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The AmaNdlambe or the Ndlambe is a Xhosa principality located in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Founded by Prince Ndlambe, son of King Rharhabe and grandson of King Phalo, Ndlambe's advisors and strong army were known as the 'AmaNdlambe'. Prince Ndlambe was also the uncle of King Hintsa.
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Ndlambe was the second born son from Great-King Rharhabe's great wife Queen Nojoli of the AbaThembu. Rharhabe's heir who was to be the ruler of his Great House following his demise was Prince Mlawu. It is said that on the day that Mlawu was to marry his great wife Nobutho, he suddenly became ill and died. However, on his death Mlawu had fathered two sons out of wedlock i.e. Ngqika and Ntimbo.
When King Rharhabe died in battle, Ndlambe was requested by the councillors of deceased Mlawu to provide them with an heir for the Great House. Ndlambe knowing that his brother had fathered two sons, sought out the two boys in order that one would rule over the Rharhabe House. Indeed, the two children were found and thus the sons of his deceased elder brother were brought by the councillors to Ndlambe's kraal to select a successor.
It became apparent that Ndlambe favoured Ngqika over Ntimbo; although Ntimbo appeared the eldest of the two, he exhibited a sickly disposition. The councillors of Mlawu favoured Ntimbo, as it would enhance their own powers over the Great House if Ntimbo were to succeed the kingship.
This dispute was referred to the Great House of the Xhosa Kingdom, to be decided by the King Khawuta. Whilst a delegation was sent to King Khawuta to formally request his assistance; Ndlambe sent an informal party to the king requesting that Ngqika be selected new ruler of the AmaRharhabe. In preparation for the arrival of the king, festivities lasting several days commenced where the two young princes were fêted. When King Khawuta arrived and having received word from Ndlambe on the suitability of one of the two young princes by the name of Ngqika; King Khawuta accompanied by his councillors, did not even utter a word but merely got off his horse, bestowed Ngqika around his neck with a string of royal beads, got back on his horse and left. The simple gesture by the king laid the whole matter to rest and Ngqika became ruler of the House of Rharhabe.
During the minority of Ngqika, Ndlambe became regent, assisted at times by the young Prince's mother Yese; a woman largely known for her salacious appetite in men and would in later years have a negative influence to her son's reign. She had a notorious sexual relationship with the colourful Afrikaaner interpreter Coenraad de Buys, which did not sit well within the conservative Xhosa society.
Ndlambe was a popular and much loved regent having seen a great expansion and rise in the fortunes of the AmaRharhabe. He ruled as regent for a period spanning over twenty years, and is viewed by some historians as the main architect of their greatness.
As Ndlambe was teaching the young Ngqika the art of being a fine ruler, Ngqika who now had just emerged from the Xhosa custom of ukwaluka, sought to take the sovereignty from his uncle by force, suspected to have been at the influence of his mother Yese and his father's old councillors, who had hinted to the impressionable young Prince that Ndlambe sought to usurp his throne.
As the tensions grew, Ndlambe left the great place which at the time was located at Xhukwane, Debe Nek with his councillors and a number of followers loyal to him and settled at Xuxuwa near today Fort Beaufort.
Shortly thereafter, as Ndlambe's popularity grew, Ngqika overcome with jealousy led an unwarranted and surprise attack on Ndlambe (who at the time was building his own principality), where he defeated Ndlambe's forces. Ndlambe escaped unscathed and went to hide amongst his mother's people the AbaThembu of Ndungwana at Ngqamakhwe.
Ndlambe appealed to the AbaThembu to assist him against his volatile nephew, but only received help from the regent of the Xhosa Kingdom Nqoko; at the time the Xhosa King, King Khawuta had died and his heir Hintsa was still a young boy. The two armies met at Tyusha near the Cwengcwe, where the Nqoko's forces were routed by the amaNgqika forces and Ngqika captured Ndlambe and Hintsa as his prisoners and kept them as prisoners at Ndlambe's sister Ntsusa's homestead near the Rhabula River.
The Great House of the Xhosa Kingdom also moved out of their territory near Ngxingxolo across the Kei River to present day Willowvale, where the Xhosa monarch is still found today.
Hintsa managed to escape from captivity and crossed the Kei River to the great delight of his countrymen. Ndlambe, although a prisoner, was allowed free movement by Ngqika that three of his young wives Thuthula, Noyena, and Nojico were allowed to join him. Ngqika would also from time to time consult his uncle and request his presence on matters of state.
