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Founding
Founding of Kingdom of Mapungubwe
1075–1220) pre-colonial state in Southern Africa located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers, south of Great Zimbabwe
- 1075
- Sub-Saharan Africa
Founding
1075–1220) pre-colonial state in Southern Africa located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers, south of Great Zimbabwe
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
The Kingdom of Mapungubwe (pronounced mah-POON-goob-weh) was an ancient state located at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers in present day South Africa, south of Great Zimbabwe. The capital's population was 5,000 by 1250, and the state likely covered 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi).
Around 1000 CE, some Leopard's Kopje people moved across the Limpopo to Bambandyanalo where they practiced agropastoralism, moving large cattle herds to other communities' grazing land which fostered socio-political relations, while also engaging in the Indian Ocean trade via Swahili city-states on the East African coast. Over the centuries, increased wealth among the growing population produced inequalities for which Bambandyanalo's spatial arrangement was unsuited.
Around 1220, amid a dry period, the Mapungubwe elite moved to settle the top of Mapungubwe Hill, followed by the population who settled the surrounding land below. Hills often served as rainmaking sites, and Mapungubwe Hill became the sole such site; its habitation by the leader was substantial in the development of sacred kingship. A large amount of wealth was accumulated via tributes, facilitated by the Limpopo-Shashe confluence being a trade centre, and ivory and gold was exported to the east coast. Following unknown events and shifting trade routes north around 1300, Mapungubwe's population migrated elsewhere. In the present day they are often associated with the Kalanga (Shona) and Venda peoples.
Despite locals having knowledge of the sacred site, Mapungubwe was only rediscovered by the scientific community and colonial government in 1933. The Mapungubwe Collection of artefacts found at the archaeological site is housed in the Mapungubwe Museum in Pretoria. The site is located in the Mapungubwe National Park in South Africa, on the border with Zimbabwe and Botswana. Although traditionally assumed to have been the first state in Southern Africa, excavations in the same region at Mapela Hill show evidence for sacral kingship nearly 200 years earlier.
Its original name is not known. The site was called Mapungubwe following archaeological naming conventions, and this was extended to the kingdom. Mapungubwe means "a place of (many) jackals". In various Bantu languages, "-pungubwe" refers to jackals. "Jackal" is phunguwe in Venda, while in Northern Sotho it is phukubje.
The area surrounding Mapungubwe, near the Limpopo River, is today dry and experiences low rainfall. It comprises sandstone hills, Kalahari sands, and scrubland. From 1000 CE to 1200 CE, the area saw higher rainfall, facilitating growth in vegetation which brought with it animals such as warthogs, wildebeests, and buffalo (as well as tsetse flies). Flooding from the Limpopo dispersed nutrients throughout the floodplain, including in the Mapungubwe Valley which had soils ranging from sandy to clay, meaning farming could be practised all year round.
The wider region was inhabited by the San for some 100,000 years. Early San society left a rich legacy of cave paintings across Southern Africa. Bantu-speakers inhabited the Shashe-Limpopo Basin for a period between 350 and 450 CE. The origins of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe lie in Leopard's Kopje, an archaeological culture in modern-day Zimbabwe.
Motivated by the ivory trade, some Zhizo people moved south around 900 to settle Schroda, near the Limpopo River. The San were largely driven off their ancestral lands. The Zhizo herded cattle and engaged in farming. They traded and possibly hunted with the San, who lived in different settlements. Schroda was likely the Zhizo's capital due to being the most populated (around 500). The chief was the wealthiest, and accumulated cattle through court fines, forfeits, tributes, raids, and the high price of marrying one of his daughters. The Zhizo made elaborate pottery with diverse styles, for which they were named after. Figurines were used as props in school lessons. They traded ivory, gold, rhino skins, leopard skins, and iron to coastal cities such as Chibuene in exchange for glass beads, cotton and silk cloths, and glazed ceramics.
Around 1000, some Leopard's Kopje people moved south to settle Bambandyanalo (known as K2, situated beneath Bambandyanalo Hill), as the Zhizo moved west to settle Toutswe in modern day Botswana. Some scholars believe their relations to have been hostile and characterised by military conflict, however others insist they were more complex, both socially and politically. Their arrival coincided with the onset of a wet period, which greatly increased agricultural yield. Leopard's Kopje people spoke an early form of Shona, likely Kalanga (western Shona). K2 was the capital, and was likely divided into residential areas under the authority of a family head, with the chief having the largest area. Women worked copper, while men worked iron.
They cultivated sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, ground beans, and cowpeas. To make more productive use of the land, cattle were herded away from the capital and permitted to graze on other communities' land, fostering socio-political relations with those communities while also allowing for bigger herds. The population expanded, and K2 housed 1,500 people by 1200. Rainmaking was widespread, and the chief sometimes hired strangers who were believed to have special relationships with the spirits of the land, such as the San, due to their longer habitation. Likewise some Zhizo who remained at Leokwe (likely subordinate to K2) specialised in rituals also due to their longer habitation.
Thomas Huffman wrote that the large amount of wealth generated by the Indian Ocean trade created unprecedented inequalities, as the society evolved from being based on social ranking to social classes, with an immense gap in status emerging between the ruling class and commoners. Accordingly K2's spatial arrangement became unsuited to this development. Mark Horton however argued that the East African interior benefited much less from long-distance trade than the coastal Swahili city-states (possibly due to the Swahili monopoly over trade), and Shadreck Chirikure et al. have pointed to the economy (and possibly the rulers' legitimacy) as having been based in agropastoralism. Meanwhile, scholars Nam Kim and Chapurukha Kusimba have attributed this process of state formation to agricultural innovations, cattle accumulation, and use of ritual power.
