His father was chief
Jama kaNdaba and his mother was Mthaniya Sibiya. He succeeded on his father's death. During the chieftaincy of Senzangakhona, the Zulus were a small clan in the
Mthethwa confederation which was ruled by
Dingiswayo. Senzangakhona’s name is derived from the Zulu
word meaning "he who acts with a good reason". Although the Zulus practised
ritual circumcision, the practice was slowly dying out. Senzangakhona and Shaka were
not circumcised, marking this trend in
Zulu culture.
Wives and children , son of Senzangakhona Senzangakhona married at least sixteen women by which he had fourteen known sons. His daughters were not recorded.
Nandi kaBhebhe eLangeni (Nandi, daughter of Bhebhe, from eLangeni district), bore him his first son
Shaka, said to have been conceived during an act of
ukuhlobonga, a form of
coitus interruptus without penetration allowed to unmarried couples at a time known as "the fun of the roads" (amahlaya endlela), but the lovers became carried away. Nandi and Shaka were initially accepted into Senzangakhona's kraal, and she was treated as a lesser wife. As she was not his Great Wife, Shaka was not the heir. Senzangakhona was unwilling to acknowledge Nandi as his chief
consort, an important status symbol among the AmaZulu. He did have another child with her, Shaka's sister Nomcuba. Mkabi, the Great Wife, did, however, treat Nandi well. Nevertheless, Nandi's relationship with Senzangakhona eventually deteriorated, so she and Shaka were forced to leave the kraal. Bhibhi kaSompisi Ntuli was one of Senzangakhona's wives. Senzangakhona's official heir was his son
Sigujana. Sigujana took over after the death of his father in 1816. However, Sigujana's reign was short as Shaka, with the help of his ally
Dingiswayo and his maternal half brother Ngwadi, had Sigujana assassinated. Shaka then raised the chieftaincy into a
kingdom and became its first king. Senzangakhona' sixth wife, Mpikase kaMlilela Ngobese, bore
Dingane, who took over the Zulu kingdom after assassinating his half-brother Shaka in 1828 at present-day Stanger. The official name for this place is KwaDukuza. Senzangakhona's ninth wife, Songiya kaNgotsha Hlabisa, bore
Mpande, who became king when he overthrew Dingane in 1840. Mpande was the only son to bear him grandchildren. Mpande’s son, Cetshwayo kaMpande, was in some aspects the last great king of the Zulus before the British Empire invaded their territory. == In culture ==