HISTORY AND CUSTOMS OF THK ,M A K AKA N( lA. 3S5 



to-day Mitiiii means " man." and tapa is " to raid," and as one of 

 the old records says, " a praise-name of the Chief Monomotapa is 

 the " Grand Rohher.'" 



Mamho originally had his headquarters at a walled town 

 called Zimhahwe. which was situated not far from the Zam- 

 besi. He was driven thence b}- a northern tribe called the 

 Wadzimba. His people were scattered, and he. accompanied 

 by only a few followers, was chased south. Arriving in what is 

 now the Hartle\- district, and being hard-pressed by the pursuing 

 Wadzimba. he sought the assistance of a section of the W'aze- 

 zuru. He was hidden by them in one of their caves, and so 

 his life was saved. In gratitude for the manner in which the 

 Wazezuru had treated him, he bestowed on them the right to call 

 themselves " Warozwi ; " this dignity they retain to this day. 



After leaving these people Mambo continued south to his 

 most southerly Zimbabwe, the place now- known as '* Mambo's 

 Mountain," in Matabeleland. This town was generally known 

 by the name of Alanyanga, or the FMace of Tusks; it took this 

 name from the vast store of elephant tusks there, and also be- 

 cause Mambo's house was built largely of tusks. 



In passing, it might be mentioned that the present-day natives 

 of Rhodesia, when speaking of Zimbabwe, refer to Alambo's 

 Mountain, not to the Great Ziml)abwe near Victoria. It is a 

 popular misconception amongst Europeans that there is only one 

 Zimbabwe in Rhodesia; stone or brick buildings are called Zim- 

 babwe by the present-day natives, especially if of any size, such as 

 gaols. 



It would appear that Mambo lived at his southern Zimbabwe 

 for several hundred years — in fact, until the arrival of the Mata- 

 bele. On their arrival, the Warozwi power was completely 

 smashed, and of their former state and oower nothing now 

 remains but names and traditions. In some ci'istricts of Mashona- 

 land it is still the custom at the crowning of a Chief to call in a 

 Mrozwi headman to perform the ceremony of anointing-^ 

 apparently this is a survival of the rights the Warozwi once held 

 as overlords of the whole country. 



Nowadays the Warozwi are merged in the Wakaranga : they 

 speak the same language, and their customs and habits are similar. 



Formerly the Warozwi had their own language ; this has 

 almost completely disappeared. A few of the oldest men still 

 possess a smattering of the language, but their knowledge is 

 usually confined to a few words. Each Chief in turn took the 

 title of Mambo. 



Only a man without physical imperfections, and belonging 

 to the Royal Family, could become Chief. The absence of a finger, 

 eye, or even a tooth, was sufficient to bar his claim to the chieftain- 

 ship. A candidate was obliged to pass certain physical tests to 

 prove his fitness for the position of Chief, such as standing on 

 one leg from sunrise to sunset. 



A Mambo rarely reigned for any length of time. He merely 

 occupied the position at the will of his headmen. Were he to 



