User:Hilma200977814/Ondonga Royal family

The Ondonga royal family contains the first seven kings of Ondonga.

The Ovambo people believe that they came from far, from the central part of the African continent. A famous story is saying that the Ovambo people and the Hereros are related as they are from two sisters. Vambos were born by a woman and her name is Nangombe yaMangundu while her sister Kadhu kaMangundu is the mother of the Hereros. They had a very long journey from the central part of Africa till they reached Ovamboland around 1550. .

It is not known yet whether these people has been called “vambos” before they arrived in Ovamboland but this place “Ovambo” did not have this name “Ovambo’ before they arrived. Some stories are saying when Ovambo people arrived in the place, it was occupied by the san people and when they saw the Ovambo people with a lot of cattle, they started calling them “aayamba we ya” meaning rich people has come. The truth is that, the San People don’t have a word “aayamba” (rich people) but they heard it from the Ovambo people telling them “aayamba tweya” (the riches came). After some times, the word “aayamba we ya” turned into AAWAMBO. The Vambo people arrived in Ovambo, near a river in Oshamba and said “ Ndongo oompaka” which means til l here the place were named  Ondongo. As they lived in Ondongo, some of the Ovambo people moved to some other parts of Ovamboland and got different names eg. Kwanyamas, Kwambis,Ngandjeras,Kwaluudhis,Mbandjas. Some stayed in Ondongo,and later the name changed to Ondonga.

1.King Nembulungo lyaNgwedha
This man is said to be the first King of Ondonga around the year 1650-1690. He died in his early 70s and no one can really recall the way he ruled and where was his palace. In his times, Mbwenge people broke war into his land and he was defeated. As they defeated king Nembulungo, they elected their own king to rule Ondonga, And king Nembulungo’s people fled to the desert, stayed there making some power. .

2.King Shindongo shaNamutenya
He is the Mbwenge king who ruled Ondonga after the battle between king Nembulungo’s people and Mwenges.It is said that king Shindongo was still young by the time he started ruling Ondonga. He was a very tall man, with a very loud voice. His palace was at a place known as Ombala yaMumbwenge near Oshigambo in Oshikoto region. One day king Shindongo and his boys had a very big battle with the “aakwanekamba” boys who were so many and defeated king Shindongo and his boys. Stories are saying King Shindongo were beaten so badly that he died the next day.

3.King Nangombe yaMvula
He was the leader of the kwanekamba boys who had a fight with king Shindongo’s people, He then ruled Ondonga after the incidence. King Nangombe was born in 1675 and he started ruling in the year 1700. He died in his 70s.It is said that he was a very bad king and but he made the “aakwanekamba” power come to its roots again therefore he was respected by all the kings who came into power after him. He ruled around 1700-1750 and he had his siblings : Shaangulula Mvula, and Lwiinga Mvula.His palace was in Oshamba. .

4.King Nembungu lyaAmatundu
He was a nephew to king Nangombe Mvula as his mother was a sister to king Nangombe. He was born in 1720 and ruled from 1750-17800. He recalled all the ancestor’s things and he had a room with old things in his palace. People looked at him as the ritual’s owner. He valued the San people so much but on the other hand, he used to be scared of these people. During his time, people had names from the bible eg. Noah and Isak. He Had siblings but the only sibling known till today is Nambahu yaAmatundu, the mother of king Nangolo dhaAmutenya.

NAMBAHU YAAMATUNDU-although she never ruled Ondonga,she is the mother of Ondonga kings. Nambahu was a full sister to king Nembungu lyaAmatundu .Her first marriage was with Amutenya gwaSheya and their children were : Nangolo dhaAmutenya,Ndengu amutenya, Nashikoto Amutenya, Namupala Amutenya and Nangombe Amutenya. Nashikoto and Namupala were girls and Nashikoto got married to Kalulu and they were blessed with two children Shikongo shaKalulu and Nakanyala Kalulu. Around 1845, Nashikoto got married again to Nankwaya, had children Kambonde kaNankwaya, Iifo yaNankwaya and Kambala kaNankwaya. Later, Nambahu Amatundu got married to a man by the name Amukwiita and had the following children: Shipanga shaAmukwiita,Kwedhi Amukiita and Nuutundu Amukwiita.Kwedhi and Nuutundu were both girls but nobody knows whether they had kids or not. Well, lets go back to the kings who ruled Ondonga and in discussing about them, I’ll somehow mention their mothers and other grandparents.

