| Nongoma | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa KwaZulu-Natal#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -27.8833°N 69°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Zululand |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Nongoma |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 8.50 |
| Elevation M: | 802 |
| Population Total: | 7629 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 97.0% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 0.8% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.7% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 0.9% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.6% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Zulu |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 92.7% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | English |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 2.3% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | S. Ndebele |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 1.2% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 3.8% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 3950 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 035 |
Nongoma is a town in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the seat of the Nongoma Local Municipality. It is situated 300 km north of Durban and 56 km from Ulundi; it is surrounded by the Ngome Forest. It is a busy market town that serves a large surrounding area. It is assigned registration plate NND (Natal NDwandwe).
This small town is also the home of King Bhekuzulu College, one of the popular boarding schools in the province. There are also TVET College, Mthashana TVET College Nongoma and KwaGqikazi Campuses.
The area has six royal palaces belonging to the late Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini:
This area was once the home of King Zwide, a late 18th-century Ndwandwe monarch who was eventually defeated by Shaka at the beginning of the Mfecane wars.
On 30 March 1883, a Zulu Mandlakazi force under Zibhebhu, defeated a larger uSuthu force (who represented Cetshwayo) in the Msebe Valley near Nongoma. In early March 1883, Zibhebhu had seized the uSuthu kraals (livestock pens) in the heartland of the uSuthu in northern Zululand.[2] which he had been allotted in an expansion of his chiefdom in the Second Partition of Zululand of 1882.[3] In response Ndabuko (Cetshwayo's younger brother) gathered around 5,000 uSuthu warriors who marched northward under Makhoba kaMaphitha to retake the kraals. Known as the Battle of Msebe, Makhoba led the uSuthu in an attack on Zibhebhu's Mandlakazi forces. The defenders were assisted by five or six Boer allies. They killed over 1,000 of the uSuthu, estimates vary upwards.[4] [5]
The town itself was only established in 1887 with the building of Fort Ivuna by the British as a buffer zone between the Zulu warring factions.[6] It was originally called Ndwandwe but was later replaced by an earlier name given by the local tribesmen to the sacred area where the town stands: KwaNongoma ("place of the diviner or mother of songs").
In June 1888 Nongoma was destroyed by the uSuthu but later rebuilt. The fort was used during the Bambatha Rebellion of 1906.
Three Zulu monarchs are laid to rest in the Nongoma area: