20-461: Ndlovukati (literally "She-Elephant", pl. tiNdlovukati ; also spelled Indlovukazi ) is the siSwati title for the female monarch of Eswatini . The title is given preferentially to the mother of the reigning king (styled the Ngwenyama , "Lion of Swaziland "), or to another female royal of high status if the king's mother has died. The title is roughly equivalent to a queen mother , though she
40-429: A depressor for some rules but not others. The Swazi noun ( libito ) consists of two essential parts, the prefix ( sicalo ) and the stem ( umsuka ). Using the prefixes, nouns can be grouped into noun classes, which are numbered consecutively, to ease comparison with other Bantu languages . The following table gives an overview of Swazi noun classes, arranged according to singular-plural pairs. Verbs use
60-437: A new and more rigid form of patriarchy now called and argued by some to be mischaracterised as "traditional". The office of Ndlovukati suffered a further blow after the death of Sobhuza II, when a holder of the office was implicated in the political machinations of Prince Mfanasibili aimed at usurping the kingship. Thus the political-cultural ideals and historical meanings of the office expressed above do not really characterise
80-519: A number of Ndlovukati with great substantial power as well as influence, especially (though not exclusively) in periods of regency . The power of the Ndlovukati was explicitly understood as a counterweight to that of the Ngwenyama and also to potentially rival royal princes. This was the case especially during the reign of Mswati II and Tsandzile Ndwandwe . Like royal governors who were not from
100-404: A spirit of brotherhood." Umphakatsi In Eswatini , an umphakatsi ( Swazi: [um̩pʰakʼatsʼi] ; plural imiphakatsi ) is an administrative subdivision smaller than an inkhundla ; there are 385 imiphakatsi in the country, each approximately equivalent to a local community. In western societies it could be also equivalent to a township. Imiphakatsi are either royal villages with
120-706: Is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa by the Swati people . The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 4.7 million including first and second language speakers. The language is taught in Eswatini and some South African schools in Mpumalanga , particularly former KaNgwane areas. Siswati is an official language of Eswatini (along with English), and
140-609: Is also one of the twelve official languages of South Africa. The official term is "siSwati" among native speakers; in English, Zulu, Ndebele or Xhosa it may be referred to as Swazi . siSwati is most closely related to the other Tekela languages , like Phuthi and Northern Transvaal (Sumayela) Ndebele , but is also very close to the Zunda languages : Zulu , Southern Ndebele , Northern Ndebele , and Xhosa . Siswati spoken in Eswatini can be divided into four dialects corresponding to
160-406: Is called umphakatsi , (meaning "the inside," and a term also applied to the royal insiders and close allies as a group) is the national capital and spiritual and ceremonial home of the nation. The king resides at his own royal village or kraal called lilawu . The present umphakatsi is at Ludzidzini Royal Kraal and lilawu is at Ngabezweni Royal Kraal. SiSwati language Swazi or siSwati
180-498: Is jointly head of state, ruling alongside the Ngwenyama. The title can also mean doctor . When there is no king, the Ndlovukati rules as queen regent. The current Ndlovukati is Queen Ntfombi Tfwala , the mother of Ngwenyama Mswati III and wife of Sobhuza II . She was also queen regent from 1983 until 1986 when Mswati became king. The most notable queen regent was Ndlovukati Labotsibeni Mdluli who ruled Swaziland from 1899 until 1921 when she abdicated for Sobhuza II. The Ndlovukati
200-552: Is thus considered closer to standard Swazi. However, this Mpumalanga variety is distinguishable by distinct intonation , and perhaps distinct tone patterns. Intonation patterns (and informal perceptions of 'stress') in Mpumalanga Swazi are often considered discordant to the Swazi ear. This South African variety of Swazi is considered to exhibit influence from other South African languages spoken close to Swazi. A feature of
220-408: Is traditionally joint monarch of Eswatini with the king. The king is seen as the administrative head of state , while the Ndlovukati is seen as the spiritual and national head of state. During the reign of Sobhuza II the title became more ceremonial. Several of the Ndlovukati's functions are to control important ritual substances (sometimes called medicines) and knowledge necessary for inaugurating of
