[1] It was under King Dingiswayo that the Mthethwa rose to prominence, mostly employing diplomacy and assimilation of nearby chiefdoms to strengthen his power base.
Nursed back to health by a sister, the young man found refuge in the foothills of the Drakensberg among the Qwabe and Langeni people.
However, when studies are being conducted about the rise of the AmaZulu kingdom little is being mentioned about Chief Dingiswayo, besides being a father figure to King Shaka hence the need for such research to be done to give a full detailed record of the impact that he had.
[7] Dingiswayo's new military tactics were an adoption of western techniques of drills and formation movements under a chain of command.
[citation needed] In 1816 Shaka returned to the Zulu to claim chieftainship, while still recognising the larger Mthethwa and Dingiswayo as overlords.
[citation needed] The Mthethwa forces were defeated and scattered temporarily, with the remnants reforming under Shaka.
During his exile, he was exposed to European ideas and he put these into practice to produce a disciplined and highly organised army for the first time in the region.
After his death, Shaka extended these ideas to create a rigidly disciplined society to complement Dingiswayo's military reforms.
However, for the benefit of this study, it is used to look into Chief Dingiswayo who according to Annon (2019) it is the “Paramount Chief of the Mthethwa”, he was not only the leader of his people but he was a leader of various northern Nguni tribe and this was before the rise of King Shaka and also it was before the start of Mfecane which resulted in a large number of migrations taking place.
The man in question was born in the year 1770 (month and date are unknown) and he was given the name Godongwana which he later changed because of family politics which led to him having to flee away from his home and be in exile for quite a while.
This experience of being exiled one can argue that it is because of its stress, pressure, and anger that molded his transformation, while others can say passion and love for his nation is what urged him.
Chief Makhasana of the Mabhuda with his lessons on trade, development, and economic gain provided him with all the skills he needed to transform himself.
The rise of the AmaZulu Kingdom within a short period is one remarkable achievement that cannot be left ignored, especially for the Ngoni people.
This revolution in question was caused by many factors which included innovation, the indigenous process of state formation, crisis resolution, and value orientation.
In the value orientation, sub-topic/section cattle were the key role players as they were used to determine the status and wealth of a man (household), and they were also used as a medium of exchange.
The favourite cattle would be given a name, it would be trained to be able to identify its owner's voice and have poems made to give praise to it.
The imbalance and inequality that were faced by the cattle less commoners are what drove this theme/ practice (value orientation) to be part of the revolution (state formation).
Chief Dingiswayo’s leadership was the period that the Mthethwa kingdom rose to power, it was influenced by the economic strength it got from trading in the Delagoa Bay.
However, from the occurrence of events, it is evident that the reason behind Dingiswayo supporting Shaka was for the benefit of his nation (the Mthethwa kingdom).
Secondly, he appointed Ngomane kaNqomboli (whose role has been discussed above) to be his father and advisor and lastly, he sent one of his wife’s Gudayi and other agents to be under Shaka’s chiefdom who at a later stage became a kingdom (Nxumalo, S. 2024:15-17).
According to Nxumalo, S. (2024:18), Shaka was given a task to further expand his invasions and attack Qodi and Ngadi until he reached Matiwane of the Ngwane, as a result, this expansion caused a drift between Dingiswayo and Ndwandwe because he was also aiming for that territory.
However, Chanaiwa, M. (1980) criticises this age regiments approach that Dingiswayo had applied in his kinship, he states that chiefs were the leaders of the military and war before, therefore with this new strategy, they were being undermined and made to be seen as powerless.