5.King Nangolo dhaAmutenya
He is the king who got to be known by all the Ondonga people. He was born around 1780 and his mother is Nambahu Amatundu. He was the first born. King Nangolo had many first ladies, recalled ones are: Shaale, Mukundi,Iipinge,Ndengu and Matsi.His palace was in Ondonga- This village is in Olukonda constituency, Oshikoto region. In the year 1851, an English man Fransis Galton and a Swedish Charles John Anderson came to visit king Nangolo. He wanted a permission from the king to go to Kunene but King Nangolo did not allow them to do so therefore they went back to the south. These are the people who let the outside world to know about Ovamboland. During that time, the Herero people and missionaries from German were not friends. Galton and Anderson told the missionaries about Ovambo people and the missionaries liked it so much therefore they started with the mission in the Ovambo community. Missioners were two, Hugo Hahn and Johannes Rath. They decided to travel to Ovamboland  for them to start with the mission. On their way, they met trader Fredrick Joseph Green and George Bonfield and travelled together. This happened in July 1857. When they arrived in king Nangolo’s palace, they were not welcomed therefore they went back. On their way back to the south king Nangolo instructed his boys to follow them and take their possessions. Rath and others almost died that day but luckily they had guns. king Nangolo’s son was leading the group and unfortunately he was shot to death. Some of the boys quickly went to tell the king about what happened King Nangolo died suddenly after hearing that his son died. He died on the 30th of July 1857. .

NAMUPALA GWAAMUTENYA- She never ruled Ondonga but we look at her as the mother of Ondonga kings as well. She was a sister to King Nangolo dhaAmutenya and Nashikoto Amutenya. She got married to a man known as Nangombe and they had a daughter Namupala gwaNangombe.

6.King Shipanga shaAmukwiita
He was king Nangolo Amutenya’s brother only that their fathers are different.They are all Nambahu Amatundu’s sons. He started ruling after king Nangolo’s death on the 30th of July 1857. That time Shikongo shaKalulu was a big man and has the rights to rule the country as well because he is a son to Nashikoto Amutenya, king Nangolo’s sister but king Shipanga became a king since he was the elder one. King Shipanga was afraid of his nephews ,therefore he chased Shikongo shaKalulu out of Ondonga who went to live in Ombandja.He later sent people to get Shikongo from Ombandja. When Shikongo arrived in Ondonga, he did not stay but continued to the south. Jonker Afrikaner who was leading the Namas by the time,interfered and sent “ongolo” to Ondonga in October 1857 in the leadership of his son  Jan Jonker Afrikaner. King Shipanga moved to Uukwanyama as he saw Jonker Afrikaner’s people. In 1858, king Shipanga came back for his country with a group of men, instructed them to chase Shikongo out of Ondonga but they refused and took him (king Shipanga) near a plce in Ondonga called Oshitambi. A battle arised between King Shipanga’s men and those of Shikongo. King Shipanga got shot and died. He was a very bad king and nobody favored the way he ruled. People celebrated when they heard that he died. He had many first ladies: Kanime, Namene kandaadhi,Kapambe.

7.King Shikongo Shakalulu
He was born in 1814, a nephew to King Nangolo Amutenya’s and Shipanga Amukwiita. He ruled Ondonga after King Shipanga’s death till 1874. King Shikongo knew the following languages: Otjiherero and Nama.In 1861, He agreed the traders to settle in Ondonga and also allowed Fredrick Green and others to make Ondonga their Trading center.It was during King Shikongo’s time, the first white man was born in Ondonga or let me say Ovamboland because on the 14th November 1865, Madam Green gave birth to a baby girl who was named Maria.Madam Green lived in king Shikongo’s palace while the husband stayed in Kunene for some times. He is the king who allowed the missionaries to settle in Ondonga and spread the Gospel in the whole Ovamboland. In his times, liquor from Portugal was dominating and this is the main cause of king Shikongo’s illness which led to his death on the 7th of November 1874 but his first lady and her mother were killed as they were being suspected to have bewitched the king. .