The amakhanda settlement system of the Zulu kingdom

Abstract

The amakhanda type of settlement in southern Africa has long been associated with the elaboration of the ibutho (regiment) system and the development and spread of Nguni-speaking polities in southeastern Africa. In this contribution we set aside the origins of the amabutho system and instead concentrate on identifying and understanding three proposed grades of amakhanda — Royal, Divisional, and Regimental — that differ in size, layout, function and their inhabitants. Systematic field survey in 2022 sought to identify and clarify the character of suspected Divisional amakhanda situated in the vicinity of King Dingane’s Royal ikhanda at uMgungundlovu in the emaKhosini area of KwaZulu-Natal. Royal and Divisional amakhanda share elements of the same spatial structure, but they differ considerably in size and the kinds and spatial organisation of long-term food storage, food processing and crafts production activities. It has long been emphasised that Divisional amakhanda acted as military bases and political extensions of the royal house. We suggest that these settlements were also vital to the economic wellbeing of king’s capitals and formed crucial nodes of interaction between kings and commoners.

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