The
Swazi are a
Bantu Nguni-speaking people in southeastern
Africa, chiefly in
Swaziland and
South Africa. Besides their language,
Siswati, they speak
Afrikaans in South Africa and
English in South Africa and Swaziland. There have been more Swazi people living in South Africa than in Swaziland since the late 1800s. The Swazi people and the Kingdom of Swaziland today are named after
Mswati II, who became king in 1839. Their royal lineage can be traced to a chief named Dlamini I; this is still the royal clan name. About three-quarters of the clan groups are
Nguni; the remainder are
Sotho and
Tsonga descendants. These groups have intermarried freely. There are slight differences among Swazi groups, but Swazi identity extends to all those with allegiance to the twin monarchs
Ingwenyama "the Lion" (the king) and
Indlovukati "the She-Elephant" (the queen mother).