The name "Tsonga" or "Vatsonga" itself is properly related to the older "Thonga" (also spelled as Tonga in some instances). The Thonga people are one of the original African tribes who left Central Africa between 200AD and 500AD and gave birth to many cultural identities in Southern Africa. The name "Thonga" has various meanings in different languages. In the Shona language it means "people of the river", or "independent"; in isiZulu it means "spirit medium", "stick", "hunter", or "the prestigious ones". The Thonga people settled at various parts of southern Africa and thus different cultural identities were born who still identify with a common heritage. The Tembe people of
KwaZulu-Natal, for example, still praise themselves as "
amaThonga" but are now a part of the Zulu language and culture after being integrated in northern KwaZulu Natal. The Rhonga people were identified according to the eastern direction from which they lived (Rhonga means East in the Rhonga dialect) and they included the tribes of Mpfumo of Nhlaruti, Nondwane, Vankomati, and Mabota. Another example is the Valenge and Chopi people (vaCopi) of Gunyule and Dzavana who are also related to the Tsonga people of South Africa such as the Maluleke, Shivambu, Mhinga, and Mulamula, and still regard themselves as part of the larger Thonga/Tonga group. The tribes often identified as the Gwamba (properly the descendants of Gwambe) such as the tribes of Baloyi, Mathebula, and Nyai, also formed the Kalanga and Rozwi tribes. Other tribes include the Hlengwe people who are descended from those who called themselves Vatswa (sometimes spelled Tshwa) and also the Khosa who identified with the Djonga and Mbai sub-group. Indeed, most of the Tsonga people of South Africa are descended from breakaway groups of the Thonga which must have happened around the 1600s with the dawn of the arrival of the Portuguese in Mozambique. In South Africa the name "Shangaan" or "Machangane" is regularly applied to the entire Tsonga population; however, this is a common misconception and others even take offense to it with regards to tribal affiliation. What can be identified as the Shangaan tribe only forms a small fraction of the entire Tsonga ethnic group, meaning that the term "Shangaan" should only be applied to that tribe which is directly related to
Soshangane ka Zikode (a Nguni general from the
Ndwandwe tribe) who came to power during the 1800s, as well as those tribes which were founded or assimilated directly by him. In contrast, the Tsonga ethnic group comprises various tribal identities, some of which have been recognised and well established in Mozambique and South Africa even back around 1350 all the way through the 1600s to 1900s, namely the
Varhonga, Vaxika, Vahlengwe, Van'wanati,
Vacopi, Valoyi, and others. On the other hand, the double barrel term "Tsonga-Shangaan" is often applied in a way similar to Sotho and Tswana; Pedi and Lobedu; or Xhosa and Mpondo. Historical research shows that a substantial number of Tsonga tribes have been living together in South Africa during the 1400s to 1700s at a time when the name "Shangaan" had not yet existed. When
Soshangane (whom the name "Shangaan" is taken from) and other Nguni invaders raided Mozambique later during the 1820s, the Tsonga people who were already living prior under Dutch colonialism in South Africa did not form a part of the Nguni Shangaan empire (and were often hostile to it) and they had already been speaking the
Xitsonga language through dialects such as Xin'walungu, Xihlanganu, Xidzonga, etc. within the Transvaal. Such Tsonga tribes have never been subjects of the
Gaza Shangaan empire and have always retained their senior traditional leadership even during the governance of the Apartheid
homeland system. Having said that, it is well known that the Gaza Empire was vast and included areas occupied by the Tsonga. Many Tsonga identified themselves as Shangani and there is a wealth of Nguni names and words in their language which testifies of the Gaza Nguni rulership of some of these groups. The Copi people (
Chopi), however, remained rebellious and independent throughout the lifetime of the Gaza kingdom and were never properly defeated, and when the ruler of Gaza (Nghunghunyana) invaded their territory near the
Limpopo River and attempted to subjugate them in 1888, a war ensued between the Chopi people and the Gaza forces that effectively lasted from 1889 and ended in 1895 when Nghunghunyana was defeated by the Portuguese (led by their general
Mouzinho de Albuquerque) in alliance with Chopi soldiers (led by their king Xipenenyana). Many of the Gaza people fled from the disintegrated Empire and its remaining leadership took asylum in South Africa where most of the Tsonga people had been living before the
Mfecane wars started. In South Africa, the Gaza-Shangaan people lost their Nguni language which was prevalent within the Empire due largely to the new reality and they adopted the Xitsonga language in the Transvaal but still largely identify with Nguni customs. In modern South Africa, the integration of such tribes has led to a social cohesion drive where some of the Tsonga people believe they face an identity crisis as a result of perceived tribalism of the Ndwandwe Shangaan tribe against the original Tsonga tribes. Another factor is the Gaza-Shangaan people's association with a history of oppression and exploitation that the inhabitants of Mozambique suffered under the rule of the
Gaza Empire during the 1800s, which has been well-documented by reliable sources and is a subject of much controversy and debate. ==Clan structures==