Background The
Kingdom of Mapungubwe was a
Shona (specifically
Kalanga)
state, located north of the
Soutpansberg mountain range and south of the
Limpopo River, that flourished during the 13th century. Mapungubwe collapsed and its population dispersed, with some settling just north of the Soutpansberg. South of the Soutpansberg were
Sotho-speaking people, a distinct group that was isolated from those in north. The pre-Singo (
totem-affiliated clans; ) in the Soutpansberg are collectively called by the Singo; it is unclear which ones came from the north or south. The earliest people in western Soutpansberg () were supposedly a chiefdom led by Luvhalane and another chiefdom near . In central Soutpansberg (), according to tradition, there were groups at and
Luonde mountains. To the east in the central
Mutale Valley () there were the
Dzivhani. are remembered in the southeast around the
Levubu River (), though not in the northeast () which was inhabited by the Nyai. In the early-15th century elite stone-walled settlements related to the
Kingdom of Butua appeared northwest of Soutpansberg, and new Shona dynasties arrived in Soutpansberg. while a Sotho-speaking (Dau) settled just south of central Soutpansberg. The
Kwevho, who had connections to both
Shona- and Sotho-speaking groups, replaced the groups in central Soutpansberg. The
Mbedzi claim to have migrated from
Malungudze Hill in southern modern-day Zimbabwe to conquer the Dzivhani, and settled
Makoleni sometime between the 15th and 16th centuries, with
tradition holding their first ruler as the renowned
rainmaker Luvhimbi. Following this, the Dzivhani changed their practice of burying rulers at
Tshilavhulu Mountain to burying religious figures in river pools. The Singo settled
Dzata in
Soutpansberg in the late-17th century. While early informants said that Dzata in
Nzhelele Valley, also called "Dzata Mikondeni", was the first Singo settlement, later informants say it was another ruins also called Dzata or "Dzata Tshiendeulu" on Tshiendeulu Mountain above the valley, which was later abandoned for Dzata Mikondeni.
Radio-carbon dating at Dzata Tshiendeulu dates it to the 15th and 16th centuries, and archaeologist Edwin Hanisch writes that it was likely occupied by earlier Shona settlers, namely the
Netshiendeulu, rather than the Singo. Venda tradition holds that the first Singo ruler was Dambanyika (also called "Vele Lambeu" or "Dyambeu", based on the Rozvi title which was likely another name for Dombo).
David Beach says that from Dzata, Dambanyika conquered the Nzhelele Valley. Dynasties like the Luvhimbi were given ritual authority due to the Singo fearing rain would cease if they were dismantled. Hanisch proposes that (based on a tradition) Thohoyandou was a
regent and successful ruler who refused to step down when the Singo heir became older, provoking rebellion. He continues that this forced Thohoyandou to flee, and that the rebels burnt down Dzata.
The fragmented state: resistance and colonisation Following destructive civil war, the Singo elite split into three groups as part of a dispersal called . The Ramabulana Singo dynasty inhabited western Soutpansberg with allied Ndalamo. The Ravhura dynasty were the successors to the Singo of Dzata, though the kingship () was taken from them by the Ramabulana Singo and they fled east, where they were subsumed by the
Tshivhase and
Mphaphuli Singo dynasties. In the south were the Singo's former vassals. The Tshivhase dynasty also subjugated the Mbedzi Luvhimbi dynasty; the Luvhimbi ruler's sister became their leader and the Tshivhase's principal rainmaker. In decreasing order of prestige, Tshivhase rulers came to be buried at mountains, Mbedzi leaders at
pools, and Dzivhani leaders on dry ground (, "dry ones"). In the early-19th century the Venda were raided by
groups fleeing the
Mfecane (; "times of flight"), and several Venda groups moved to higher ground for greater security. In 1899
war broke out between the ZAR and the BSAC; by 1900 the British had captured
Pretoria and
Bloemfontein. The Soutpansberg remained low-priority for the British and, absent the ZAR's authority, Venda returned to their homes and farms. Accompanied by and some British soldiers, Mphephu left for Luatame in 1901, aiming to reassume the kingship and make the British indebted to him by participating in the war. Mphephu's widespread support and transgressions against Sinthumule and Maemu lost him favour with the British and they convinced him to be exiled to Pretoria, afterwards returning to Vhuxwa with the intention of coming back when the conflict ended. In 1913, the government passed the
Native Land Act which restricted African settlement to dedicated reserves, while the
Native Affairs Act of 1920 legislated the founding of local councils to advise the government. Mphephu died in 1925 and was succeeded to the Ramabulana kingship by his son, George Mbulaheni Ramabulana.
Patrick Mphephu assumed the kingship in 1949 after his father's death, chosen ahead of his brother by the and . Prior to his ascension, P. Mphephu had become odious of whites' treatment of blacks, and frustrated by the lack of distinction made between commoners and royals. According to Lufuno Mulaudzi, from the outset P. Mphephu sought to unify all Venda under his rule, and achieve independence in order to free them from
white domination. From 1948 when the
National Party came to power, the South African government took steps towards strengthening and enforcing their policy of
racial segregation known as
apartheid, and sought to restrict Africans to the 1913 reserves with endorsement from subordinate traditional leaders. The latter comprised the "
grand apartheid" envisioned by
Hendrik Verwoerd which involved complete racial segregation, and culminated in the founding of '
bantustans'. From 1951, P. Mphephu was appointed to lead various increasingly-
devolved native authorities, with elections held from 1973, until the establishment of the
Venda bantustan in 1979. Despite the illusion of independence, bantustans were economically, militarily, and judicially dependent on the central government, and though the devolution of development was attractive to traditional leaders, it entrenched ethnic divisions and made such leaders deeply unpopular. and the candidates all resigned in protest. In 1986 Venda transitioned into a
one-party state, though this didn't stem the persecution of political opponents and
Lutheran priests, and incited threats of attacks. == Government ==