Home › Clan names › Ndebele › Ntuli
Ntuli Clan — History & Meaning
Ndebele clan · isiNdebele
History & origin
Ntuli is a major Zulu/Nguni clan whose name means 'dust'. Tradition holds that Shaka encountered a group fleeing cannibals amid a cloud of dust and resettled them under the Lenge mountain and the Mkhize chief Zihlandlo near Nkandla, whence the name Ntuli. The genealogy runs Masalela > Guqa > Sompisi, with Sompisi regarded as the founding father of the clan as known today. The clan is closely tied to the figure of Ndlela kaSompisi, the celebrated induna and chief commander under King Dingane. Ntuli communities are spread across KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Eswatini, and into Mozambique and Zimbabwe; the elephant (indlovu) is the clan's emblem.
Notable figures & facts
Ndlela kaSompisi Ntuli, principal induna and military commander under King Dingane; Sompisi, the clan's founding father.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: Mkhize.
We publish the full izithakazelo (clan praises) only once we can verify them against documented tradition — for this clan they are still being confirmed. If you can share an authoritative version, corrections are warmly welcomed.