The
Xhosa (pronounced ) people are speakers of
Bantu languages living in south-east
South Africa, and in the last two centuries throughout the southern and central-southern parts of the country.
Xhosa-speaking peoples are divided into several tribes with related but distinct heritages. The main tribes are the Mpondo, Mpondomise, Bomvana, Xesibe, and Thembu. In addition, the Bhaca and Mfengu have adopted the Xhosa language.
The name "Xhosa" comes from that of a legendary leader called uXhosa. There is also a theory that the word xhosa derives from a word in some Khoi-khoi or San language meaning "fierce" or "angry", the amaXhosa being the fierce people. The Xhosa refer to themselves as the amaXhosa and to their language as isiXhosa.
Presently approximately 8 million Xhosa people are distributed across the country, and Xhosa is South Africa's second most common home language, after Zulu, to which Xhosa is closely related. The pre-1994 apartheid system of bantustans denied Xhosas South African citizenship and attempted to confine them to the nominally self-governing "homelands" of Transkei and Ciskei, now both a part of the Eastern Cape Province where most Xhosa remain. Many Xhosa live in Cape Town (iKapa in Xhosa), East London (iMonti), and Port Elizabeth (iBhayi).
the majority of Xhosa speakers, approximately 5.3 million, lived in the Eastern Cape, followed by the Western Cape (approximately 1 million), Gauteng (671,045), the Free State (246,192), KwaZulu-Natal (219,826), North West (214,461), Mpumalanga (46,553), the Northern Cape (51,228), and Limpopo (14,225).
History
The Xhosa are part of the South African
Nguni migration which slowly moved south from the region around the
Great Lakes, displacing the original
Khoisan hunter gatherers of Southern Africa. Xhosa peoples were well established by the time of the
Dutch arrival in the mid-17th century, and occupied much of eastern South Africa from the Fish River to land inhabited by Zulu-speakers south of the modern city of Durban In March 2007 a controversial mini-series dealing with Xhosa circumcision and initiation rites debuted on
SABC. Titled
Umthunzi Wentaba, the series was taken off the air after complaints by traditional leaders that the rites are secret and not to be revealed to non-initiates and women.
Girls are also initiated into womanhood (Intonjane). They too are secluded, though for a shorter period. Female initiates are not circumcised
Traditional diet
The Xhosa settled on mountain slopes of the Amatola and the Winterberg Mountains. Many streams drain into great rivers of this Xhosa territory including the Kei and Fish Rivers. Rich soils and plentiful rainfall make the river basins good for farming and grazing making cattle important and the basis of wealth.
Traditional foods include beef (Inyama yenkomo), mutton (Inyama yegusha), and goat meat, sorghum, maize and umphokoqo (dry maize porridge), "umngqusho" (made from dried, stamped corn and dried beans), milk (often fermented, called "amasi"), pumpkins (amathanga), beans (iimbotyi), and vegetables.
Arts and crafts
Traditional crafts include beadwork, weaving, woodwork and pottery.
Traditional music features drums, rattles, whistles, flutes, mouth harps, and stringed-instruments and especially group singing accompanied by hand clapping. There have been advances since then, however.
Education in primary-schools serving Xhosa-speaking communities is in the Xhosa language, but this is replaced by English after the early primary grades. Xhosa is still considered as a studied subject, however, and it is possible to major in Xhosa at the university level. Most of the students at the University of Fort Hare are Xhosa.
The effects of government polices during the years of apartheid can still be seen in the poverty of the Xhosa who still reside in the Eastern Cape. During this time, Xhosa males could only seek employment in the mining industry as so-called migrant labourers. Since the collapse of apartheid, individuals can move freely.
Migration to Gauteng and Cape Town is increasingly common, especially amongst rural Xhosa.
Notable Xhosa
See also
Languages of South Africa
Partners Across The Ocean
South African Translators' Association
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. In addition, several million people in the Johannesburg-Soweto region speak Xhosa or
Zulu as a second or third language. For a majority of these, the two languages become difficult to distinguish (unsurprising given the extreme closeness of their linguistic relationship).
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
People of Africa
Xhosa History and Society
2001 Digital Census Atlas
Xhosa Folklore - a collection of Xhosa folklore collected in 1886.
Xhosa Google - Google interface in Xhosa
Category:Ethnic groups in South Africa
![Grahamstown (Afrikaans: Grahamstad) is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758.[1] The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799[2] of which 77.4% were black, 11.8% Coloured, 10% white, and 0.7% Asian. Since 1994, there has been a considerable influx of Black people from the former, and nearby, Ciskei homeland. The city proper has](http://web.archive.org./web/20110904004956im_/http://cdn4.wn.com/pd/5e/89/5c70571817b7260999078f8a67ac_grande.jpg "Grahamstown (Afrikaans: Grahamstad) is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758.[1] The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799[2] of which 77.4% were black, 11.8% Coloured, 10% white, and 0.7% Asian. Since 1994, there has been a considerable influx of Black people from the former, and nearby, Ciskei homeland. The city proper has")
![Grahamstown (Afrikaans: Grahamstad) is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758.[1] The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799[2] of which 77.4% were black, 11.8% Coloured, 10% white, and 0.7% Asian. Since 1994, there has been a considerable influx of Black people from the former, and nearby, Ciskei homeland. The city proper has](http://web.archive.org./web/20110904004956im_/http://cdn3.wn.com/pd/5e/89/5c70571817b7260999078f8a67ac_thumb.jpg "Grahamstown (Afrikaans: Grahamstad) is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758.[1] The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799[2] of which 77.4% were black, 11.8% Coloured, 10% white, and 0.7% Asian. Since 1994, there has been a considerable influx of Black people from the former, and nearby, Ciskei homeland. The city proper has")
