The Nguni people are a linguistic cultural group that migrated to South Africa, made up of Bantu ethnic groups from central Africa, with offshoots in neighboring countries in Southern Africa. Swazi (or Swati) people live in both South Africa and Eswatini, while Ndebele people live in both South Africa and Zimbabwe.

A group of the Nguni living in present-day Malawi and Zambia also migrated from central Africa during the Bantu expansion, they known as AbaNgoni or Ngoni.

The Xhosa, who were the first Bantu group to arrive during the Bantu expansion settled in the south and eastern part of south Africa and established federations (AbaThembu, AmaMpondo, AmaXhosa, and AmaMpondomise) in the region during the 14th century AD. The Xhosa trace their tribe name back to the Khoi , the original inhabitants of South Africa who were displaced by the invading Bantu . The Khoi named the brutal Bantu newcomers "Xhosa" , meaning the violent angry people .The traditional homeland of the Xhosa people stretches from the Gamtoos River up to Umzimkhulu near Natal.

The Xhosas were originally known as the Aba-Nguni until renamed by the Khoi. The Xhosa often called the "Red Blanket People," are speakers of Bantu languages living in south-east South Africa and in the last two centuries throughout the southern and central-southern parts of the country.

Both the Ndebele of Zimbabwe and the Ngoni migrated northward out of South Africa in the early 19th century, during a politically tumultuous era that included the Mfecane and Great Trek.

In South Africa, the historic Nguni kingdoms of the Ndebele, Swazi, Xhosa, and Zulu are in the present-day provinces of the Southern and Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The most notable of these kingdoms are the Zulu Kingdom, which was ruled by Shaka, a warrior king whose conquest took place in the early nineteenth century, and the Xhosa Kingdom, existed for 11 generations before the start of the Frontier Wars in 1779.

Overall, the Nguni cultural group is made up of the eMbo, Lala, Ntungwa, Hlubi, Xhosa, Mthethwa Paramountcy, Ngidi, Ndwandwe, Zulu, Ngoni, Swati and Ndebele ethnic groups.

In Zimbabwe, the Ndebele people live primarily in the province of Matabeleland.^[1]

Most of what is believed about ancient Nguni history comes from oral history and legends. Traditionally, their partial ancestors are said to have migrated to Africa's Great Lakes region from the north.^[2] According to linguistic evidence and historians (including John H. Robertson, Rebecca Bradley, T. Russell, Fabio Silva, and James Steele), some of the ancestors of the Nguni people migrated from west of the geographic centre of Africa^[3] towards modern-day South Africa 7000 years ago (5000 BC).^[4][5][6][7] Nguni ancestors had migrated within South Africa to KwaZulu-Natal by the 1st century AD and were also present in the Transvaal region at the same time.^{[8][9][10][11]} These partially nomadic ancestors of the modern Nguni people brought with them sheep, cattle, goats, and horticultural crops, many of which had never been used in South Africa at that time.^[12][9]

Other provinces in present-day South Africa, such as the Cape, saw the emergence of Nguni speakers around the same time.^[13] Some groups split off and settled along the way, while others kept going. Thus, the following settlement pattern formed: the southern Ndebele in the north, the Swazi in the northeast, the Xhosa in the south, and the Zulu towards the east. Because these peoples had a common origin, their languages and cultures show marked similarities. Partial ancestors of the Nguni eventually met and merged with San hunters, which accounts for the use of click consonants in the languages of the Nguni.^[14]

Many tribes and clans in KwaZulu-Natal are said to have been forcibly united under Shaka Zulu. Shaka Zulu's political organization was efficient in integrating conquered tribes, partly through the age regiments, where men from different villages bonded with each other.^{[citation needed]}

