Nguni - Zulu Origins  Origins of the Nguni People  The ancient
history of the Nguni people is wrapped up in their oral history.
According to legend they were a people who migrated from Egypt
to the Great Lakes region of sub-equatorial Central/East
Africa.[1] The Nguni group migrated along the eastern part of
southern Africa in their southward move from central Africa.
They migrated southwards over many centuries, with large herds
of Nguni cattle, probably entering what is now South Africa
around 2,000 years ago in sporadic settlement, followed by
larger waves of migration around 1400 AD.  Some groups split off
and settled along the way, while others kept going. Thus, the
following settlement pattern formed: the Swazi in the north, the
Zulu towards the east and the Xhosa in the south. Owing to the
fact that these people had a common origin, their languages and
cultures show marked similarities.  The Nguni (Ndebele, Swazi,
Xhosa and Zulu tribes) diverged from the Sotho-Tswana and Tsonga
within the past 1,000-2,