Magwamba, noun

/maˈɡwamba/
Forms:
Also Gwamba, Ma-gwamba.
Plurals:
unchanged, amaGwamba, or Magwambas.
Origin:
Unknown; but see quotation 1900, and second quotation 1905. For notes on singular and plural forms, see ama-, ma- prefix2, and ma- prefix3.
obsolescent
Shangaan sense 1 a. Also attributive.
1892 W.L. Distant Naturalist in Tvl 100The Magwambas, or ‘knob-noses’ so-called from having their noses originally ornamented with notches or scars, were the tribe or clan of the Bantu race with which I was principally thrown in contact.
1900 A.H. Keane Boer States: Land & People 99The degraded Magwamba (‘demons’ or ‘devils’), called ‘Knobnoses’ by the Transvaal Boers.
1905 W.H. Tooke in Flint & Gilchrist Science in S. Afr. 88As fugitives the ama-Gwamba fled over the Lebombo Mountains into the Lydenberg district, where they are known as ‘Knobnoses’.
1905 Native Tribes of Tvl 64Ma-gwamba, a name by which they are often known, was given to the Shangaans by the Bavenda and Basuto peoples on account of their habit of swearing by ‘Gwamba’ who according to them was the first man created.
1970 J.B. De Waal in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. I. 288He (sc. Albasini) established a model farm..where he lived from 1857 in feudal fashion in a fort, surrounded by his Magwamba followers.
Shangaan sense 1 a. Also attributive.
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obsolete or obsolescent
magtig, interjectionint.magwinya, nounn.
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