Some lively anecdotes which throw a light onto the characters of both King Mzilikazi and King Lobengula … as well as the very first missionaries to Inyati and Hope Fountain Missions. A precursor to the politics which followed.
#8 THE CROWNING OF A KING
Prince Jandu is on horseback hunting with friends in Mazoe while they chase out the Portuguese who keep wanting to take over the land … when he hears that King Mzilikazi has died. The next two years become increasingly difficult as neither Jandu, nor his elder brother nKulumane seem to want to take the job on.
Top left: Prince Jandu just before his inauguration as King and wearing western clothes, which he would never do again. Watercolour by Thomas Baines 1870. Bottom left - an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 Matebele warriors display during the Inaugural ceremony and on the right King Lobengula at the gate of his capital inspecting the Imbezu Regiment. A drawing of King Lobengula by A. Maund. Zimfieldguide.com