Mandlangampisi
Meanwhile back in Swazi (Ngwane) territory near the present day Dirkiesdorp the descendants of Ludonga had managed to hold their own during the Mfecane. The local chief by the mid 19th Century was a man named Shabalala, also known as Mandla-angangawempisi (“he who is as strong as the hyenas” and shortened to Mandlangampisi), the great grandson of Ludonga. His descendants still live in Dirkiesdorp area below the heights of the mountain known as KwaMandlangampisi.
Among Mandlangampisi’s many claims to fame was that he twice defeated the Zulu might in battle. The first “battle” took place in the cave on Mhlongamvula. When Mandlangampisi and his people saw a Zulu impi approaching they retreated to the cave. Apparently the Zulus were merely on an exploratory trip to the area and had no intentions of fighting. Some of them entered the cave where Mandlangampisi and his group had taken refuge. The hapless Zulus could only enter the cave in single file and were killed off one by one in the darkness without the knowledge of those at the back.
Not all the warriors went to explore the cave and eventually they tired of waiting for their comrades and returned to Mpande without them. It is not clear why they did not search out their comrades, but it is worth noting that Mhlongamvula features strongly in both Zulu and Swazi mythology. Until today stories persist that there are caves on the mountain inhabited by spirits and that it is not wise to risk incurring the wrath of these beings. Possibly this incident gave rise to the myth.
After a few years had passed Mpande, the Zulu king at the time, sent a large contingent of warriors to search for those that had not returned and so the second “battle” between the Zulus and the Swazis under Mandlangampisi took place in the mid 1850s. This new force camped out near the place where the missing warriors had last been seen and engaged in a traditional ceremony of some sort (perhaps to appease the spirits of the mountain that had already killed their comrades). They hoped that the smell of cooking meat and the sound of the ceremony would entice any surviving comrades to come and investigate.
As the ceremony progressed the Zulus became more and more relaxed and left the weapons unguarded. The Swazis attacked and are said to have used the partying Zulus own weapons to kill them. It is interesting that both the Dirkiesdorp area and the river running through it are called Mabola – rotten – in isiZulu. Perhaps they were so named because of the rotting corpses of those slain in this battle.