Kilindi dynasty
{{short description|Nugulu/Shambaa royal family which ruled Usmabara}}
{{Royal house
| surname = Kilindi
| native_name = Mwene wa Kilindi
| image =
Shambaa kingdom map late 1800s.jpeg
| image_caption =
Shambaa kingdom map late 1800s.
| type = Royal house
| country = Shambaa Kingdom
| titles = {{plainlist|
- Simbe Mwene (Lion King) wa Usambara
- Kimweri wa Usambara
- Mflame wa Usambara
- Malkia wa Usambara
- Sultan wa Usambara}}
| founder = Mbegha
| dissolution = December 1962
| final ruler = Kimweri Mputa Magogo
| founding year = 1730 AD ({{Age|1730}} years ago)
| origin = Vugha
}}
The Kilindi dynasty Oliver, Roland. "Reflections on the sources of evidence for the pre-colonial history of East Africa." The Historian in Tropical Africa. Routledge, 2018. 305-321.(c. 1730s – 1962), (Mwene Kilindi in Shamabaa), (Ufalme wa Kilindi, in Swahili) was a pre-colonial, Shambaan royal house that has reigned over the Shambaa Kingdom of the Usambara Mountains of north-west Tanga Region for most of the 18th to 20th centuries in modern-day Lushoto District and Bumbuli District.{{cite book |last= Iliffe |first= John|date= 1979 |title= A Modern History of Tanganyika|url=|location= Cambridge |publisher= Cambridge University Press|page= 334 |isbn=9780511584114}} Zawawi, Sharifa M. "The gift of a mountain: a 19th century Swahili document." Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs. Journal 8.2 (1987): 356-377.
The dynasty was founded by king Mbegha,Håkansson, N. Thomas. "History, Politics, and Culture in the Highlands of Northeastern Tanzania." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. 2021. who settled in the Usambara Mountains and united the Shambaa people in the first half of the 18th century.{{cite book |last= Iliffe |first= John|date= 1979 |title= A Modern History of Tanganyika|url=|location= Cambridge |publisher= Cambridge University Press|page= 26 |isbn=9780511584114}} Its most prominent member was king Kimweri ye Nyumbai (died 1862). The Kilindi kings of the Shambaa were known as Simba Mwene, which means Lion King.Willis, Justin. "‘And so they called a kiva’: Histories of a war." AZANIA: Journal of the British Institute in Eastern Africa 25.1 (1990): 79-85. The last Lion King to be recognized as having authority was Kimweri Mputa Magogo (1914–2000). The Kilindi District of Tanga was named after the famous ruling dynasty.{{fact|date=August 2022}}
Prior to the establishment of the Kilindi dynasty, the most notable Moanrch in the Usambara region was King Tuli, who ruled in Vugah, located in the West Usambaras. The arrival of Mbegha,Mhando, Mashaka Mikidady. "A recent view on Identity and History of the Bondei people, 1700s-1950s." African Journal of Sociological and Psychological Studies 3.2 (2023): 79. the first ruler of the Kilindi dynasty, around AD 1740, marked a significant turning point, occurring amidst a civil or tribal conflict. Mbegha hailed from the Nguu Mountains, situated south of the Usambaras, and his kingdom encompassed the West Usambaras.Woodcock, Kerry A. "East Usambara Catchment Forest Project."Håkansson, N. Thomas. "History, Politics, and Culture in the Highlands of Northeastern Tanzania." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. 2021.
In 1790, Mbegha's son, Bughe, ascended to leadership in Vuga, ushering in a period of peaceful development. By AD 1800, Bughe’s successor, Shebughe, expanded the kingdom southward into Wazigua territory and successfully conquered the East Usambaras. This expansion was furthered by his son, Kimweri ye Nyumbani, who extended the kingdom’s influence to encompass the entire coastline below the Usambaras by AD 1835.Woodcock, Kerry A. "East Usambara Catchment Forest Project."Håkansson, N. Thomas. "History, Politics, and Culture in the Highlands of Northeastern Tanzania." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. 2021.
The kingdom reached its greatest extent under Kimweri ye Nyumbai.Willis, Justin. "‘And so they called a kiva’: Histories of a war." AZANIA: Journal of the British Institute in Eastern Africa 25.1 (1990): 79-85. After he died in 1862 a civil war broke out over the succession, fueled by competition for the new wealth that the caravan trade in the Pangani valley had brought to the region.Woodcock, Kerry A. "East Usambara Catchment Forest Project."Håkansson, N. Thomas. "History, Politics, and Culture in the Highlands of Northeastern Tanzania." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. 2021.
