Tembe (ruler)
| Tembe | |
|---|---|
| Founder of the Tembe polity | |
| Reign | c. late 15th - mid 16th century |
| Predecessor | Mwali I (traditional genealogy) |
| Successor | Tembe lineage |
| Dynasty | Tembe |
| Religion | African traditional religion |
Tembe was a precolonial ruler and ancestral founder figure in Tembe tradition, from whom the Tembe royal lineage and polity of southeastern Africa derive their name. He is generally regarded as having consolidated Tembe authority in the lower Nkomati River and Delagoa Bay region by the mid-16th century, shortly before the first recorded Portuguese encounters in 1554.