Tshilume, also called Ratshilumela, is the Singo king of the northern homeland who stands at the head of the Ngoma-lungundu migration tradition. While the people still dwelt in the country of Matongoni, the voice of Mwali commanded Tshilume to gather them and move southward, bearing the sacred drum that must never touch the ground. He is remembered as the forebear from whom the later kings who crossed the Limpopo trace their descent, though the precise line of succession between him and Dimbanyika is told differently in different traditions.