Surname · Tshivenda

Vhanyai

Also spelled Munyai, BaNyai, Nyai, Vha Maswie.

A mutupo of the Vhavenda, recorded in Tshivenda, which the sources also call Venda.

Tshivenda

PeopleVhavenda
Mutupo Munyai — the mutupo name itself; no animal gloss recorded
Grouping Karanga-Rozvi arrivals before the Singo
Surnames recorded Munyai, Makahane, Nelombe, Tshilowa, Maingange
Places recorded Eastern Venda, Niani, Ha-Mutele, Thulamela, Luvhalani, Tshamukalanga, Tshakhuma

Written down by families and by the people who recorded them.

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
Munyadziwa Magoma and co-authors, Retrieving Intangibility, Stemming Biodiversity Loss: The Case of Sacred Places in Venda, Northern South Africa, 2021 — https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/4/4/249
Vhadau vha Tshakhuma (Tshivenda-language typescript on the Vhadau of Tshakhuma and the early peoples of Venda; author… — https://repository.up.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/e2593648-436f-4316-87cf-b72e71970958/content
Vhadau vha Tshakhuma (Tshivenda-language typescript on the Vhadau of Tshakhuma and the early peoples of Venda; author… — https://repository.up.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/e2593648-436f-4316-87cf-b72e71970958/content (OCR reading)
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 people (Wikipedia article), accessed 2026-09-05, Wikimedia Foundation — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venda_people

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