Many versions in the historiography of southern Africa state that during the South African upheaval known as Mfecane, the Nguni people spread across a large part of southern Africa, absorbing, conquering, or displacing many other peoples. However, the notion of the mfecane or difaqane has been disputed by some scholars, notably Julian Cobbing.^[15] The Mfecane was initiated by Zwide and his Ndwandwes. They attacked the Hlubi and stole their cattle, leaving them destitute. The remnants of the Hlubi, under their chief Matiwane fled into what is now the Free State and attacked the Batlokwa in the Harrismith Vrede area. This displaced the Batlokwa under Mmanthatisi, and she and her people spread conflict further into the central interior. Moshoeshoe and his Bakwena sought the protection of Shaka and sent him tribute in return. When Matiwane settled at Mabolela, near present-day Clocolan, Moshoeshoe complained to Shaka that this prevented him from sending his tribute, whereupon an impi was sent to drive Matiwane from this area. Matiwane fled south and raided one of the Xhosa kingdoms, which got his whole tribe annihilated by Paramount Hintsa, at the Battle Of Mbholompo. Mmanthatisi and her Batlokwa settled near what is now Ficksburg and were followed by her son, Sekonyela, as chief of the Batlokwa. It was he who had stolen Zulu cattle that Piet Retief in his dealings with Dingane, Shaka's successor, retrieved. After the defeat of Zwide and his Ndwandwes by Shaka, two of his commanders, Soshangane and Zwengendaba, fled with their followers northward, engaging in conflict as they went. Soshangane eventually founded the Shangane nation in Mozambique and Zwengendaba moved all the way to what is now Tanzania. Mzilikazi in his flight from Shaka, depopulated the eastern highveld and northern Free State, killing the men and capturing the women to form his Matabele nation. Initially, he settled near what is now Pretoria, then moved to Mosega, near present-day Zeerust, but after his defeat by the Voortrekkers he moved to present-day Zimbabwe where he founded his capital, Bulawayo.^[16]

Within the Nguni nations, the clan, based on male ancestry, formed the highest social unit.^{[citation needed]} Each clan was led by a chieftain.^{[citation needed]} Influential men tried to achieve independence by creating their own clan.^{[citation needed]} The power of a chieftain often depended on how well he could hold his clan together.^{[citation needed]} From about 1800, the rise of the Zulu clan of the Nguni, and the consequent Mfecane that accompanied the expansion of the Zulus under Shaka helped to drive a process of alliance and consolidation among many of the smaller clans.^{[citation needed]}

For example, the kingdom of Eswatini was formed in the early nineteenth century by different Nguni groups allying with the Dlamini clan against the threat of external attack.^{[citation needed]} Today, the kingdom encompasses many different clans that speak a Nguni language called Swati and are loyal to the king of Eswatini, who is also the head of the Dlamini clan. ^{[citation needed]}

"Dlamini" is a very common clan name among all documented Nguni languages (including Swati and Phuthi),^{[citation needed]} associated with AbaMbo cultural identity.^{[clarification needed]}

Ngunis may be Christians (Catholics or Protestants), practitioners of African traditional religions or members of forms of Christianity modified with traditional African values.They also follow a mix of these two religions, usually not separately.

• AbaThembu (/Xam and Abambo and Xhosa origin)
• AmaMpondo (Abambo and Khoisan origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaMpondomise (Abambo and khoisan origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaMfengu (Abambo origin Xhosa tribe)
• AbeSuthu (Sotho woman of origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaXesibe (Abambo and khoisan origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaBomvana (khoisan and Khoena origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaHlubi (Sotho, Khwe, San hunters part of Xhosa)
• AmaGcaleka (Khoisan, Khoikhoi origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaRharhabe (Khoisan origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaNdlambe (Khoisan origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaNgqika (khoisan origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaTshawe (Khoisan origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaGqunukhwebe (Khoisan, San hunters origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaBhele (Abambo and Xhosa of origin)
• AmaZizi (Abambo and Xhosa origin)
• AmaVundle or Vundla (Sotho of origin Xhosa tribe)
• AmaJwarha (Khoisan origin Xhosa tribe)

The following peoples are considered Nguni: