Swaziland is a landlocked country covering 17 363 km2 of highlands, deep valleys, plains and lowlands. Along its eastern boundary, the Lebombo Mountains form a natural boundary with Mozambique and South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, while the western boundary with South Africa is demarcated by several high mountains. Although excavations have provided evidence that Iron Age people lived in the area some 1 600 years ago, the Swazi state was created in the early 1800s under Sobhuza I, who initially settled with his Ngwane people in the upper reaches of the Nkomati Valley after they were driven northwards by the Ndwandwe. Sobhuza later moved southeastwards, establishing his capital in the Little Usutu Valley. After Sobhuza’s death, the kingdom was ruled by a regent until 1845, when Mswati became king. He organised the Ngwane along military lines and his subjects became known as ‘the people of Mswati’. Various concessions for grazing and minerals and ‘friendship’ treaties with the Boers saw the kingdom’s territory reduced by half its original size. In 1894, Swaziland became a protectorate of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR), and in 1906 it was detached from the Transvaal and became a separate British colony. Swaziland became independent in 1968 and is ruled by a king, Mswati III, who wields both executive and legislative authority. The Swazi people are still deeply rooted in their culture and traditions and are known for their beautiful crafts, which include basketry, mats, pottery, printed cloth, jewellery and soapstone carvings, and for their reed dance, or umhlanga.
Source http://www.southafrica.org.za/tour-sa-kingdom-of-swaziland.html
PRINCE ALBERT
Lying on the northern foothills of the Swartberg range, Prince Albert is a picturesque farming village with an old-world charm. It is renowned for its variety of well-preserved architectural styles, and for its ‘Prince Albert gables’, which date from 1840–60. This unique gable features the outlines of the ‘holbol’ gable with a narrow pediment, while horizontal mouldings connect the outlines of the gables. Other building styles include Karoo houses, with their symmetrical façades and flat roofs, as well as Victorian and Georgian-style buildings.
Also of interest is the historic water mill built in the 1850s. It is the only remaining one of five built in the Prince Albert area during the 19th century. The Fransie Pienaar Museum depicts the natural and cultural history of the area, and has an interesting display on the brief but frantic gold rush which took place following the discovery of alluvial gold in the area in 1890.
Prince Albert was laid out in 1842 on the farm De Queekvaleij which was granted to Zacharias de Beer as a loan farm on 12 February 1762. Originally named Albertsburg, it was renamed after the husband of Queen Victoria in 1845. The arid area is ideal sheep farming country, but Prince Albert is also known for its apricots and figs, as well as for its olives, which are fêted at the annual olive festival held in May.
Source http://www.southafrica.org.za/tour-sa-cango-caves-swartberg.html
eMakhosini, or the Valley of the Kings, is the birthplace of the Zulu nation. Among its numerous historic sites are Mthonjaneni Spring, from where water was brought for the personal use of King Dingane, and the graves of Voortrekker leader Piet Retief and 69 of his followers. They were killed at KwaMatiwane near uMgungundhlovu on 6 February 1838 on the instructions of Dingane after concluding a land treaty. In the nearby Mkhumbane Valley is the royal village established by Dingane, who became king after the assassination of Shaka by two of his brothers in 1828. Named uMgungundhlovu (‘the secret meeting place of the elephant’), the Zulu capital consisted of between 1 700 and 2 000 beehive-shaped homesteads, and had a population of between 10 000 and 12 000 people. Eight regiments, each consisting of about 1 000 soldiers, also lived in the royal village. The village has been partially reconstructed and the site museum provides a fascinating insight into the life of its people. As well as occupying a central place in Zulu culture, the Valley of the Kings is also the burial place of Zulu kings, and contains the graves of Senzangakhona, father of Shaka, Dingane and Mpande, and Dinizulu, who ruled as king from 1884 to 1888 and 1898 to 1907.
Source http://www.southafrica.org.za/tour-sa-heart-of-zululand.html
Ulundi, the legislative capital of KwaZulu-Natal, lies on the northern banks of the White Mfolozi River and its Zulu name is translated as ‘the high place’. Site of the royal village of the Zulu kingdom, Ulundi is inextricably linked to the history of the Zulu people and their resistance to British colonialism. To the north of the town is the grave of Mpande, who ruled Zululand as king from 1840 to 1872 and established his royal village at Nodwengu, just north of Ulundi, around 1845.
Following Mpande’s death, Cetshwayo established his military capital at Ondini, about 5 km southeast of Nodwengu. The village was burned by the British after the Battle of Ulundi, but has been partially reconstructed. The KwaZulu Cultural Museum in the Ondini Historic Reserve has a fascinating collection of beads and other craftwork, weapons and other items depicting Zulu culture.
A monument about 3 km west of Ondini marks the site of the final battle of the Anglo-Zulu War, fought on 4 July 1879. Here, a force of 2 281 British regulars and 465 black troops under the command of Lieutenant-General Lord Chelmsford, inflicted a decisive defeat on the 15 000 to 20 000-strong Zulu force. The Zulu losses have been estimated at between 950 and 1 500 killed, while three British officers and 10 men were killed and 69 wounded.
Source http://www.southafrica.org.za/tour-sa-heart-of-zululand.html
Hlobane, a Zulu name for ‘beautiful place’, is a coal-mining centre that witnessed the defeat of British forces by a Zulu impi (regiment) on 28 March 1879 during the Anglo-Zulu War. Ascending Hlobane Mountain from the east under cover of darkness, a 675-strong British force was eventually forced to retreat along the Devil’s Pass down the Ntendeka Mountain. The British lost 15 officers and 79 men killed, while over 100 irregular troops led by Colonel E Wood as well as followers of Hamu – Cetshwayo’s brother, who had joined Wood earlier in March – were also killed. The number of Zulu casualties is unknown.
Source http://www.southafrica.org.za/tour-sa-heart-of-zululand.html
