SCCS 3: Thonga
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SCCS#3 Thonga Langston Library- User:Karina ritter - SCCS societies - books in UCI library
Standard Sample Unit 3 (GPM 5/30/68)
Sampling Province 3: Southeastern Bantu.
Representative of the Province and of Cluster 6: Thonga (Bathonga, Shangaan,
Shangana-Tonga), Ab4:104.
Focus: Ronga (Baronga), the southernmost subtribe, centering around Lourengo
Marques (32°20E, 25°50S), around 1895 (the beginning of Junod's field experience as a missionary).
General Area: The Thonga tribe occupies the southern portion of Mozambique and
a little adjacent territory in Transvaal and Southern Rhodesia. Its component subtribes (from north to south) are the Hlengwe (coastal), Nwalungu (inland), Bila (coastal), Djonga (coastal), Hlanganu (inland), Ronga (coastal). The Ronga adjoin the Zulu on the south and the Swazi on the west. Farther north along the coast are non-Thonga enclaves, notably the Lenge (Valenge), Chopi (Vaohopi), and Tonga (Vatonga). The Thonga were conquered and subjugated by the Zulu during the nineteenth century, until the expulsion of the latter by the Portuguese.
Selection of Focus: The Ronga subtribe were selected because the principal
authority, Junod, resided among them for nine or ten years, seven of them in the small town of Ritakla eighteen miles north of Lourenco Marques. His fullest material, especially on marriage, comes from the Mpfumo clan (see map), which should be used specifically when there is evidence of disparity between local cultures.
Time: The data of 1895 is selected as that of the beginning of Junod's field
work, which extended to 1909. An earlier "ethnographic present" is unadvisable because of the disruption under Zulu dominance. Despite missionary influence, Thonga culture was able to flourish independantly under the Portugese.
Coordinates: Those listed under Focus (above) pertain to the Mpfumo clan. The
Ronga territory centers on Delgoa Bay, from which it extends about 100 miles south, 50 miles inland, and 50 miles north.
