History of the Nkone

Page Author: George Hulme

2023 BEEF SCHOOL

YEAR OF THE NKONE

A JOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY 

THE STORY OF THE NKONE CATTLE OF ZIMBABWE

• The story of man in Africa is also the story of Nkone cattle.

• The indigenous Sanga Nkone breed came from North Africa and is made up of European Bos taurus which came from Europe in two waves, about 6000BC and 2500BC, Bos indicus from the Indus Valley in Asia, also in two waves in about 2000BC and 700AD (the latter down the East Coast of Africa with Arab/Somali invaders). The last group are the African Bos taurus which were domesticated in the North African/ Mediterranean Region some 7000 to 10000 years ago.

• The ancestors of the Nkone cattle of today were present in North Africa and Ancient Egypt many thousands of years ago. This is clearly illustrated in paintings and drawings of ancient cattle in these areas as far back as 8000BC which show that many of them were multi-coloured (speckled) and had lyre-shaped horns. These ancient cattle were phenotypically very like present day Nkone cattle, but without the slight Sanga neck hump which probably came later from the small Somali Zebu admixture.

• The migration of people down the African continent brought with them cattle from the Ethiopian and Somali region where all African breeds originated. Sanga Nkone cattle came here in this way, firstly with the Kohekohe people 2000 years ago and later with the Bantu migrations in about 300-700AD. These migrations arrived in Southern Africa via four different routes namely: 

South Westerly to Ovamboland and Botswana. 

Southerly to Zimbabwe and to Northern and Eastern Transvaal.

South-Easterly to Mozambique, Zululand, and Swaziland.

Southerly down the East African coastline.

• Migrating Bantu people settled inland in the area of modern Zimbabwe and their cattle became the Sanga Mashona on the Highveld and the Sanga Tuli cattle in the southwestern areas. Numerous early settlements took place on the well-watered river valleys and grasslands of the Central Plateau, the major river valleys draining into the Indian Ocean and the Eastern seaboard. 

• The cattle which arrived in Zululand became known as Nguni after their owners, the Nguni people, and have been there ever since.  Sanga cattle of a specific ecotype, related to the Nguni, are called Landim in modern Mozambique, occurring mainly in the Gaza Province, southwards to the Limpopo River. Modern Landim and Nkone cattle and the modern Nguni are similar as are the Kashivi, another Sanga Nguni ecotype from the Caprivi Strip and Ovamboland in Northern Namibia.

• Frequent migrations and major local movements of people and their cattle took place throughout Southern and Central Africa up to the end of the 19th Century, mostly due to wars and drought. Migrations which resulted in the further establishment of Gaza-Nguni cattle in Zimbabwe were those of the Tsonga/Hlengwe around 1750, followed by the Gaza Nguni in 1830 into Eastern Zimbabwe, and finally the Ndebele with their Nkone cattle into Matabeleland in 1840; all originally from south of the Limpopo River on the Indian Ocean coast and Zululand.
• Disturbances in Zululand and environs; the “Mfecane” affected a large sector of the Nguni Zulu, the Ndebele tribe under their leader Mzilikazi Khumalo. Mzilikazi had an altercation with Chaka over the ownership of captured cattle. Chaka, King of the Zulus, defeated him in battle, forcing him to move to the west and into the Orange Free State with his people in 1823.  Mzilikazi and his warriors took as many of their Nguni cattle with them as they could on this journey, attacking and disrupting other tribes over a large area. After some years he moved north into the Transvaal defeating and conquering the various tribes he encountered. Wherever they journeyed or settled, the Ndebele never ceased to raid cattle from other tribes, adding to their own cattle. Cattle rustling was a long established and traditional way of life for the Nguni tribes. In 1831 mounted Griqua raiders stole a large number of Ndebele cattle and after a long chase, the Ndebele attacked and soundly defeated the Griqua, reclaiming their cattle. After King Mzilikazi won this decisive battle against the Griqua nation, the Ndebele settled in Griqualand.

• By about 1836 Afrikaner Voortrekkers began to arrive in Ndebele territory and in confrontations between the Afrikaners and Ndebele, the latter suffered heavy losses from the better armed and mounted Afrikaners, including the loss of thousands of their cattle. It was very different however, at the battle of Vegkop in 1836; the attacking Ndebele were defeated by the Voortrekkers led by Hendrik Potgieter but the Ndebele got away with over 5 000 head of the Afrikaner’s cattle and 50 000 sheep and goats. Further attacks and cattle raids in the years after 1836 by the Afrikaner Voortrekkers forced Mzilikazi to keep moving, and by early 1838 King Mzilikazi and 15 000 of his people and remaining cattle (including recaptured cattle) were forced to go northwards across the Limpopo River into modern Botswana and then north eastwards towards modern Zambia. 