Under colonial rule (first German then British) the dynasty continued to have some authority, but in 1962 the then Tanganyika government removed all power from the hereditary chiefdoms.{{sfn|Feierman|1990|p=229}} Kimweri ye Nyumbai's descendant Kimweri Mputa Magogo (died 2000) was the last Usambara King.{{sfn|Feierman|1990|p=172}}
Kilindi dynasty Rulers
Based on the provided context, the succession of rulers in the Shambaa Kingdom includes the following: {{cite book |last= Feierman |first= Steven|date= 1974 |title= The Shambaa Kingdom: A History|url=|location= Madison |publisher= University of Wisconsin Press|page= 73|isbn=9780299063603}}
- Mbegha (Founding King, 18th century): established)- established the kingdom.
- Bughe (2nd King, Son of Mbegha, c. 1790-1800): Mbegha's successor, renowned for establishing authority in the Kingdom.
- Maua (Son Son of Mbegha): He is frequently left out of important traditions, and there are few records of his rule.
- Kinyashi Muanga Ike (Son of Bughe): ended up dying in a battle against the Zigula despite having expanded the kingdom and faced military difficulties.
- Mboza Mwaminu(Daughter of Bughe):)After her father's death, Mboza Mamwinu became embroiled in the succession dispute. Her position demonstrates the acceptance and potential impact of female leaders in Shambaa politics.
- Limo (3rd King, Son of Shembekeza woman): Due largely to the influence and pressure of Bughe is daughter Mboza Mamwinu, Limo's name surfaced as a possible successor to Bughe during the succession talks. In the end, the Vugha elders made the risky decision to install Limo as king, endangering both the kingdom's unity and the status quo.
- Kimweri ye Nyumbai (4th King, Son of Kinyashi Muanga Ike), who ruled from the 1830s to the 1860s before dying in 1862 He greatly increased influence and solidified power during what is regarded as the kingdom's golden age.
- Mnkande (5th King, Son if Kimweri ye Nyumbai)- Mnkande was the heir apparent to the Vugha throne, but he passed away a few years before his father, Kimweri ye Nyumbani, did. The royal lineage was affected by his passing because his son, Shekulwavu, was now the heir apparent.
- Shekulwavu (6th King, Son of Mnkande, grandson of Kimweri ye Nyumbai)- Became king during a tumultuous period marked by succession disputes and challenges to royal authority. His reign was characterized by his initial dominance over the Vugha, but after the Vugha was burned, he faced opposition from rival groups, which finally caused the royal power to wane.
- Shemboja (7th King, Son of Kimweri ye Nyumbai) - was involved in a power struggle after his father's death. is famous for having participated in the slave trade in the 1870s and 1880s, when the kingdom was experiencing more violence and instability. The internal dynastic rivalry, including Shemboja's actions, is frequently blamed by the Shambaa people for the unrest of this period.
- Mputa Magogo (8th King of the Sambaa, executed by the Germans in 1895) - Following Kimweri Maguvu's passing, Mputa assumed the throne of the Vugha. A significant incident during his reign resulted in his execution. Following Semboja's passing in March 1895, Mputa was convicted of murder for using his royal prerogative to murder one of his wives' lovers, which was seen as an act of sovereignty. German authorities tried him as a result of this act.
- Kimweri Maguvu (9th King, Son of Semboja) - became King after the execution of Mputa Magogo. Among the difficulties he faced during his reign were opposition from the sons of Mnkande and the continuous wars with Zigula and the Bondei. Despite being acknowledged as the king, he found it difficult to maintain complete authority over the numerous chiefdoms, many of which were headed by his uncles and other strongmen.
- Kimweri Magogo (10th and last king, grandson of Mputa Magogo, born in 1914- died in 2000) - his reign marked the end of the traditional monarchy in the Shambaa Kingdom amidst the backdrop of colonial influence and political changes. Despite the challenges of his reign, Kimweri Magogo is remembered as the last ruler to embody the Shambaa royal lineage before the kingdom adopted a new political structure shaped by colonial rule.
Literature
- {{cite book |last1=Feierman |first1=Steven M. |title=Peasant Intellectuals: Anthropology and History in Tanzania |date=1990 |publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press |isbn=978-0-299-12523-3 }}
- {{cite book |last1=Giblin |first1=James Leonard |title=The Politics of Environmental Control in Northeastern Tanzania, 1840-1940 |date=1992 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-3177-9 }}
- {{cite book|last=Iliffe|first=John|title=A Modern History of Tanganyika|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m0dalboHfXgC&pg=PA65|access-date=8 September 2013
|date=10 May 1979|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-29611-3|page=65}}