Mfecane
![An early painting of the first migration of the Fengu, one of the affected peoples of the Mfecane.](/Images/godic/202501/27/Departure_of_the_Fingoes-18403843.jpg")
![This map illustrates the rise of the Zulu Empire under Shaka (1816–1828) in present-day South Africa. The rise of the Zulu Empire under Shaka forced other chiefdoms and clans to flee across a wide area of southern Africa. Clans fleeing the Zulu war zone included the Soshangane, Zwangendaba, Ndebele, Hlubi, Ngwane, and the Mfengu. A number of clans were caught between the Zulu Empire and advancing Voortrekkers and British Empire such as the Xhosa .](/Images/godic/202501/27/Shaka's_Empire_map.svg3843.png")
Mfecane (Zulu pronunciation: [m̩fɛˈkǀaːne], crushing), also known by the Sesotho name Difaqane (scattering, forced dispersal or forced migration) or Lifaqane, was a period of widespread chaos and warfare among indigenous ethnic communities in southern Africa during the period between 1815 and about 1840.