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Ravele (Mauluma) Clan — History & Meaning

Venda clan · Tshivenda

Totem Elephant — Ndou (Tshivenda), as a descent line of the Ramabulana/Singo royal house.

History & origin

The Ravele clan of Mauluma descends from the Ramabulana royal line. Its founder, Ravele Nndwayamiomva (also recorded as Ravele Matsheketsheke), was a cousin/kinsman of King Makhado who was sent around 1860 to Old Mauluma Mountain (north-east of Luvhola) to guard against possible attack by Makhado's defeated half-brother, Khosi Davhana. Nndwayamiomva was killed in Vhukalanga (Zimbabwe) while on an elephant hunt, and his battalion passed to his son and successor, Ravele. The Ravele/Mauluma community of the Luvuvhu river valley was forcibly removed from its land by the authorities, with the final removal in 1936 to make way for a European irrigation settlement — a well-documented land-dispossession case.

Associated surnames

Surnames that share this clan: Nndwayamiomva, Matsheketsheke, Ramabulana, Mauluma.

We publish the full clan names (clan praises) only once we can verify them against documented tradition — for this clan they are still being confirmed. If you can share an authoritative version, corrections are warmly welcomed.

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