Ludlambedlu
Ludlambedlu: The royal cattle herd of Eswatini
Ludlambedlu is the king’s royal cattle herd in Eswatini. The herd symbolizes wealth, power, and the kingdom’s ceremonial life, and it is cared for by the Nkhaba Royal Kraal in the Hhohho region.
The Nkhaba Kraal was established in the 1800s by descendants of Prince Malunge, a son of King Ndvungunye.
After King Sobhuza I died in 1836, his elder son Malambule served as regent with Queen Lojiba Simelane, overseeing Ludlambedlu until Mswati II came of age in 1840. Malambule refused to relinquish power to his younger brother and tried to seize the cattle, but he was defeated in a campaign led by his half-brother, Prince Somcuba.
Malambule later defected to the Zulu Kingdom under King Mpande, and Somcuba took over several of the powers Malambule had held, becoming the leader of Ludlambedlu by order of Mswati II. Somcuba built a royal outpost to the west of the capital at Eludlambedlwini (today Mooiplaas in Mpumalanga), where the Ludlambedlu grazed.
After a fallout between Mswati and Somcuba, the cattle were kept at Embhuleni and were later moved to Nkhaba.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:07 (CET).