They are a Bantu ethnic group in Southern Africa. They speak a language called isiNdebele. The Northern Ndebele were historically referred to as the Matabele which derives from the Sesotho expression the betelele derived from two words “thebe” meaning shield and “telele” meaning tall. This was in reference to the tall shields the Matebele used in combat as compared to the smaller Sotho-Tswana shields. The term Bathebele was applied to at least two Nguni-speaking groups who settled in the region later called the Transvaal, long before the Mfecane. Both the Ndebele tribe and language have existed for 185 years, 180 years in Zimbabwe. The Ndebele culture and language is highly similar to their Zulu origin and ancestry in KZN province of South Africa. Although the amaNdebele of Mzilikazi used the much smaller cowhide shields and short stabbing assegai of King Shaka's army, they also were called Bathebele, which in isiNguni was rendered as amaNdebele.
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