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[[Image: Nelson Mandela is a famous Xhosa-speaker.|thumb|300px|{{{image caption}}}]]

The Xhosa people are a group of peoples of Bantu origins living in south-east South Africa.

Introduction

The Xhosa people, who were descendants of the Bantu people, live on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. During the 1600s to the 1700s, they settled in the lush mountain slopes of the many streamed Amatola and Zinterberg Mountains. Many unique features set them apart from other African tribes. For instance, they are located in a region suitable for farming and cattle herding providing them with a diet of many varieties of food. Also, their vast numbers of people are divided into chiefdoms and all of their different dialects are understood amongst each other. Lastly, everyone have the same or similar traditions.

Location

The Xhosa population mainly lives in the Eastern Cape Province of Africa, although they are found throughout South Africa. The population is centralized in the cities of Ciskei and Transkei, which were also the homelands of the first Xhosa peoples.

History of the Xhosa

The Xhosa are part of the southern Nguni migration which slowly moved south from the region around the Great Lakes; based on linguistic and archeological evidence, the ancestors of the Xhosa are likely to have arrived in South Africa around 1500 years ago. [1]

The name Xhosa refers to a specific tribal leader, called uXhosa, from whom the Xhosa claim descent. They refer to themselves as the amaXhosa and their language as isiXhosa, a Bantu language. Xhosa society was historically viewed as an 'open' society, because of its readiness to learn from, trade and interact with other societies. This included the incorporation or absorption of entire Khoi and Griqua cultural groups into Xhosa communities, often through marriage, and the wholesale adoption of Khoisan loanwords into Xhosa vocabulary.

The Xhosa people split in the eighteenth century as the result of a succession dispute between chiefs. The two branches of the group are known as the Gcaleka and the Rharhabe or Ngqika. The name Xhosa is also often used to refer to anyone from a number of different Xhosa-speaking ethnic groups that includes the Pondo and Thembu, neighbours of the Xhosa people, and the Mfengu people, who are descendants of scattered clans who were displaced during the mfecane of the early nineteenth century.

Although nowadays around 8 million Xhosa people are distributed across the country, the population is concentrated in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The pre-1994 South African system of bantustans attempted to confine Xhosa people to the nominally self-governing 'homelands' of Transkei or Ciskei, now both a part of Eastern Cape Province

The Xhosa and white settlers first encountered one another around Somerset West in the early 1700s. In the late 1700s Afrikaner trekboers migrating outwards from Cape Town came into conflict with Xhosa pastoralists around the Great Fish River region of the Eastern Cape. Following more than 20 years of intermittent conflict, in 1811 to 1812 the Xhosas were forced east by British colonial forces in what was known as the Third Frontier War.

In the years following, many Xhosa-speaking clans were pushed west by expansion of the Zulus, as the northern Nguni put pressure on the southern Nguni as part of the historical process known as the mfecane, or "scattering". Xhosa unity and ability to resist colonial expansion was further weakened by the famines and political divisions that followed the cattle-killing movement of 1856 (see Nongqawuse). Historians now view this movement as a millenialist response both directly to a lung disease spreading among Xhosa cattle at the time, and less directly to the stress to Xhosa society caused by the continuing loss of their territory and autonomy. At least one historian has also suggested that it can be seen as a rebellion against the upper classes of Xhosa society, which used cattle as a means of consolidating wealth and political power, and which had lost respect as they failed to hold back white expansion.

With or without Nongqawuse, white expansion in particular would likely have eventually caused much the same effect as the cattle-killing; the cattle-killing simply likely hastened the speed at which Xhosa people left pastoralism and joined the wage economy.

Some historians argue that this early absorption into the wage economy is the ultimate origin of the long history of trade union membership and political leadership among Xhosa people. That history manifests itself today in high degrees of Xhosa representation in the leadership of the African National Congress, South Africa's ruling political party.

Local Enviroment

Local EnvironmentThe Xhosa settled on mountain slopes of the Amatola and the. Zinterberg Mountains. Many streams drain into great rivers of this Xhosa territory including the Kei and Fish River. Rich soils and plentiful rainfall make the river basins good for farming and grazing making cattle important and the basis of wealth. In the past, the Xhosa diet included Sorghum, which was a plant much like corn. As of now, the modern Xhosa diet includes corn, milk, pumpkins, beans, vegetables, and umphokoqo, which is cooked cornmeal that has the consistency of porridge. Tobacco is an important crop of this area.