• King Mzilikazi and his followers with their cattle, eventually settled near present day Bulawayo. From his new capitol Mzilikazi created the Mthwakazi Kingdom which incorporated the resident Lozi (Bakalanga) people in the area under his control.

• The Ndebele nation under King Mzilikazi and later his son, King Lobengula, consolidated and created a militarist system of regimental kraals throughout the conquered area, in typical Nguni fashion. Central to the regimental kraal system were the Ndebele cattle holdings under the protection and management of Queens (some of the Kings wives and sisters) and regimental commanders responsible to the King. Living huts were placed in a large defensive circle surrounding the cattle kraal protected by a strong thorn tree fence. Each regimental kraal in favoured grazing areas cared for a number of what were known as the King’s Cattle. 

• The Ndebele continued to carry out raids in a large area surrounding the Mthwakazi Kingdom, raiding extensively in areas inhabited by the Mashona and Karanga people, one of the main purposes being to capture cattle. They even raided as far across the Zambezi River where the Tonga and Lozi people suffered greatly from repeated Ndebele cattle raiding expeditions as did the Mashona and Karanga closer to the Ndebele kingdom. Many Mashona and Karanga chiefs avoided confrontation by paying tributes in the form of cattle to the Ndebele.

• King Mzilikazi created a personal herd. “The King’s Cattle” were of the Nkone (Inkone) colour and pattern; having a broken white topline, with white speckled head, tail and switch; broken white on belly and legs and dark, unbroken side panels of red or black. These cattle made up the Royal Herd and commoners were banned from owning them. Ndebele Regiments bred and kept large herds of different coloured and patterned cattle which were unique to the regiment and belonged to the King or the “Nation” and were their Regimental Colours. Regimental shields and other adornments were made from these specific-coloured hides.

• Other than the Inkone colour pattern of King Mzilikazi’s Royal cattle, the following colours were favoured by some of the Ndebele Regiments – 

Iwaba – Insukamini Regiment – White and Black

Ilunga – Umcijo Regiment – Black and White

Inco – Imbizo Regiment – Red and White

Intusi – Ihlati Regiment – Red, White flanks and belly

Hwanqa – Amazibalonkwe Regiment – Red and White blotches

Inhlekwane – Isiziba Regiment – White with numerous Black spots

• In 1890 after many visits and negotiations leading to petitions, treaties and concessions between King Lobengula and Cecil John Rhodes and his agents, a pioneer column of European colonists marched across the Limpopo and into what became Rhodesia and later, Zimbabwe. They carefully skirted the Ndebele Kingdom, not wanting a confrontation at that stage with the belligerent Ndebele and made their way northwards, just south of the central watershed, until they reached what became their capitol, which they then named Salisbury and which is now Harare.

• Disturbances escalated into war in 1893 and the British South Africa Company forces invaded what was then known by them as Matabeleland. The invasion was opposed and fierce battles took place between the two forces while the better armed and equipped Europeans, although outnumbered, relentlessly pushed on to Bulawayo, the Ndebele capitol, despite severe opposition from the Ndebele army. King Lobengula and many of his tribesmen left Bulawayo, burning the town, before the colonists reached there and he made his way to the north across the Shangani River. 

• Many of the cattle confiscated and otherwise acquired by the British South Africa Company after they invaded Matabeleland in 1893 and after Lobengula’s death in 1894, will have been the Nkone type of Matabele cattle greatly treasured by the Ndebele while some Nkone cattle probably still remained in possession of the Ndebele tribesmen, particularly in the more remote areas around Lupane.

• The Rinderpest epidemic of 1896 virtually wiped out all cattle and many wildlife species in many parts south of the Zambezi River. The Rinderpest was followed by East Coast Fever in cattle imported from Australia, Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania a few years later in 1901-1903, to restock the region after the Rinderpest, also resulting in a massive die-off of cattle leaving less than about 50 000 head in the whole country. There could have been only very few Nkone cattle left in Matabeleland and it is a wonder and great credit to the breed and the Ndebele people that sufficient survived as a breeding nucleus to repopulate a large area of Matabeleland with their unique phenotype. Is it possible that the Nkone was, to some extent, resistant to both plagues? 

• Unfortunately, very few European farmers of those times appreciated the tremendous value of the indigenous Nkone, or for that matter, any of the indigenous Sanga breeds which had become adapted to harsh conditions and built-up disease resistance over hundreds of years. For many years, the majority of farmers strove to “improve” the indigenous cattle by introducing European breeds to “grade them up”. This was a complete disaster, the exotic introductions and their progeny could not handle the harsh conditions or disease challenges and the majority died out, leaving a negative legacy of now diluted but originally very valuable pure indigenous genetics.

