To the north, Soshangane eventually established himself along the Nkomati River. He gathered his followers and migrated into southern Mozambique to form the Gaza kingdom. Zwangendaba and Nxaba, leaders of other factions of the Ndwandwe, moved across the Zambezi into what is today eastern Zimbabwe, and from here to present-day eastern and western Zambia, central Malawi and southern Tanzania. Zwide, seeking greater security, moved into what is today central Swaziland, where he managed to attract more followers from weaker chiefdoms. He died in about 1824 and two years later Shaka launched a massive attack on Zwide’s son. At a battle north of the Phongolo River the Ndwandwe were heavily defeated. They splintered; some joined Soshangane, others were absorbed into the Zulu kingdom and others joined the other rising power in the region – the Ndebele.
The Ndebele, led by Mzilikazi, were from the Khumalo clan, situated between the Zulu and Ndwandwe. To avoid involvement in this growing competition between his neighbours, Mzilikazi chose to move away. The date of this migration is uncertain: by 1825 he was settled along the Vaal River and then moved north to the Apies River. Some accounts suggest he attacked the Pedi, a very powerful polity. A few years later the Ndebele were to destabilise – and then control – a huge region on the western highveld.
To the southwest, the conflict spread south and across the Drakensberg onto the southern highveld. Mpangazitha’s Hlubi crossed the Drakensberg and attacked the Tlokwa under Manthatisi, causing her and other communities to raid in the vicinity of the Vaal and Sand rivers. Both groups settled in the Caledon valley, where the Ngwane under Matiwane joined them. Tensions between these three chiefdoms simmered on until in 1825 the Hlubi were soundly defeated by the Tlokwa and were either incorporated into their ranks or fled into Xhosaland to join Matiwane’s army or to become part of the so-called Mfengu (the hungry ones) – refugees who later were called the Fingo and settled in the Butterworth district of the Eastern Cape.
From 1822 refugees from the Caledon valley – the Phuting, the Taung, the Fokeng and the Hlakwana, who had been caught up in this conflict – moved west, severely disrupting the southern Tswana. The Rolong and Tlhaping were subjected to constant raids between 1823 and 1826. The Fokeng under Sebetwane were to survive the turmoil and establish the Kololo kingdom in what is today western Zambia.
Directly south of the Zulu, beyond the Mzimkhulu River, a similar pattern emerged. A number of chiefdoms displaced by the upheavals from about 1815 chose to cross the Mzimkhulu to avoid being caught up in the turmoil. The Chunu and Thembu were the first to arrive in the early 1820s, followed by smaller groups. This brought them into the sphere of influence of the Mpondo under Faku and precipitated a degree of tension and political instability. The Chunu and Thembu could either accept Mpondo hegemony, or try to retain a degree of independence on the margin of Mpondo territory. As it turned out, the Thembu under Ngoza were attacked by Faku and fell apart, and the Chunu were attacked and destroyed by the Zulu, who wanted to maintain some security on their southern border.