Language

In South Africa, the Xhosa-speaking people form the second largest language group. The language contains click sounds borrowed from Khoisan languages. Three basic clicks are used when speaking Xhosa. They are C (front-click) as in icici (an earring). Form a slight smile, put tongue behind teeth and pull down. Q (top click) as in iqaa (skunk). Form an O and put tongue on roof (middle) then pull down. X (side-click) as in uxam (water lizard). Pull tongue inward and downward from top roof of mouth. These clicks can also be used in combination with consonant sounds as in ingca. Use c and ng.

Religion

It is believed amaQaba ancestors guarded living relatives. Just like medicine men in Native American religion, Xhosas had Diviners, who served as herbalists, prophets, and healers for the community. This job is mostly taken by women, who spend five years as an apprentice to become one. An alternative religion was the Christian religion. Many Xhosians worship ancestors called Qamata whom they prayed through. AmaQaba believed their ancestors guarded their living relatives and thus worshipped them through sacrifice of cattle and goats. The people put red ocher on themselves and were called the red people by the whites. A Christian alternative for the name is Thixo. However, most people were Christian converts started by Dr. Johannes Van Der Kemp who was a Dutch Missionary of the London Missionary society. Missionaries protected Xhosa from white abuses. From the 1890s and on, New African churches were started with a mix of African and Christian.

Marriage

Xhosa marriage bares similarities to that of Zulus particularly in that the marriage is sealed by the transfer of cattle (ikazi) from the family of the groom to that of bride as compensation for the bride’s family. However, this usually amounts to more than five cattle unless the bride’s family is wealthy.

Polygamy

The practice of having more than one wife in the past was considered ideal but not necessarily normal. However, missionaries suggested Xhosa of the Christian faith to have only one wife. Today, having more than one wife is becoming increasingly rare.

Tribal organization

The actual people are named after a heroic ancestor from the past called Xhosa. These people are then divided into chiefdoms. Chiefdoms consist of a number of clans, which are people related to the same male ancestor. Only the older chiefdoms of Gcaleka and Rharhabe are able to claim direct relations with him. To set them apart, they’re called Xhosa proper. Other major chiefdoms include Thembu, Bomvana, Mpondo, and Mpondomise. Less closely related include Mfengu, Bhaca, Bhele, Zizi, Hlubi, and Qwati. Clan members don’t marry because they’re related. In the rural family, there is the umninimzi, or the head of the house. He is the senior male of the family and lives with his wife or wives, his unmarried children, and sometimes one or two dependent relatives.

Oral Literature

The Key figure in Oral Literature is the imbongi or plural: iimbongi, who was also called the praise singer or poet. Being almost always men, iimbongi traditionally lived close to the chief’s great place and accompanied the chief on important occasions. Dressed in an animal skin, hat and cloak, he carried a spear and a club called a knobkerrie. His public performances, which were sometimes prophetic, praised the chief’s action and best features. He also criticized the chief if aspects of his reign or government were unpopular. In general, he expressed own poetic interpretation and also reflected what the people around him thought and was an important member of ceremonies.

Famous Xhosa People

Nelson Mandela is a Xhosa-speaking member of the Thembu people.

Other famous Xhosa speakers include:

Key Xhosa Contributers

Desmond Tutu – 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, world wide famous opponent of apartheid, and Archbishop of the Anglican Church in 1996.
Nelson Mandela – Current South African president and also the most famous Xhosa speaker.
Mqhayi – Author to 1909 Xhosa novel S.E.K.
Amampondo – Popular Xhosa Music Artist
Chief Faku – Ruler of the Mpondo chiefdom in the early 1800s.

References

Results of the 2001 South African census

Note that the figure mentioned on this page is based upon the number of people speaking Xhosa as their home language, which may be greater or less than the total number of people claiming Xhosa descent.

Reader, J., 1997. Africa: A Biography of the Continent, Vintage Books, New York, NY, United States of America.
Kaschula, Russell The Heritage Library of African People: Xhosa, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 1997.

External links

Template:Interwiki

Xhosa Folklore - a collection of Xhosa folklore collected in 1886.
Xhosa Google - Google interface in Xhosa

Template:Ethnic Groups South Africa

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