Kingdom of Mutapa

Monomotapa redirects here. For a genus of jumping

spiders, see Monomotapa (spider). For Zimbabwean
football team, see Monomotapa United F.C.
The Kingdom of Mutapa - sometimes referred to as
the Mutapa Empire, Mwenemutara, (Shona: Mwene
we Mutapa or more commonly and modern Munhumutapa"; Portuguese: Monomotapa) - was a Shona kingdom which stretched from the Zambezi through the
Limpopo rivers to the Indian Ocean in southern Africa, in
what are the modern states of Zimbabwe, South Africa,
Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and parts of Namibia
and Botswana; stretching well into modern Zambia. Its
founders are descendants of the builders who constructed
Great Zimbabwe.

Etymology

Towers of Great Zimbabwe.

prince named Nyatsimba Mutota from the Kingdom of

Zimbabwe sent to nd new sources of salt in the north.[4]
Thats the rst legend Prince Mutota found his salt among
the Tavara, a Shona subdivision, who were prominent elephant hunters. The second says that there was hunger
A sixteenth-century Portuguese map of Monomotapa lying in the at the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. Mutota then escaped the
interior of southern Africa.
hunger then found land. They were conquered,[5] a capital was established 350 km north of Great Zimbabwe at
The Portuguese term Monomotapa is a direct transla- Zvongombe by the Zambezi.[6]
tion of the African royal title Mwenemutapa meaning
prince of the realm.[2] It is derived from a combination
of two words Mwene meaning Prince, and Mutapa mean2.1 Expansion
ing Realm. Over time the monarchs royal title came to
be applied to the kingdom as a whole, and was used to deMutotas successor, Mwenemutapa Matope, extended
note the kingdoms territory on maps from the period.[3]
this new kingdom into an empire encompassing most
of the lands between Tavara and the Indian Ocean.[5]
This empire had achieved uniting a number of dier2 History
ent peoples in Southern Africa by building strong, welltrained armies and encouraging states to join voluntarThe origins of the ruling dynasty at Mutapa go back to ily, oering membership in the Great council of the
some time in the rst half of the 15th century.[4] Ac- Empire to any who joined without resistance.[7] The
cording to oral tradition, the rst Mwene was a warrior Mwenemutapa became very wealthy by exploiting cop1

2 HISTORY

per from Chidzurgwe and ivory from the middle Zambezi. This expansion weakened the Torwa kingdom, the
southern Shona state from which Mutota and his dynasty
originated.[5] Matopes armies overran the kingdom of
the Manyika as well as the coastal kingdoms of Kiteve
and Madanda.[5] By the time the Portuguese arrived on
the coast of Mozambique, the Mutapa Kingdom was the
premier Shona state in the region.[5] He raised a strong
army which conquered the Dande area that is Tonga and
Tavara. The empire had reached its full extent by the year
1480 a mere 50 years following its creation.[7]

native of southern Africa; however it is unlikely that these

arms were ever actually used by the Mwenemutapa.[11]
2.3.1 The Accidental Crusade

The Emperor Mutope had left the empire with a wellorganised religion with a powerful priesthood, something
uncommon amongst African Kingdoms outside of Egypt,
Kush and Abyssinia.The religion of the Mutapa kingdom
revolved around ritual consultation of spirits and of royal
ancestors. Shrines were maintained within the capital by
spirit mediums known as "mhondoro". The mhondoro
also served as oral historians recording the names and
deeds of past kings.[8] the Mutapa people did not believe
in the devine Kingship but believed in the High God the
Supreme Being Mwari

In 1561, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary managed to make

his way into the Mwenemutapas court and convert him
to Christianity.[3] This did not go well with the Muslim
merchants in the capital, and they persuaded the king to
kill the Jesuit only a few days after the formers baptism.
This was all the excuse the Portuguese needed to penetrate the interior and take control of the gold mines and
ivory routes. After a lengthy preparation, an expedition
of 1,000 men under Francisco Barreto was launched in
1568. They managed to get as far as the upper Zambezi, but local disease decimated the force. The Portuguese returned to their base in 1572 and took their
frustrations out on the Swahili traders, who they massacred. They replaced them with Portuguese and their
half-African progeny who became prazeiros (estate holders) of the lower Zambezi. Mutapa maintained a position of strength exacting a subsidy from each captain of
Portuguese Mozambique that took the oce. The mwenemutapa also levied a duty of 50 percent on all trade
goods imported.[12]

