The
Thimbu are one of the handful of nations and population groups which speak
XhosaXhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
in
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. In Xhosa the name is
abaThembu, aba- being a common prefix for peoples.
Prior to British conquest and incorporation of their territory, called "Tembuland" in the 19th century, the Thimbu had an independent
kingdomA monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
. The clan name of the Thimbu kings is
Madiba. Recent kings, including
Sabata Jonguhlanga DalindyeboSabata Jonguhlanga Dalindyebo, was the ruler of the Thembu people of South Africa. He reigned from June 30, 1954 to 1980, when he was deposed by the government of Kaiser Matanzima on trumped-up charges, causing him to flee to exile in Lusaka, Zambia to join the African National Congress , where...
, have used the surname of Dalindyebo, from the name of a 19th century king.
After conquest, the Thimbu were administered by the government of the Cape Colony as one of the Transkeian Territories, which with the exception of a few missionaries and white traders, were treated as lands reserved for African occupation. Other peoples in the territories who had formerly had independent kingdoms included the Gcaleka branch of the Xhosa, the Mpondo (who split into two kingdoms late in the 19th century), the Bhaca and the Xesibe. Under apartheid the
TranskeiThe Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
was turned into a
bantustanA bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
. In the ethnic theory underpinning apartheid, the Transkei was regarded as the "homeland" of the Xhosa people. As a result, the Thimbu people are often misidentified as being Xhosa.
The most internationally famous Thimbu person is
Nelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, whose father was a reigning nobleman from a junior branch of the Madiba clan of kings.
Walter SisuluWalter Max Ulyate Sisulu was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress .-Family and Education:...
was also of Thimbu descent, on his mother's side.
King
The current Thimbu king is King
Buyelekhaya DalindyeboBuyelekhaya Zwelinbanzi Dalindyebo a Sabata , praise name Zwelibanzi, is a king of the abaThembu in South Africa. He is the son of the previous king, Sabata Jonguhlanga Dalindyebo, a descendant of the amaHala dynasty, and ruler of the current bakaDalindyebo lineage...
, son of
Sabata Jonguhlanga DalindyeboSabata Jonguhlanga Dalindyebo, was the ruler of the Thembu people of South Africa. He reigned from June 30, 1954 to 1980, when he was deposed by the government of Kaiser Matanzima on trumped-up charges, causing him to flee to exile in Lusaka, Zambia to join the African National Congress , where...
, and his
praise nameIn Zulu culture, "isibongo" is a clan name or "praise name". The term is derived from the verb "-bonga" meaning "to praise", "to thank", "to worship" or "to call by a clan name". The plural form "izibongo" refers to praise poetry, a typical Zulu art form where the fame of a person is extolled....
is
Zwelibanzi. Sabata was deposed by
Kaiser MatanzimaKaiser Matanzima was a former leader of the Transkei in South Africa.-Biography:Born in Qamata, Eastern Cape, a nephew of Nelson Mandela, Matanzima received the name Daliwonga upon reaching manhood as an "isikhahlelo" . It means "Maker of Majesty"...
, who was installed by the Apartheid government. In December 2009 King Buyelekhaya was convicted of offences including
culpable homicideCulpable homicide is a specific offence in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the illegal killing of a person either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a particular jurisdiction has defined the offence...
,
kidnappingIn criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
,
arsonArson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
and
assaultIn law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
. In response he proposed secession from South Africa. Though secession was later suspended, a demand remained that the government pay Dalindyebo R900m and the tribe a further R80bn in compensation for the humiliation caused by the criminal trial.
Lineage
- 1800 - 10 Aug 1830 Vusani Ngubengcuka
Ngubengcuka was the king of the Thembu people, in the southern part of the Transkei region of South Africa. Known as Inkosi Enkhulu , Ngubengcuka united the Thembu nation before it was subjected to British colonial rule...
a Ndaba
- May 1989 - 2010 Bayelekhaya Zwelinbanzi Dalindyebo a Sabata
External links