Sipopa Lutangu
Sipopa Lutangu was the leader of the Lozi revolution and later a Litunga (king) of the Lozi people. He ruled from 1864 to 1876.[1]
Sipopa | |
|---|---|
 King Sepopo portrayed in the book Seven Years in South Africa (1881) | |
| Other names | Lutangu |
| Title | King of the Lozi people |
| Predecessor | Mbololo |
| Successor | Mowa Mamili |
| Spouse(s) | Mamochisane |
| Children | daughter and many sons |
| Parent(s) | Mubukwanu |
| Relatives | Kandundu (sister) |
Biography
Sipopa (also known as Lutangu) was a son of the former Lozi King, Mubukwanu, ruler of the south of Bulozi, based at Nalolo, whose fight with his brother Silumelume, ruler of the north, for overall control of the Lozi kingdom after the death of their father, Mulambwa Santulu, led to the weakness that allowed the Makololo to subsume the Luyi kingdom easily.
He was a successor of Mbololo, who was a very cruel king. Sipopa's reign started in 1864.
Some Lozi contenders for power accused Sipopa of retaining the customs of the Makololo tribe (including the base of the language).
He took Queen Mamochisane for a wife. She was a daughter of Sebetwane and sister of Sekeletu, who was a leper. Mamochisane was widely respected throughout Barotseland and Sipopa could well have simply been following a tradition that Sekeletu had followed whereby, when a chief had died, the wife or wives of the deceased were inherited and cared for by the new chief.
His daughter married a surviving Makololo man by the name of Manengo. Sipopa had a sister called Kandundu and many sons:
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Kaiba Natamoyo
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Mutumwenu
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Munalula
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Malitela
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Kaluwe
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Musiwa
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Notulo
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Simbotwe
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Nolianga
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Sishwati
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Mboo Fwabi
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Mwanagala
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Kabaenda
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Mando
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Monambeza
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Wamulimungwa
- Prince (Mwana' Mulena) Sepopa
His successor was Mowa Mamili.
References
- Lipschutz, Mark R.; R. Kent Rasmussen (1989). "Sipopa Lutangu". Dictionary of African historical biography. University of California Press. pp. 218–219. ISBN 978-0-520-06611-3.