Skip to content
Wozekhaya

Mutupo · Tshivenda

Netshiendeulu

Also spelled Netshiendeulu of Tshiendeulu.

  • PeopleVhavenda
  • Grouping Vhatavhatsindi (STAYT-1931) / Singo custodian line descended from Rambwapenga
  • Surnames recorded Netshiendeulu
  • Places recorded Tshiendeulu, Lwandali, Nzhelele

Written down by families and by the people who recorded them.

About This Record

What Was Written Down

Part of this account was passed down by word of mouth.

The chiefly line that holds Tshiendeulu, the mountain where Dimbanyika is said to have been entombed in a cave and which became the name for royal graveyards. Stayt records Netshiendeulu as the chief of the Vhatavhatsinde when the MaKhwinde arrived, and a standing taboo that no MaKhwinde chief may look on the face of a Netshiendeulu, so that Mphephu spoke to him through an intervening wall. Luonde tells the same avoidance custom but derives the line from a son of Rambwapenga left to guard the grave. Wikipedia records archaeologist Hanisch's view that Dzata Tshiendeulu dates to the 15th-16th centuries and was occupied by earlier Shona settlers, the Netshiendeulu, rather than by the Singo, and a Netshiendeulu tradition that their chief was Dambanyika's uncle. Recorded from the sources named on this entry; the wording here is Sibaya's own.

Families Tell This Differently

Families who carry this name tell parts of it differently. Each way it has been told is below.

Where This Comes From

Written down by
  • Luonde.co.za - Brief History; Ngomalungundu (community heritage site), accessed 2026-09-05, luonde.co.za — https://luonde.co.za/brief-history/ and https://luonde.co.za/brief-history/ngomalungundu
  • Hugh A. Stayt, The Bavenda, 1931 — https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/59437
  • Wikipedia contributors, Venda Kingdom (Wikipedia article), accessed 2026-09-05, Wikimedia Foundation — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venda_Kingdom

Recorded Alongside

  • Dzivhani Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Kwinḓa Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Lambani Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Luvhimbi Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Makuya Also recorded among the Vhavenda.
  • Manenzhe Also recorded among the Vhavenda.

Are You Netshiendeulu?

Put your name on the launch list.

Tell Me When It Opens

We write to you about Wozekhaya, and nothing else.

If Your Family Holds More Of This

A family saying its own zwirendo knows them better than any directory does. If yours has more than what is on this page, it belongs here.

Add What Your Family Holds Get Wozekhaya All clan names