwane
- Sithole
Ndebele
The Ndebele are a group of South African tribes that once made up the Matabele (Matabane) people. The name Ndebele is said to come from a Sotho-Tswana word that means “those who plundered”. The Ndebele share this name with at least three other groups of indigenous peoples of Southern Africa, including the amaKumalo an Nguni-speaking people that moved from northern KwaZulu in 1823 and settled in western Zimbabwe in 1837, where they became known as the amaMatabele.
Ndebele people are renowned for their art, pottery and textiles, which have gained global renown. Their traditional initiation ceremony is known as ukuwela, where young boys are inducted into the secrets of Ndebele lore. This knowledge is then passed on to future generations.
After Ndebele founder Musi died, his elder son Manala was proclaimed future chief but this was challenged by another senior son called Ndzundza. This led to a bitter squabble that divided the Ndebele core and caused other factions to break away. One of these, headed north by Jonono, would eventually become known as the Northern Ndebele or Ngwenyama.
The other was the Ndebele of the inland area ruled by Mabhogo and centered at Mnyamana, near Wonderboompoort, a site later used by Boer farmers for their town of Roossenekal. Mabhogo’s Ngwenyama era was marked by a series of battles with disaffected Dutch farmers, known as the Voortrekkers, who were invading their territory.
Zulu
The Zulu are one of South Africa’s ethnic groups. Before they joined with the other Nguni clans under Shaka in the early 19th century to form a nation, they were a number of independent chiefdoms in a patchwork of small areas. They share a common history, language, and culture but differ in a number of ways, most significantly in social hierarchy, lifestyle choices, and their sense of identity as Zulu.
The people have a strong sense of family and communal identity. They largely live in patrilineal households, with strict respect for fathers and their wives. The men’s wives are ranked by seniority, with the most senior wife called the great wife. Polygyny is common. The people also maintain specific Zulu cultural practices, including an extensive vocabulary of praise names and ceremonies related to birth, death, and rites of passage.
The Zulu people are proud of their heritage and culture and celebrate it in a variety of ways. They have a large range of traditional dances and music. They are also known for their fierce resistance to colonialism. This has led to some conflict with Western ways of life. However, they still retain a strong sense of their own identity as Zulu. This can be seen in their language, their celebrations of the ancestors, and in their respect for their traditional clothing and traditions.
Pedi
The Pedi are a Bantu-speaking people from Limpopo Province in South Africa. They are part of the Sotho-Tswana meta-ethnicity, which includes two other Sotho groups; the Southern Sotho, who predominantly live in Lesotho and the Free State province, and the Tswana, who predominantly live in Botswana and the North West province of South Africa.
The origin of Pedi can be traced back to Sekwati, who founded the empire in the region around Manganeng, near Tubatse/Steelpoort River. Its fortunes peaked during the reign of king Thulare in the early 19th century, but they were later defeated by Mzilikazi, who founded the Ndebele people.
Early Pedi settlements were organised into kgoro, which were family clusters centred on agnatic [from the father’s side] relations. They consisted of a central area that served as meeting-place, cattle byre, and ancestral shrine, with a series of round thatched huts surrounding it. Each wife of a polygynous marriage had her own hut.
Pedi custom was to send men into the opposing tribe for “doctoring” and selling beadwork, but they were actually spies sent to gather intelligence and report back to their kraal. It was also the practice to marry a chief’s daughter into the ruling dynasty, resulting in a system of cousin marriage that perpetuated hierarchical family links and involved paying inflated bride-wealth.
Nguni
Until the nineteenth century, most Nguni people lived in small chiefdoms, each of which consisted of a few hundred or more people loyal to a leader chosen by descent, achievement, or other means. A chief’s authority extended to the granting of gifts, the demand for tribute (taxes), and military and political alliances. Most Nguni economies were centered on herding of cattle, although some people also engaged in other forms of agriculture and hunting.
The Nguni clan system was based on patterns of patrilineal descent and virilocal residence. They practiced exogamous marriage, and cattle were used to signify the transfer of property rights. These practices facilitated inter-clan relationships and enabled Nguni warriors to defend their territories.
Many versions of Nguni history assert that, during a period called the Mfecane or difaqane, the Nguni people spread across southern Africa, absorbing, conquering or displacing many other peoples. But there is little evidence of this in contemporary sources.
In terms of their social structure, the Nguni were similar to other Bantu peoples. They spoke a language that was a mixture of Ndebele, Pedi and Afrikaans, and they had a complex system of clan names. They used their clan name to identify themselves, and they would use it as a way of thanking someone for a gift. They would also use it to distinguish themselves from others in their community.