Kingdom of Uteve

Origins

Uteve emerged in the late 15th century when a branch of the ruling house in the Mutapa lands broke away and established itself between the Zimbabwe plateau and the coast. Its position astride the routes from Sofala to the inland goldfields made it a key intermediary for Swahili and then Portuguese traders.

Rule and society

The king, called the Sachiteve (Quiteve to the Portuguese), was a sacred ruler bound by strict ritual; the Dominican friar Joao dos Santos, who lived at Sofala in the 1590s, described royal ceremonies and the custom by which a king who became infirm or blemished was expected to take poison. Spirit mediums and ancestor cults were central. The Portuguese paid regular tribute, the curva, for the right to trade through the kingdom.

Decline and legacy

Uteve was weakened by succession disputes and in the 19th century fell under the domination of the Gaza Nguni. By around 1890 its lands were included in the territory of the Mozambique Company within Portuguese Mozambique.