2.3

2.4 Decline and Collapse

2.2

Religion

Portuguese Contact

The Portuguese dominated much of southeast Africas

coast, laying waste to Sofala and Kilwa, by 1515.[9] Their
main goal was to dominate the trade with India; however,
they unwittingly became mere carriers for luxury goods
between Mutapas sub-kingdoms and India. As the Portuguese settled along the coast, they made their way into
the hinterland as sertanejos (backwoodsmen). These sertanejos lived alongside Swahili traders and even took up
service among Shona kings as interpreters and political
advisors. One such sertanejo, Antnio Fernandes, managed to travel through almost all the Shona kingdoms,
including Mutapas metropolitan district, between 1512
and 1516.[10]

Mutapa proved invulnerable to attack and even economic

manipulation due to the mwenemutapas strong control
over gold production.[12] What posed the greatest threat
was inghting among dierent factions which led to opposing sides calling on the Portuguese for military aid.
However, the Portuguese proved to be happy with the
downfall of the Mutapan state.
2.4.1 Portuguese Control
In 1629 the mwenemutapa attempted to throw out the
Portuguese. He failed and was overthrown, leading to the
Portuguese installation of Mavura Mhande Felipe on the
throne.[13] Mutapa signed treaties making it a Portuguese
vassal and ceding gold mines, but none of these concessions were ever put into eect.[12] Mutapa remained nominally independent, though practically a client state. All
the while, Portugal increased control over much of southeast Africa with the beginnings of a colonial system.

The Portuguese nally entered into direct relations with

the Mwenemutapa in the 1560s.[4] They recorded a
wealth of information about the Mutapa kingdom as
well as its predecessor, Great Zimbabwe. According to
Swahili traders whose accounts were recorded by the Portuguese historian Joo de Barros, Great Zimbabwe was an
ancient capital city built of stones of marvellous size without the use of mortar. And while the site was not within
2.4.2 Loss of Prestige
Mutapas borders, the Mwenemutapa kept noblemen and
some of his wives there.[5]
Another problem for Mutapa was that its tributaries such
In 1569, King Sebastian of Portugal made a grant of arms as Kiteve, Madanda and Manyika ceased paying tribute.
to the Mwenemutapa. These were blazoned: Gules be- At the same time, a new kingdom under a Rozvi dytween two arrows Argent an African hoe barwise bladed nasty near Barwe was on the rise. All of this was hasOr handled Argent The shield surmounted by a Crown tened by Portugal retaining a presence on the coast and
Oriental. This was probably the rst grant of arms to a in the capital.[12] At least one part of the 1629 treaty

2.5

Collapse

that was acted on was the provision allowing Portuguese

settlement within Mutapa. It also allowed the praezeros to establish fortied settlements across the kingdom.
In 1663, the praezeros were able to depose mwenemutapa Siti Kazurukamusapa and put their own nominee,
Kamharapasu Mukombwe on the throne.[14] >

