Shangwe Chieftainship: Succession Disputes in the Nemangwe Chiefdom and the Quest for Legitimacy cc 19th – 21st

Abstract

The Shangwe under Chireya were not the first to settle on the Mufungabutsi plateau. The original Shangwe on the Mapfungabutsi plateau were the Karanga under Nyamusasa, Mubvuma,Mufunga, Mupare and Manyowi. According to oral traditions Nyamusasa was the paramount ruler while Mubvuma, Mufunga, Mupare and Manyowi were his sub rulers. These were the first to adopt the term Shangwe. Chireya and his people established themselves on the Mapfungabusi Plateau after conquering the local inhabitants who were the Karanga Shangwe. Chireya gave part of his territory to Nemangwe Kurikona during the last quarter of the 19th century. Thus the Nemangwe chiefdom is a product of the demise of the Karanga Shangwe chiefdom under Mafunga. After the reign of Vhumakuregwa the Nemangwe chiefdom began to experience some chieftaincy wrangles. Some wrangles degenerated into violent conflicts. The wrangles were a result of defective succession systems, colonial distortions and political ubiquitous. However, some efforts were put to resolve some of the disputes by the Nemangwe jurisprudence and the contemporary but up to 2019 succession disputes remain a thorn in the chiefdom. The focal point in the dissertation is the quest for legitimacy among the Nemangwe feuds. Throughout the dissertation the central question is to what extent did the Nemangwe feuds contest for the chieftaincy stool between the 19th century and the 21st century. The question attempts to problematize the causes of the succession disputes in the Nemangwe chiefdom and to interrogate the efficacy of some solutions to the disputes.