SECTION 10
#1732764989269240-527: The Ndlovukati today, whose position has become much weaker than that of the Ngwenyama . At any time where there is both an Ingwenyama and a Ndlovukati , which is most of the time, there are two royal villages. Even during a regency when the king is a minor, a proto-form of his headquarters is prepared. The King's headquarters is where he carries out his administrative duties; the Ndlovukati' s, which
260-563: The beginning of stems as [ŋ] , and commonly as [ŋɡ] within words. Swazi exhibits three surface tones: high, mid and low. Tone is unwritten in the standard orthography. Traditionally, only the high and mid tones are taken to exist phonemically, with the low tone conditioned by a preceding depressor consonant . Bradshaw (2003) however argues that all three tones exist underlyingly. Phonological processes acting on tone include: The depressor consonants are all voiced obstruents other than /ɓ/ . The allophone [ŋ] of /ŋɡ/ appears to behave as
280-550: The following 60 years the practical power and influence of the office of ndlovukati became greatly overshadowed, in part because the British chose to recognize the powers of the king (whom they called the " Paramount Chief ") over those of the senior, in part because of the force of Sobhuza's personality in contrast to the tindlovukati who succeeded his own mother after she died in 1938, and in part because of conservative aristocratic Swazi male reactions to colonialism, which created
300-679: The following affixes for the subject and the object: The following example of text is Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Bonkhe bantfu batalwa bakhululekile balingana ngalokufananako ngesitfunti nangemalungelo. Baphiwe ingcondvo nekucondza kanye nanembeza ngakoke bafanele batiphatse futsi baphatse nalabanye ngemoya webuzalwane. The Declaration reads in English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in
320-511: The four administrative regions of the country: Hhohho , Lubombo , Manzini , and Shiselweni . Siswati has at least two varieties: the standard, prestige variety spoken mainly in the north, centre and southwest of the country, and a less prestigious variety spoken elsewhere. In the far south, especially in towns such as Nhlangano and Hlatikhulu , the variety of the language spoken is significantly influenced by isiZulu. Many Swazis (plural emaSwati , singular liSwati ), including those in
340-522: The royal House of Dlamini , the Ndlovukati could not accede to the throne, thus offering an alternative source of power to rein in overweaning Tingwenyama who could not challenge directly to be the Ngwenyama. During the long reign of Sobhuza II (1899–1982), his grandmother Ndlovukati Labotsibeni Mdluli (also known as "Gwamile") was the last great bearer of the title, being the primary Swazi political power from Sobhuza's accession as an infant in 1899 until his accession to full power in 1922. However, over
360-420: The rule of a Ngwenyama, rainmaking , and the annual renewal of national and kingly strength in the incwala rites. The Ndlovukati also leads the nation as queen regent following a king's death and during the youth of the crown prince. Other notable Tindlovukati are Tsandzile Ndwandwe , Lojiba Simelane , Tibati Nkambule , and Labotsibeni Mdluli from nineteenth century Swaziland. Historically, there have been
380-621: The south who speak this variety, do not regard it as 'proper' Swazi. This is what may be referred to as the second dialect in the country. The sizeable number of Swazi speakers in South Africa (mainly in the Mpumalanga province, and in Soweto ) are considered by Eswatini Swazi speakers to speak a non-standard form of the language. Unlike the variant in the south of Eswatini, the Mpumalanga variety appears to be less influenced by Zulu, and
400-730: The standard prestige variety of Swazi (spoken in the north and centre of Eswatini) is the royal style of slow, heavily stressed enunciation, which is anecdotally claimed to have a 'mellifluous' feel to its hearers. Swazi does not distinguish between places of articulation in its clicks. They are dental (as [ǀ] ) or might also be alveolar (as [ǃ] ). It does, however, distinguish five or six manners of articulation and phonation, including tenuis, aspirated, voiced, breathy voiced, nasal, and breathy-voiced nasal. The consonants /ts k ŋɡ/ each have two sounds. /ts/ and /k/ can both occur as ejective sounds, [tsʼ] and [kʼ] , but their common forms are [tsʰ] and [k̬] . The sound /ŋɡ/ differs when at
#268731