Mekemeke (also spelt Emekemeke, meaning "At Mekemeke"; also called Ekusoleni, Monile, Mekemeke Royal Residence, LoMshiyo Royal Kraal or KaLoMshiyoA village trapped by rain, News24, 29 April 2015) is a Swazi royal seat in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is located in the Louw's Creek area, east-southeast of Barberton.
The royal village is situated near the Three Sisters Mountains (Mbayiyane Mountains), east of southeast of Barberton.Liebenberg, Marlies (2016). Heritage Survey and Umjindi Area Heritage Structure. Barberton–Makhonjwa Mountains World Heritage Site Nomination Dossier, Appendix I. August 2016, Version 1.1. Page 7
History During the early formation of the Swazi polity, rulers of the kingdom faced resistance from earlier inhabitants of the Eswatini region, including Emakhandzambili clans from Sotho-speaking communities.Thwala, J.J. (2017). The Significance of the Traditional Ceremony Ummemo, among Swazi. Stud Tribes Tribals, 15(1): 23-29. DOI:10.31901/24566799.2017/15.01.04. Available [4.pmd.pdf PDF] In response, Swazi kings established royal residences in strategically located areas that functioned as defensive buffer zones.
These royal centres were surrounded by settlements of regiments, whose role was to provide military protection for the king and senior royal figures.
Over time, additional populations settled around these royal residences, contributing to the growth of permanent settlements. During the mid-19th century, King Mswati II established a line of military outposts from east to west along the Kaap River and Komati River to prevent Bapedi groups from re-entering Swazi-controlled territory.Thwala, J.J. (2017). Page 24
At the start of his reign, King Mswati II had a lot of battles with the Sotho-speaking communities around the Graskop and Pilgrim's Rest and decided to build the military posts as part of expanding his territory.Matsebula, J.S; Mlotshwa, D.K.; Mlotshwa, J M; Ntiwane, N.D (2016): The History of Emaswati in South Africa. South Africa: Mbokodo Publishers. Page 314.
These outposts were Mekemeke, Emjindini (now Barberton) and Embhuleni (now Badplaas and Tjakastad area).Chapter 10 - A Nation Divided? The Swazi in Swaziland and the Transvaal, 1865–1986, by Hugh Macmillan. From The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa by Leroy Vail (editor), University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oxford, 1989
By the late 19th century, Mekemeke had developed into a recognised chieftaincy centre under the authority of Queen Mekemeke Magongo, a wife of King Mswati II.Myburgh, A. C (author); Peck, Joyce Lee Kunz (editor) (2023). Excerpts of the 1949 Union of South Africa Department of Natural Affairs, Ethnological Series No. 25: The Tribes of Barberton District, Rexburg Following the death of Queen Mekemeke around 1920, she was succeeded by her son Prince Fana Dlamini, who had been brought to the settlement as a child during the 1860s. After assuming leadership, Fana later relocated the royal village to Alberts Home, where he died around 1929.
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