Isibongo · isiNdebele (Southern Ndebele)
Mthombeni (Southern)
- PeopleamaNdebele (Southern)
- Grouping Son of Musi; founder line of the Northern Transvaal (Gegana/Kekana) Ndebele
- Surnames recorded Mthombeni, Kekana
- Places recorded Limpopo, Zebediela, Moletlane, Mokopane, Mugombhane, Polokwane
- Branch Southern
Also Spelled
Mthombeni (Southern) is also written Mthombeni, Thombeni, Kekana, Gegana and Gheghana.
Mthombeni is also recorded for Mthombeni (Matabeleland) (isiNdebele (Northern Ndebele)) and Ndlovu (isiNdebele (Northern Ndebele)).
Spellings differ between families, between records and between countries. Wozekhaya keeps the name as each source wrote it rather than settling on one form.
Written down by families and by the people who recorded them.
About This Record
What Was Written Down
Skhosana's thesis, drawing on Van Warmelo, Van Vuuren and De Beer, has Mthombeni leave KwaMnyamana with Ndzundza, part from him at KwaSimkhulu near Belfast, and settle at Zebediela, where his following became the Gegana or Kekana Ndebele; De Beer derives the name Gegana from skirting the Olifants River. Ziervogel (1959) instead held that the Gegana, Mugombhane and Lidwaba came from the north and not from Musi - Skhosana records that view as disputed. These Northern Transvaal Ndebele were largely absorbed by Northern Sotho speakers in language and custom. iAfrika notes that people confuse this line with Mzilikazi's people and stresses they are distinct. Recorded from the sources named on this entry; the wording here is Sibaya's own.
Families Tell This Differently
Families who carry this name tell parts of it differently. Each way it has been told is below.
Where This Comes From
- Written down by
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- iAfrika (community directory, uncredited contributors), iAfrika - isiNdebele section, category 'Umlando neenanazelo' (history and clan praises), including Umlando wamaNdebel…, 2025 (post dates), iafrika.org — https://iafrika.org/nr/category/umlando-neenanazelo/
- Philemon Buti Skhosana, The linguistic relationship between Southern and Northern Ndebele (PhD thesis, chapters 1-2 read), 2009, University of Pretoria (UPSpace repository) — https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/28563/01chapters1-2.pdf
- Wikipedia contributors, Southern Ndebele people, read 2026-09-05, Wikimedia Foundation — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ndebele_people
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