Jama kaNdaba

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Jama kaNdaba (d. 1781), the son of Ndaba kaMageba, was chief of the Zulu clan from 1763 to 1781.

[edit] Biography

He married, amongst others, Mthaniya Sibiya, who bore him Senzangakona, who succeeded him. Senzangakona was the father of three Zulu kings, including the greatest, Shaka. He also had a daughter named Mkabayi, who was sister to Senzangakhona.

Mkabayi kaJama singlehandedly courted Mthaniya for her father Jama who was aging without having a successor, she did this without her fathers knowledge and when he found out he said "Nenzengakhona" which means you have done accordingly, Mthaniyas first son was named Senzangakhona "we have done accordingly" after his sisters efforts to find her father a successor. Mkabayi was a twin and Zulu custom dictated that one of the twins be sacrificed to evade bad luck that would result in the death of one of the parents. Jama KaNdaba refused to kill one of his girls and broke a known tradition consequently his wife died without bearing him a successor. Mkabayi devoted her whole life in looking after the Zulu Kingdom due to the sacrifice her parents made for her to live.

His name is derived from the Zulu word meaning "he of the stern countenance".