The Tsonga tribes also operated like a confederacy in supplying regiments to different groups in the northern Transvaal region during times of Great Zimbabwe establishment and engaged in trade.

The Tsonga people have an age-old custom of leading their own tribes, with a senior traditional leader at the forefront of their own tribal establishment and is seen with a status equal to that of a king.

The Tsonga people have lived according to these customs for ages and they hold the belief that "vukosi a byi peli nambu" which is a metaphor meaning "kingship does not cross territorial or family borders".

It was however Paul Berthoud and his companion Ernest Creux who actively engaged with the Tsonga people of the Spelonken region to eventually produce the first hymn books written in the Xitsonga language at around 1878.

The Tembe people of KwaZulu-Natal, for example, still praise themselves as "amaThonga" but are now a part of the Zulu language and culture after being integrated in northern KwaZulu Natal.

Other tribes include the Hlengwe people who are descended from those who called themselves Vatswa (sometimes spelled Tshwa) and also the Khosa who identified with the Djonga and Mbai sub-group.

Indeed, most of the Tsonga people of South Africa are descended from breakaway groups of the Thonga which must have happened around the 1600s with the dawn of the arrival of the Portuguese in Mozambique.

[8] In South Africa the name "Shangaan" or "Machangane" is regularly applied to the entire Tsonga population; however, this is a common misconception and others even take offense to it with regards to tribal affiliation.

In contrast, the Tsonga ethnic group comprises various tribal identities, some of which have been recognised and well established in Mozambique and South Africa even back around 1350 all the way through the 1600s to 1900s, namely the Varhonga, Vaxika, Vahlengwe, Van'wanati, Vacopi, Valoyi, and others.

Historical research shows that a substantial number of Tsonga tribes have been living together in South Africa during the 1400s to 1700s at a time where the name "Shangaan" had not yet existed.

[2] Back during the 1640s–1700s the Tsonga people of South Africa were already integrated and living together established under their own traditional leaderships (such as the kingdoms led by Gulukhulu, Xihlomulo of the Valozyi, Maxakadzi of the Van'wanati, and Ngomani of the Vaxika).

[11] Such Tsonga tribes have never been subjects of the Gaza Shangaan empire and have always retained their senior traditional leadership even during the governance of the Apartheid homeland system.

[8] The misconception that they were all united by a single leader appears to be false as most of the people who organised the early Tsonga/Tonga groupings would still be integrated within South Africa even if the Mfecane Nguni wars did not happen.

In addition to this, many of the Tsonga tribes who were still in Mozambique and later attacked by Soshangane and other Ndwandwes in the 1820s distanced themselves and fled to the Transvaal to re-establish themselves outside of the influence of the Gaza empire (they refused to be led by the Ngunis), while some remained and were either subjugated or enslaved.

[15] Another factor is the Gaza-Shangaan people's association with a history of oppression and exploitation that the inhabitants of Mozambique suffered under the rule of the Gaza Empire during the 1800s, which has been well-documented by reliable sources and is a subject of much controversy and debate.

[16][17] The Tsonga ethnic group has been united by the gradual assimilation of various nearing tribes found in abundance within Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa respectively.

Historical research indicates that the development of a common language (Xitsonga) as well as cultural integration within the Tsonga ethnic group has been occurring ever since the 1200s (over 800 years ago).

The leadership by Sunduza II resulted in the apartheid government engaging in diplomatic talks which unilaterally granted the Tsonga people recognition to form their own territorial authority.

The more westernized type of sound which includes a lot of English words, sampled vocals and heavy synthesizers is promoted as Shangaan electro in Europe and has been pioneered by the likes of Nozinja, the Tshetsha Boys, and DJ Khwaya.

Like most Bantu cultures, the Tsonga people have a strong acknowledgement of their ancestors, who are believed to have a considerable effect on the lives of their descendants.

Once their kin had slaughtered a cow for Nzunzu, they were released and emerged from the water on their knees as powerful diviners with an assortment of potent herbs for healing.

Among the Tsongas, symptoms such as persistent pains, infertility and bouts of aggression can be interpreted as signs that an alien spirit has entered a person's body.