Mutupo · Tshivenda
Mphaphuli
- PeopleVhavenda
- Mutupo goat (adopted) — Stayt says the Mphaphuli chiefs adopted the goat as totem in emulation of the ru
- Grouping Disputed: Singo dynasty of the east (WIKI-VENDA-KINGDOM) / an independent chief of separate, possibly Ndebele, origin who was never related to Vele Lambeho
- Surnames recorded Mphaphuli
- Places recorded Eastern Soutpansberg, Tshitomboni, Mbilwi, Sibasa
Also Spelled
Mphaphuli is also written Mpafuri, Mpafudi, Gole and Musi.
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
Stayt, drawing on Wessman's compilation, records Shamboko Mpafuri as an independent chief and friend of Vele Lambeho at the time of the migration, possibly identical with a son of the Ndebele chief Musi who fled towards Rhodesia, and says he was not related to the Singo founder; another tradition made him a court official of Vele Lambeho. The line's succession was by contest between brothers, with constant war against Tshivhase; Ratsibi was succeeded by Makwarela and then Paswane (1927). Netshisaulu derives the name from a verb meaning to hack off an arm, after an act at Kekana village, and says the surname changed from Musi to Mphaphuli. Wikipedia counts Mphaphuli among the three Singo dynasties after the dispersal and records an 1889 succession fight; Luonde says the Singo favoured houses like Ndalamo and Mphaphuli that could not succeed to the supreme title. The typescript calls the M. 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
-
- Luonde.co.za - Brief History; Ngomalungundu (community heritage site), accessed 2026-09-05, luonde.co.za — https://luonde.co.za/brief-history/ and https://luonde.co.za/brief-history/ngomalungundu
- Nthambeleni Charles Ṋetshisaulu (University of Venda), The Role Played by Nicknames and Totems in the Development of Tshivenḓa Surnames, 2025 — https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/EHASS20256715.pdf
- Hugh A. Stayt, The Bavenda, 1931 — https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/59437
- Wikipedia contributors, Venda Kingdom (Wikipedia article), accessed 2026-09-05, Wikimedia Foundation — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venda_Kingdom
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