Hlubi People

Hlubi People

The Hlubi (or amaHlubi) are a South African ethnic group. For at least two centuries they have been a part of the Nguni, Mbo or Lala nation. They are found in the Republic of South Africa in the KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and North West provinces, with an original settlement on the Buffalo River.They also have readily traceable descendents in the modern day Kingdom of Swaziland and the Matabeleland Region of The Republic of Zimbabwe. Very little has been documented about this nation but there is a lot of oral literature regarding the history of the amaHlubi nation. The amaHlubi originated further North and migrated southwards with the other Nguni groups of the time.

They settled in the Lubombo mountains, a range that extends from Zululand to the Swaziland-Mozambique border. They migrated southwards to Natal. In the Lubombo mountains they separated from the group now known as the amaSwati. The amaHlubi are closely related to the Basotho, evident both in language and clan names. Traditionally amaHlubi kings preferred to marry Sotho girls as they saw them as their close relatives.

The amaHlubi people maintain that they are a different entity from all other groups in South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and in Africa generally, though there is a section of people closely related them known as Bashubi in Rwanda and Burundi. They are found also in places like Lesotho. They have secret female initiation rituals, and other customs that separate them from the Nguni in general.

The origin of the name "Hlubi" is not known. Some historians speculate that this was the name of a Hlubi princess who was a daughter to King Dlamini. Others argue that this was a name of one of the early Hlubi rulers although the name of this said King does not appear in their list of kings. The word does exist in Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania known as "Shubi".