Venda Kingdom
Venda Kingdom | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status | State from late-17th c.–1898 Currently a non-sovereign monarchy within South Africa | ||||||
| Capital | Dzata (late-17th c.–mid- to late-18th c.) Tshirululuni (?–1864) Luatame (1864–1898) | ||||||
| Common languages | Tshivenda | ||||||
| Religion | Venda traditional religion | ||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| Khosikhulu | |||||||
• late-17th century | Dambanyika (first, according to David Beach and Edwin Hanisch) | ||||||
• 18th century | Thohoyandou | ||||||
• 1895–1925 | Mphephu (last sovereign) | ||||||
• 1979–1988 | Patrick Mphephu | ||||||
• 1990–present | Disputed | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | late-17th century | ||||||
• Fragmentation of the state | mid- to late-18th century | ||||||
• Boer invasion, later incorporated into the British Transvaal Colony | 1898 | ||||||
• Establishment of the Venda bantustan | 1979 | ||||||
• Abolishment of the Venda kingship | 1990 | ||||||
• South African government recognises the Ramabulana as kings of all Venda | 2010 | ||||||
| |||||||
The Venda kingdom or Singo state was a Venda state located in the Soutpansberg mountain range and ruled by the Singo clan (also called "Vhasenzi").
In the centuries following the collapse of Mapungubwe c. 1300, interactions between Sotho-speakers, early Shona-speakers, and latecomer Shona-speakers in the Soutpansberg led to the formation of the Venda language (Tshivenda) and identity. In the late-17th century, dynastic members of the Rozvi Empire migrated south across the Limpopo River with their followers; collectively they were the Singo mutupo ("clan"). The Singo settled Dzata in Soutpansberg, and conquered the surrounding Nzhelele Valley. In Singo tradition, Thohoyandou is credited with expanding the state, and the Singo came to subdue all of Soutpansberg.
Over the course of the 18th century, trade routes shifted south, and around 1780 the state collapsed. The most powerful dynasties that remained were the Ramabulana Singo in western Soutpansberg, and the Tshivhase Singo and Mphaphuli Singo in eastern Soutpansberg. Throughout the 19th century, Venda rulers such as Makhado fended off Boer attempts at gaining hegemony and land to settle, until an invasion in 1898 forced Ramabulana leader Mphephu to flee. A year later, the British invaded and conquered the Boers to establish the Transvaal Colony, after which Mphephu returned. Transvaal was incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910.
In 1979 Ramabulana leader Patrick Mphephu was made President of the new Venda bantustan and Khosikhulu (king) of all Venda, and his authoritarian rule contributed towards enforcing 'grand apartheid'. He died in 1988 and after a coup in 1990 the Venda kingship was abolished, while the bantustan was reincorporated into South Africa following the end of apartheid in 1994. In 2010 the South African government recognised the Ramabulana leader as Khosikhulu of all Venda, though a leader dispute ensued between incumbent Toni Mphephu and Masindi Mpephu, which is yet to be resolved as of 2025.