Ndlambe was finally rescued with his wives from captivity with the assistance of Prince Chungwa of the Gqunukwebe and settled near Chungwa's great place in Mnyameni. As Ndlambe was much feared and respect, his former army, councillors and many of his loyal subjects soon followed him to Mnyameni.
It is then that the AmaNdlambe principality was re-established and would grow to surpass the house of Ngqika in number and strength.
In 1819, the AmaNdlambe were party to the Battle of Grahamstown. Simmering tensions and accusations of cattle theft led to the unsuccessful assault by 4,000 to 10,000 Xhosa warriors on a garrison of several hundred British troops. [1]
Iziduko (pl.) in Xhosa are family names that are considered more important than surnames among Xhosa people. Many Xhosa persons can trace their family history back to a specific male ancestor or stock. Mentioning the clan name of someone is the highest form of respect, and it is considered polite to enquire after someone's clan name on meeting. The clan name is also sometimes used as an exclamation by members of that clan.
The Xhosa Wars were a series of nine wars between the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa. These events were the longest-running military resistance against European colonialism in Africa.
Hintsa ka Khawuta, also known as Great or King Hintsa, was the king of the Xhosa Kingdom, founded by his ancestor, King Tshawe. He ruled from 1820 until his death in 1835. The kingdom at its peak, during his reign stretched from the Mbhashe River, south of Mthatha, to the Gamtoos River, in the Southern Cape.
King Khawuta kaGcaleka was the king of the AmaXhosa Nation from 1778 To 1794. He is a direct descendant of King Phalo's Great House.
King Gcaleka KaPhalo was the King of AmaXhosa Nation from 1755 to 1779. The third son of King Phalo kaTshiwo, he became King of the AmaXhosa Nation in 1755 right after his father died. King Gcaleka KaPhalo had 3 known sons, King Khawuta kaGcaleka (1761), Prince Velelo kaGcaleka and Prince Nqoko kaGcaleka.
Prince Nqoko kaGcaleka was a regent king of the Xhosa nation.
King Sarhili was the King of Xhosa nation from 1835 until his death in 1892 at Sholora, Bomvanaland. He was also known as "Kreli", and led the Xhosa armies in a series of frontier wars.
Rharhabe ka Phalo was a Xhosa Prince and the founder of the Right Hand House of the Xhosa nation. Rarabe was the eldest son and right hand son of King Phalo ka Tshiwo.
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The Rharhabe House is the second senior house of the Xhosa Kingdom. Its royal palace is in the former Ciskei and its counterpart in the former Transkei is the Gcaleka, which is the great house of Phalo.
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The Gcaleka House is the Great house of the Xhosa Kingdom in what is now the Eastern Cape. Its royal palace is in the former Transkei and its counterpart in the former Ciskei is the Rharhabe, which is the right hand house of Phalo.
The Ngqika people are a Xhosa monarchy who lived west of the Great Kei River in what is today the Eastern Cape of South Africa. They were first ruled by Rarabe kaPhalo who died with his son Mlawu, who was destined for chieftaincy. The clan would be named after Ngqika ka Mlawu, the son of the then late Mlawu. It would be years before the child would rule his people who fought in the Xhosa Wars, which were sparked by the encroachment of European settlers on Xhosa lands.
The Imidushane clan was founded by one of the greatest Xhosa warriors Prince Mdushane who was the eldest son of Prince Ndlambe, the son of King Rharhabe.
Mbombini Molteno ka Sihele was a Xhosa Councillor and warrior, as well as the national poet ("imbongi") and cultural custodian of the abaThembu people of South Africa during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He gathered and preserved Thembu history and lore from his base at the court of Chief Falo Mgudlwa in Ngcobo and he stewarded the different Thembu royal clans during a fractious and dangerous time.
The Battle of Amalinda was an armed confrontation between two Xhosa chiefs of the Rharhabe House, which took place in October 1818 just outside of what is today King Williams Town, in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. On the eve of the fifth Xhosa War Chief Ngqika had close ties with the British, while his uncle, Chief Ndlambe, had no such agreements and painted Ngqika as someone selling out his people in return for personal gain. Chief Ndlambe was assisted in the battle by the senior, King Hintsa and his Gcaleka warriors. When chief Ngqika was defeated in the battle, he retreated and appealed to the British for protection. A British-led force commanded by Colonel Thomas Brereton then seized 23,000 head of cattle from Ndlambe's people in retaliation, leading to the battle of Grahamstown.