AY Honors/African Lore/Answer Key

The Xhosa people live in South Africa. The name supposedly refers to one of their legendary chieftains of old. They refer to themselves as the amaXhosa and their language is known as isiXhosa – another prefix-oriented Bantu language.

Although they are distributed across the country, they are concentrated in the Eastern Cape Province. Under the pre-1994 South African system of bantustans, they were allocated to Transkei or Ciskei, now both a part of Eastern Cape.

Historically they were pushed west by expansion of the Zulus, as the northern Nguni put pressure on the southern Nguni, known as the Mfecane. They may have absorbed some local Khoisan and Griqua populations, with a consequent impact on the language.

Nelson Mandela is Xhosa, and they provide a significant portion of the African National Congress leadership.

The "Xh" in the word "Xhosa" is pronounced as a clicking noise.