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The Xhosa People

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About The Xhosa People...

The Transkei is home to several of the Xhosa tribes; it is a green and pleasant grassland stretching inland from the coast to the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains. Living in the south is the Gcaleka section of the Xhosa tribe, in the middle the Tembu and Bomvana tribes, and in the north the Pondo and Mpondomise tribes. Smaller tribal groups include the Cele, Xesibe and the Mfengu. Each tribe has its own distinguishing costumes, colors, beads and articles of clothing. Red and orange are the favorite colors of the Xhosa, Thembu and Bomvana. Light blue is the favoured color of the closely related Pondo and Mpondomise tribes.

The people are pastoralist and cattle in particular are very important to them. Cows were introduced to the Wild Coast by the Xhosa during their migration to South Africa between 600 and 700 AD. These animals have played an important social and economic role in the development of their society and are used as a bride's dowry. The number of cattle held by a village or individual determines much of their importance to the rest of the world.

The countryside is dotted with thatched rondavel type huts, all built with doors facing east. The land is communally owned and huts are grouped in family units (umzi). The people grow mielies (corn) and keep cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, geese and chickens. Men along the coast supplement their income by catching fish and crayfish, which they sell to tourists. People tend to wear western style clothing these days and this is especially prevalent amongst the younger generation. Traditional clothing is still worn at ceremonies and tourists visiting between late autumn and early spring will be sure to see the outfits worn by the "abakwetha", boys who are undergoing initiation into manhood.

Witchcraft and superstition play a large part in the lives of the people, and they are want to believe in creatures such as the uthikoloshe, a mischievous hairy goblin who can only be seen by children. Christianity is well rooted, but traditional religious practices continue to flourish and there is belief in a supreme being, a creator of everything, known variously as umDali, Qamata or uThixo. The ancestors are venerated and it is believed that failure to placate the dead will result in misfortune. For this purpose, advice should be sought from an "igqhira" (diviner / witch doctor) who can communicate with the spirit world. Most witch doctors are women who have undergone a lengthy apprenticeship.

More About The Xhosa Peoples Lifestyle...

Some information below was sourced with thanks from everyculture.com

Introduction To Xhosa Life

The word Xhosa refers to a people and a language of South Africa. The Xhosa-speaking people are divided into a number of subgroups with their own distinct but related heritages. One of these subgroups is called Xhosa as well. The other main subgroups are the Bhaca, Bomvana, Mfengu, Mpondo, Mpondomise, Xesibe, and Thembu. Unless otherwise stated, this article refers to all the Xhosa-speaking people.

Well before the arrival of Dutch in the 1650s, the Xhosa had settled the southeastern area of South Africa. They interacted with the foraging (food-gathering) and pastoral (nomadic herding) people who were in South Africa first, the Khoi and the San. Europeans who came to stay in South Africa first settled in and around Cape Town. As the years passed, they sought to expand their territory. This expansion was first at the expense of the Khoi and San, but later Xhosa land was taken as well. A series of wars between trekboers (Afrikaner colonists) and Xhosa began in the 1770s. Later, in the nineteenth century, the British became the new colonizing force (foreigners in control) in the Cape. They directed the armies that were to vanquish the Xhosa.

Christian missionaries established their first outposts among the Xhosa in the 1820s, but met with little success. Only after the Xhosa population had been traumatized by European invasion, drought, and disease did Xhosa convert to Christianity in substantial numbers. In addition to land lost to white annexation, legislation reduced Xhosa political autonomy. Over time, Xhosa people became increasingly impoverished. They had no option but to become migrant laborers. In the late 1990s, Xhosa make up a large percentage of the workers in South Africa's gold mines.

Under apartheid (a government policy requiring the separation of races), the South African government created separate regions that were described as Bantustans (homelands) for black people of African descent. Two regions—Transkei and Ciskei—were set aside for Xhosa people.

These regions were proclaimed independent countries by the apartheid government. Apartheid policy denied South African citizenship to many Xhosa. Thousands of people were forcibly relocated to remote areas in Transkei and Ciskei. The homelands were abolished with the change to democracy in 1994.