Makuleke - Mapungubwe and The Rise of Thulamela

Mapungubwe and The Rise of Thulamela

From around 1200 a large cultural civilization and trade network began to emerge just to the North as is evidenced at such sites as Mapungubwe. Additionally, the idea of sacred leadership emerged – concept that transcends English terms such as “Kings” or “Queens”. Sacred leaders were elite members of the community, types of prophets, people with supernatural powers and the ability to predict the future. These early civilizations represented the rise of one of the greatest ancient trade networks the world has ever seen.

Through interactions and trade with Muslim traders plying the Indian ocean as far south as present day Mozambique – the region emerged as a trade center producing gold and ivory and trading for glass beads and porcelain from as far away as China.

The end of Mapungubwe occurred at the same time as the rise of an even greater trading and architectural civilization – that of Great Zimbabwe – which flourished for more than one hundred years. The centre of power then shifted to the south at a site known as Khami near present day Bulawayo. It was then, around 1550, that groups crossed the Limpopo and founded numerous flourishing settlements in the Pafuri region including that of Thulamela on the southern bank of the Luvuvhu. Thulamela was one of many walled cities that existed in the Pafuri triangle – almost every hill and overlook in the area has evidence of significant occupation during this period. Thulamela and the other walled cities of the region were occupied at about the same time Portuguese trade began on the eastern coast of southern Africa. The wealth and sophistication of these people is evident by the beautifully crafted gold jewelry, Arab glass beads and Chinese porcelain found in the sites and accompanying burials of sacred leaders. The Thulamela culture ended around 1650.