DLAMINI I
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Dlamini I (circa 15th century), also called Matalatala, was the founder of the Nkosi Dlamini, the royal house of Swaziland.
He was a leader of the Bembo-Nguni (also spelled Embo-Nguni), a northern branch of the Nguni people, as distinct from southern branches, such as the Zulu. The Bembo-Nguni, in Dlamini’s time, as well as later, lived between Delagoa Bay in Mozambique and the Lubombo Mountains in what is now Swaziland.
Notably warlike, Dlamini led his people to conquer and absorb several other clans, until he died of smallpox. His body is reputed to have been buried at the southern end of the Lubombo mountain range.
KEITH IRVINE
