Venda

Venda, a Bantu-speaking people inhabiting the region of the Republic of South Africa known from 1979 to 1994 as the Republic of Venda. The area is now part of Limpopo province, and is situated in the extreme northeastern corner of South Africa, bordering on southern Zimbabwe. The Venda have been called a “composite people” because they have historically consisted of a multiplicity of culturally different groups. Apparently the Venda have become more culturally uniform since they settled in their present location after migrating through Zimbabwe from an area farther to the northwest, and almost all now speak the Venda language.

Much of the Venda’s countryside in the south features mountains and wide valleys that receive abundant rainfall and are both densely populated and agriculturally productive. The northern area has a hot, dry climate and flat grasslands suitable for stock raising. The rugged Venda habitat was largely responsible for protecting them from invading enemies in the 19th century. Zulu warriors led by Mzilikazi, the eventual founder of the Ndebele (Matabele) people, generally met defeat in their attacks on the inaccessible mountain fortresses of the Venda. The Venda were, in fact, the last of the peoples in the area to come under European control.

Since the era of raids more Venda villages have been situated on the plains, and individual villages no longer need to be nearly self-contained. Agriculture dominates the Venda economy. The principal crops are corn (maize), peanuts (groundnuts), beans, peas, sorghum, and vegetables, and the planting season starts around October. The Venda may have been primarily herders in the past. During the 20th century their cattle holdings—especially the herds of their chiefs—increased from a few to an appreciable number; they also keep goats, sheep, pigs, and fowl.

The Venda chiefs are traditionally custodians of the land for their people, while local headmen permit household groups to occupy and work tracts of land. Lineages of kinsmen, with membership based on patrilineal descent, are used to reckon inheritance and succession. Cattle are given as bridewealth by a groom in a custom called lobola. Matrilineal descent is also observed by the Venda, especially in the religious practice of the ancestor cult. Ancestral spirits, including those of chiefs, are among those thought to inhabit the Venda countryside. Ralu Vhimba is the deity traditionally recognized.