The Xhosa are the second largest group in South Africa after the Zulus, and their traditional lands lie in Eastern Cape Province along the Wild Coast. The republic that was created as a ‘homeland’ for the Xhosa by the Apartheid regime was known as Ciskei. The Xhosa are made up of several different groups, the Tembu, Ngqika, Gcaleka, Pondo, Qayi and Mfengu, and of these the Gcaleka were the dominant clan historically.
The Xhosa have always been politically active, producing many of the veteran leaders of the struggle against Apartheid – former president Nelson Mandela and current president Thabo Mbeki are both Xhosa. Known as the Transkei in the Apartheid era, the Xhosa heartland was one of the first bantustan areas, an artificial ‘homeland’ state created in 1976. The first black university was established in Fort Hare, and many African leaders were students there. A short distance away is King William’s Town, which was the birthplace of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, who was tortured and murdered by the security police in 1977.
Like many groups in South Africa, the Xhosa are primarily a cattle-owning people, and cattle are used to pay a bridal dowry. As a consequence, a rich man can often afford several wives. Many Xhosa are small-scale farmers in the rural areas, and sheep or goats provide the staple meat, as cattle are too valuable to slaughter. In recent years more Xhosa have become urbanised, and this has had the effect of eroding many of their traditions, but it is still possible to see boys in townships smeared with white clay as part of their circumcision rite, after which they become men, or to see a suburban household with all the bedposts raised on bricks so that the tokolosh – a malignant spirit – can pass underneath.
One event is seared into Xhosa memory – the Great Cattle Killing. In the 1850s a drought had devastated the land and withered crops. A young woman called Nongqawuse, who was the niece of a well-known prophet, claimed to have had a vision in which ancestral spirits told her that all the cattle must be slaughtered. If this was done then new crops would grow and the whites would be driven into the sea. Perhaps as a measure of their desperation, many chose to believe her, and thousands of cattle were killed. Inevitably, widespread starvation followed. An estimated 40,000 people out of a total population of 90,000 died. The British administration saw this as the perfect opportunity to get the desperate Xhosa to work as cheap labour on white settlers’ farms. Many of the missionary feeding stations were closed to speed up this process, and the governor of the Cape, Sir George Grey, imprisoned the Xhosa chiefs on Robben Island. The event destroyed the power of the Xhosas and strengthened the hand of the white farmers, which was ultimately to lead to the introduction of the Native Land Act, which set aside just 13% of South Africa for black habitation.
Most people now live in modern houses, but in rural areas huts are often still used. Construction of the huts is the responsibility of the women, who plaster a mixture of clay and cow dung onto a wooden framework. These were originally conical in shape, but more recently these have been replaced with spare walls. Huts are usually situated on ridges overlooking valleys, with the valleys themselves used for cultivation. Looking after the cattle has always been the preserve of herd boys. The centre of the traditional homestead was the cattle-kraal, and this was also the burial place of chiefs – ordinary householders were buried outside the gates. Women were not permitted to have any contact with the cattle, and as such all the cultivation, which they were responsible for, had to be done by hand using hoes.
Traditionally Xhosa children have been named to describe human qualities, so names like Sipho (gift) or Nwabiso (happiness) are common. Many children who attended mission schools were given English names, but often as a direct translation of their Xhosa ones, so names like Goodwill, Wiseman or Lovemore are not unusual.
The Xhosa did not wear cloth until it was introduced by Europeans, but quickly created their own styles and designs. Women generally wear long skirts with a horizontal pattern, often with bags in matching colours. Almost all wear headscarves, often in the colours of their particular clan – the Thembu colour is red, whereas the Pondo one is blue, and a white headscarf is seen as non-denominational. Married women often smoke pipes, which are shared, but each person has their own stem as a protection against witchcraft, which could use hair, skin or saliva as a weapon.