3
2.4.5 Independence and Move from Zimbabwe

The Rozwi quickly lost interest in Mutapa, as they sought

to consolidate their position in the south. Mutapa regained its independence around 1720. By this time,
the kingdom of Mutapa had lost nearly all of the Zimbabwe plateau to the Rozwi Empire. In 1723, Nyamhandi
moved his capital into the valley near the Portuguese trad2.4.3 Butwa Invasion
ing settlement of Tete, under Mwmenemutapa Nyatsusu.
Upon his death in 1740, the young Dehwe Mapunzagutu
By the 17th century, a dynasty of Rozvi pastoralists un- took power. He sought Portuguese support and invited
der the leadership of a changamire (king/general) be- them back to Mutapa along with their garrison of armed
gan transforming the Butwa kingdom into new regional men, but Mutapa remained independent.
power. The Rozvi not only originated from the Great
Zimbabwe area, but still continued to build their towns
in stone. They were also importing goods from the Por- 2.5 Collapse
tuguese without any regard for the mwenemutapa.[12]
The mwenemutapa died in 1759, sparking yet another
By the late 17th century, Changamire Dombo was accivil war for the throne. This one was more destructive
tively challenging Mutapa. In 1684 his forces encounthan its predecessors and Mutapa never recovered. The
tered and decisively defeated those of Mwenemutapa
winners ended up governing an even more reduced land
Kamharapasu Mukombwe just south of Mutapas metro
from Chidima. They used the title Mambo a Chidima and
district at the Battle of Mahungwe. When Mukombwe
ruled independently of Portugal until 1917 when Mambo
died in 1692, a succession crisis erupted. The Portuguese
Chioko, the last king of the dynasty, was killed in battle
backed one successor and Dombo another. In support of
against the Portuguese.
his candidate, Changamire Dombo razed the Portuguese
fair-town of Dembarare next to the Mutapa capital and
slaughtered the Portuguese traders and their entire following. From 1692 until 1694, Mwenemutapa Nyakambira 3 Mutapa as Ophir
rules Mutapa independently. Nyakambira was later killed
in battle with the Portuguese who then placed Nyamaende The empire had another indirect side eect on the history of southern Africa. Gold from the empire inspired
Mhande on the throne as their puppet.
in Europeans a belief that Mwenemutapa held the legIn 1695, Changamire Dombo overran the gold-producing
endary mines of King Solomon, referred to in the Bible
kingdom of Manyika and took his army east and deas Ophir.[16]
stroyed the Portuguese fair-town of Masikwesi. This allowed him complete control of all gold-producing terri- The belief that the mines were inside the Mwenemutapa
tory from Butwa to Manyika, supplanting Mutapa as the kingdom in southern Africa was one of the factors that led
to the Portuguese exploration of the hinterland of Sofala
premier Shona kingdom in the region.[15]
in the 16th century, and this contributed to early development of Mozambique, as the legend was widely used
2.4.4 Shifting Rulers
among the less educated populace to recruit colonists.
Some documents suggest that most of the early colonists
It appears neither the Rozwi nor the Portuguese could dreamed of nding the legendary city of gold in southmaintain control of the Mutapa state for very long, and ern Africa, a belief mirroring the early South American
it moved back and forth between the two throughout the colonial search for El Dorado and quite possibly inspired
17th century. Far from a victim of conquest, the Mu- by it. Early trade in gold came to an end as the mines ran
tapa rulers actually invited in foreign powers to bolster out, and the deterioration of the Mutapa state eliminated
their rule. This included vassalage to Portuguese East the nancial and political support for further developing
Africa from 1629 to 1663 and vassalage to the Rozwi Em- sources of gold.
pire from 1663 until the Portuguese return in 1694. Portuguese control of Mutapa was maintained or at least represented by an armed garrison at the capital. In 1712, yet 4 See also
another coveter of the throne invited the Rozwi back to
put him on the throne and kick out the Portuguese. This
List of rulers of Mutapa
they did, and Mutapa again came under the control of
Great Zimbabwe
the Rozwi Empire. The new mwenemutapa Samatambira
Nyamhandu I become their vassal, while the outgoing
History of Zimbabwe
king was forced to retreat to Chidama in what is now
Mozambique.
Nehanda Nyakasikana

References

[1] Bairoch, page 59

[2] Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 395. ISBN 089950-390-X.
[3] Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Monomotapa".
Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton
Company.
[4] Oliver, page 203
[5] Oliver, page 204
[6] Owomoyela, page 14
[7] Williams, Chancellor (1987). The Destruction of Black
Civilisation. Chicago: Third World Press. p. 280. ISBN
9780883780305.
[8] Oliver, page 205
[9] Oliver, page 206
[10] Oliver, page 207
[11] Slater, Stephen (1999). Africa. The Complete Book of
Heraldry. London: Anness Publishing. p. 228.
[12] Oliver, page 208
[13] Stewart, page 190
[14] Hall, page 133
[15] Oliver, page 209
[16] Elkiss, T.H. (1981). The Quest for an African Eldorado:
Sofala, Southern Zambezia, and the Portuguese, 1500
1865. Crossroads Press. p. 16.

Sources
Bairoch, Paul (1991). Cities and economic development: from the dawn of history to the present.
Chicago: university of Chicago Press. p. 596.
ISBN 0-226-03466-6.
Oliver, Roland & Anthony Atmore (1975). Medieval Africa 12501800. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. p. 738. ISBN 0-521-20413-5.
Owomoyela, Oyekan (2002). Culture and customs
of Zimbabwe. Westport: Greenwood Publishing
Group. p. 163. ISBN 0-313-31583-3.
Stewart, John (1989). African States and Rulers.
Jeerson: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 395.
ISBN 0-89950-390-X.

ADDITIONAL READING

7 Additional reading
Elkiss, T.H. The Quest for an African Eldorado: Sofala, Southern Zambezia, and the Portuguese, 1500
1865. Waltham, MA: Crossroads Press, 1981.

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