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18-539: The Torwa dynasty of the kalanga people based itself at the stone city of Khami from 1450 to 1683. Cattle and gold brought prosperity. The new culture at Khami developed both the stone building techniques and the pottery styles found at Great Zimbabwe. Masons continued to refine Great Zimbabwe’s tradition of building precise stone walls. At Khami several artefacts are found, such as ritual drinking pots, iron and bronze weapons, copper objects and ivory divining pieces. Artifacts from Europe and China are reminders that Khami

36-461: A checkerboard pattern, herringbone, or a cord pattern. The terraces leaned inwards so that gravity would not cause collapses. The terraces that were created by leaning inwards had wooden poles probably for the guards to hold on to as they walked along the high and steep walls. Khami was the capital of the Torwa dynasty for about 200 years from around 1450 and appears to have been founded at the time of

54-450: A conservation and recording programme whose purpose was to focus on preserving and restoring the stone walls. To date,the notable achievements are the stabilization and restoration of terrace walls on the Main, Cross and North platforms. Between 2000 and 2007, volunteers from the C.H.A.M association participated in a restoration effort. Nguni languages The Nguni languages are

72-472: A group of Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa (mainly South Africa , Zimbabwe and Eswatini ) by the Nguni people . Nguni languages include Xhosa , Zulu , Ndebele , and Swati . The appellation "Nguni" derives from the Nguni cattle type. Ngoni (see below) is an older, or a shifted, variant. It is sometimes argued that the use of Nguni as a generic label suggests a historical monolithic unity of

90-415: A unified Nguni language. In scholarly literature on southern African languages, the linguistic classificatory category "Nguni" is traditionally considered to subsume two subgroups: "Zunda Nguni" and "Tekela Nguni". This division is based principally on the salient phonological distinction between corresponding coronal consonants : Zunda /z/ and Tekela /t/ (thus the native form of the name Swati and

108-643: Is a ruined city located 22 kilometres (14 mi) west of Bulawayo , in Zimbabwe. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Butua of the Torwa dynasty . It is now a national monument and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The settlement that we see today was a development of the architectural form that emerged at Great Zimbabwe in the 13th century AD and a local Leopard's Kopje culture that built platforms of rough walling on which houses would be constructed. Khami marks an innovation that recognised

126-953: The Tolwa state linked to the coming of the Mutapa people from the north and to the Nguni incursions from the south. In the 1670s a new power arose on the Zimbabwean plateau led by a military ruler called the Changamire. His army of followers, known as the Lozwi, overthrew the Tolwa dynasty, drove the Portuguese from the Zimbabwean plateau in 1693, and established the Rozwi Empire (also called Mambo). Zimbabwe Dynasty Khami Khami (also written as Khame , Kame , or Kami )

144-491: The better-known Zulu form Swazi ), but there is a host of additional linguistic variables that enables a relatively straightforward division into these two substreams of Nguni. Note: Maho (2009) also lists S401 Old Mfengu . The following aspects of Nguni languages are typical: Compare the following sentences: Note: Xhosa ⟨tsh⟩ = Phuthi ⟨tjh⟩ = IPA [tʃʰ] ; Phuthi ⟨tsh⟩ = [tsʰ] ; Zulu ⟨sh⟩ = IPA [ʃ] , but in

162-528: The disappearance of the state at Great Zimbabwe . After that (the traditional date is 1683), it was conquered by Changamire Dombo who led an army of Rozvi rebels from the Mwenemutapa ("Monomotapa") State. Excavations seem to show that the site was not occupied after these Rozvi took over. The Rozvi made another Khami phase site, Danamombe (Dhlo-Dhlo), their new capital. In the 1830s Nguni speaking Ndebele raiders displaced them from Khami and many of

180-596: The eastern side of the Khami River. Other platforms are believed to have been cattle kraals and a retaining wall with a chequered pattern. Recent excavations (2000–2006) have revealed that the walls of the western parts of the Hill Complex were all decorated in chequer, herringbone, cord, as well as variegated stone blocks. In the early 2000s, the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe launched

198-495: The environment in which was built. The area around Khami, being riverine, is hot and had problems with malaria. The stone found at Khami (laminar granite) was different from the ones found in other areas of Zimbabwe (biotite). With a mixture of dolerite, this stone was harder to quarry and produced shapeless building stone. It can be estimated that over 60% of the stone produced at these quarries would not be of building quality. The building blocks thus needed to be shaped, but even then

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216-441: The ground, carried dhaka (clay) huts and courtyards where those of lower status lived. The remnants of cattle kraals and huts for ordinary people can be seen below the Hill Complex. The ruins include a royal enclosure or Hill Complex, which had to be on higher ground than other buildings, stone walls and hut platforms , and also a Christian cross believed to have been placed by a contemporary missionary . There are also ruins on

234-440: The label "Nguni" is used both genetically (in the linguistic sense) and typologically (quite apart from any historical significance). The Nguni languages are closely related, and in many instances different languages are mutually intelligible; in this way, Nguni languages might better be construed as a dialect continuum than as a cluster of separate languages. On more than one occasion, proposals have been put forward to create

252-446: The other sites they had established. The site of Khami reveals seven built-up areas occupied by the royal family with open areas in the valley occupied by the commoners. The complex comprises circular, sometimes terraced, artificial platforms encased by dry stone walls. The beautifully decorated 6m-high by 68m-long retaining wall of the precipice platform bears a checkerboard design along its entire length. The platforms, rising 2–7m above

270-425: The people in question, where in fact the situation may have been more complex. The linguistic use of the label (referring to a subgrouping of Bantu) is relatively stable. From an English editorial perspective, the articles "a" and "an" are both used with "Nguni", but "a Nguni" is more frequent and more correct especially if "Nguni" is pronounced as it is suggested ( /ŋˈɡuːni/ ) . Within a subset of Southern Bantu ,

288-426: The stones were not suitable for building free-standing dry stone walls. The builders thus made an innovation and produced retaining walls instead. Secondly, building platforms made the houses cooler than those in the open areas below. It also eliminated the problem of malaria for the lucky royals who stayed in the built-up areas. The walls are gravity retaining walls built without mortar. Unlike at Great Zimbabwe, some of

306-425: The walls at Khami have foundations built with huge blocks which would have been lifted by at least four people. Excavations have revealed well-planned buildings especially at the Hill Complex, which was occupied by the king. The complex was first built up by creating terraces of rough walling. These stable walls were then covered up by quality walling of dressed stone blocks. Each terrace was highly decorated with either

324-471: Was once a trade centre. During this period the first Europeans arrived. The first known European visitor was Antonio Fernandes, a Portuguese " degredado " (convict exile) serving his term in Sofala , who entered the Zimbabwean plateau in 1513. There had always been an Arab influence in the region, particularly through trade, but this conflicted with Portuguese commercial interests and religion. The fall of

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