• By 1933 it became apparent to Government Animal Husbandry Officers that none of the imported cattle breeds introduced to “improve” local indigenous cattle had become adapted to the environment and were totally unsuitable. Some progressive thinking resulted in cattle breeding experiments being initiated at Matopos Research Station in 1938 to find the most suitable type of cattle and breeding systems for local conditions. In the 1940’s Government sponsored the establishment of Mashona, Tuli and Nkone herds and by 1950 eight breeding units were operating with a total of 1732 indigenous Sanga cattle.

• In 1946 a small herd of Nkone was established at Tsholotsho Breeding Station, north-west of Bulawayo, under the direction and management of E. Swan, Provincial Agriculturist and George Parker, Land Development Officer. The herd was then managed by Adam Cumming from 1947. This herd was disbanded in 1949 due to an outbreak of contagious abortion. A few non-reactors were retained and these formed the nucleus of a dual-purpose project with initial emphasis on milk production.

• In 1954 the Nkone herd at Tsholotsho was reestablished by John Brownlee. Subsequent work on beef production in the Nkone breed was carried out at an expanded Tsholotsho Experiment Station. The original 800-hectare station was increased by another 5 200 hectares in 1963, eventually running a herd of 800 Nkone cattle. Initial efforts at acquiring phenotypical Nkone for stocking the new area were thwarted by local Ndebele breeders refusing to part with their better, highly prized Nkone breeding stock of which they were immensely proud. This resulted in a very mixed bunch of breeding females being initially acquired.  The Tsholotsho Nkone herd became a closed herd from 1963. Strict selection and management practices under the continued direction of John Brownlee were implemented and comprehensive records kept with the emphasis always on desirable traits such as fertility, milk production and ease of calving, growth, mature size, and adaptation to local conditions.

• Commercial agriculture and the cattle industry flourished in this country during the 1960’s to the 1990’s and the Nkone breed played its part in the exceptional agricultural growth and productivity. In the mid 1960’s to the 1970’s, there were over 25 registered breeders of Nkone and 800 Nkone cattle registered in the Zimbabwe Herd Book.

• The Tsholotsho Nkone herd was moved to Matopos Research Station in 1977 due to the Civil War, where descendants of John Brownlee’s foundation herd still exist, one of only two registered herds left in Zimbabwe in 2019. There were a considerable number of ranchers in Matabeleland and the Midlands who bred pure and crossbred Nkone cattle during the period from the early sixties until 2001 when Land Reform destroyed commercial agriculture as it was then. It has been estimated by Maule and Willoughby that there were 15 000 to 20 000 Nkone cattle in Zimbabwe during the 1970’s.

• The Nguni Cattle Society of Zimbabwe, despite every effort to keep it going, had become defunct and, until very recently, put in mothballs. We should take this opportunity to thank all breeders and the Nguni Society for bravely and resolutely weathering the many problems that they faced in the past and despite that, keeping their herds intact and the Society functioning until it became humanly impossible to do so any longer. I salute the Nguni/Nkone breeders of past years and their first-rate efforts in saving the Nkone breed.

• In 2019 the Zimbabwe Herd Book had two registered Nkone breeders left, one a Commercial Breeder and the other a Government Research Institute. The Nguni Cattle Breeders Society of Zimbabwe was resurrected and reformed as the Nkone Cattle Breeders Society of Zimbabwe which is actively recruiting new breeders and members and promoting the breed throughout Zimbabwe.

• The present position of The Nkone Cattle Breeders Society of Zimbabwe (March 2020) is as follows:

      Potential Society members total 15.

      There is an elected interim committee of 5.

There are now seven registered breeders, five Commercial, one Government and one Community Project. 

They have a total of about 609 registered Nkone breeding cows between them, still a very precarious situation, making the registered Nkone cattle of Zimbabwe very vulnerable to total extinction.

• The numbers of Nkone type cattle in the Communal and Small-Scale Sectors are unknown but there are possibly a reasonable number of good Nkone in more remote situations. (In the 1970’s it was estimated that there were 15 000-20 000 Nkone cattle in Zimbabwe and I should think that with the general decline in the National Herd over the last two decades, the Nkone numbers too, have declined). The Communal and Small Scale Nkone cattle, including the Savé Valley Gaza-Nguni, being fully adapted to production under harsh conditions, are an extremely valuable resource as a large Gaza/Nkone/Nguni Genepool for upgrading. Selecting good female breeding stock from these areas and then upgrading them by using registered purebred bulls is a very viable option for new breeders, large scale, small scale and communal alike.