Around 1200 the wet period ended. Amid a harsh drought which likely troubled the society, royal elites moved the capital to Mapungubwe (an old rainmaking site) and settled its flat-topped summit around 1220, while most people settled at the foot of Mapungubwe Hill. It is possible the old village was burnt down to make way for a new one. Mapungubwe Hill became the sole rainmaking hill, and its habitation by the leader emphasised a link between himself and rainmaking, which was substantial in the development of sacral kingship. The hill had been inhabited by the San long ago and a rock shelter on the east side featured some of their art.
The first king ("Shiriyadenga" in some Venda oral traditions) would have spent most of his time in ritual seclusion, and had his palace on the western part of the hill; it included a room where the king could receive visitors, and another where the visitors could be vetted, as well as a hut for the king's special diviner. By 1250, Mapungubwe had a population of 5000, with settlements all around the hill, forming a protective circle. The second king ("Tshidziwelele" in some Venda traditions) had his palace in the middle of the hill, with the same arrangements as his predecessor, however his visitor room was divided so as to separate visitors from the king, who would have spoken through an intermediary. Kings had many wives, with some living outside of the capital to help maintain the network of alliances. The administration and structure of the state is unclear, though scholars consider it to have been similar to that of the Pedi Kingdom.
The economy was based on agriculture, and cattle continued to be herded away from the capital and permitted to graze on other communities' land, forming social and political ties and increasing Mapungubwe's influence. A large amount of wealth was accumulated via tributes, which were paid in crops, animals, and sometimes rarer goods. Copper, gold, and tin were not found in the Limpopo-Shashe Basin, and Mapungubwe likely derived them from tribute or trade, facilitated by the Limpopo-Shashe confluence being a trade centre. It is unclear to what extent coercion and conflict played in Mapungubwe's growth and dominance due to this being challenging to recognise archaeologically. While the stone walls served a symbolic purpose in the separation of elites and commoners, they possibly also served a defensive purpose, indicating warfare was conventional. Kim and Kusimba, along with Simon Hall, have argued that coercion and violence would have been key to maintaining state power. Mapungubwe traded locally with Toutswe and Eiland among others, and gold and ivory were exported to the Indian Ocean trade via Sofala.
It is unknown what caused Mapungubwe's collapse. Elizabeth Anne Voigt proposed that cattle may have caused land degradation amid droughts, while David Killick and Christopher Ehret say that during the 13th century, Kilwa and Mogadishu replaced Manda and Shanga as the major ports. Under Kilwan influence, Sofala became the centre of the gold trade and had direct access to the gold-producing Zimbabwean Plateau, side-lining Mapungubwe. Chirikure et al. say that trade routes shifted north as traders travelled to reach the gold-producing interior, which would have dramatically hurt Mapungubwe's economy. Accordingly, the lack of imported goods would have caused Mapungubwe's political relations to break down, which depended on exchanging goods and services for grazing land. They speculate that confidence was lost in the leadership amid the deepening material and spiritual divide between commoners and the king (and possibly high tribute demands), causing a breakdown in common purpose, and provoking people to "vote with their feet". The basin was abandoned as people scattered northwest and south. They didn't regroup. To the north, Great Zimbabwe, on the fringe of the Mapungubwe state and with a distinct population, rose to become its successor, adopting the same elitist spatial arrangement and sacred leadership.
Over the course of settlement at K2, their society transitioned from a society based on social ranking to one based on social classes, and was one of the first class-based social systems and examples of sacral kingship in southern Africa. The leader and elites inhabited the hilltop, with the population below. There were four paths up the hill, with the main one guarded by soldiers, who were called the "eye" of the king. Settlements were divided into residential areas under the authority of family heads, and surrounded the hill, forming a protective circle. The kingdom was likely divided into a five-tiered hierarchy due to the wide spread of the population; family heads, headmen, petty chiefs, senior chiefs, and the king.
The king slept in a small wooden hut, in a supposedly secret location. Visitors were secluded from the king. His entourage included soldiers and praise singers, along with musicians who played mbiras and xylophones. His actions were ritualised, such that, if he sneezed, a praise singer would tell everyone. Wives were viewed as a route to success and status, and as such the king had many, with the senior wife in charge. Some wives lived outside of the capital, to help maintain the network of alliances.
Mapungubwe followed a settlement pattern common across Southern Africa called the "Central Cattle Pattern". The centre of the settlement was the domain of men, and had an area for resolving disputes and making political decisions as well as cattle kraals, while the outer zone was the domain of women, containing domestic complexes. Life in Mapungubwe was centred on family and farming. Special sites were created for initiation ceremonies, household activities, and other social functions. Cattle lived in kraals located close to the residents' houses, signifying their value. Courts belonged to the leader, however he would not have been there, but rather in ritual seclusion on the hilltop. A brother would have likely been in charge, and would have been the second most powerful person in the kingdom.
Scholars have drawn from work on other precolonial South African societies and highlighted the likelihood of intergenerational tension, due to young people being burdened with most of the labour, though were not able to own cattle or land until marriage. Only men of high status were allowed to smelt and work copper and gold. These metals were associated with power, wealth, and fertility, and only elites would have possessed gold. While most had access to iron tools, poorer farmers made use of stone and bone tools. Men were buried in kraals, while women were buried outside of them.
Elites within the kingdom were buried in hills. Royal wives lived in their own area away from the king. Important men maintained prestigious homes on the outskirts of the capital. This type of spatial division occurred first at Mapungubwe but would be replicated in later Butua and Rozwi states. The growth in population at Mapungubwe may have led to full-time specialists in ceramics, specifically pottery. Gold objects were uncovered in elite burials on the royal hill.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Kingdom of Mapungubwe”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.