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The Rharhabe House is the second senior house (Right Hand 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.
The Rharhabe house was founded by Xhosa warrior Rarabe, who was the older brother of Gcaleka ka Phalo.
The Xhosa royal blood line stretches from King Xhosa, who fathered Malangana, who fathered Nkosiyamntu, who fathered Tshawe, who fathered Ngcwangu, who fathered Sikhomo, who fathered Togu, who fathered Ngconde, who fathered Tshiwo, who fathered Phalo .
The reason the Xhosa nation is governed by two houses can be traced to the time of King Phalo, who had both his intended wives arriving on the same day for their wedding, as he had already paid lobola for one from the Mpondo royal family, and for one from the Thembu royal family. In Xhosa tradition, the first wife, as declared on arrival, would be the one whose sons would be heirs to the throne. This situation caused a great dilemma and a great outcry – some called this the ancestors' punishment – because a first wife could not be declared. As the two young princesses were of equal status, by choosing one as the Great Wife, King Phalo stood to offend the father of the other. This dilemma was solved by an wise old man called Majeke, who said: "What is greater than the head of the king, and what is stronger than his right hand? Let the one be the head wife and the other the wife of the right hand".
So a secondary yet autonomous house was then created, being the Right Hand House. The Mpondo princess was chosen as his Great Wife and the Thembu princess as his Right Hand Wife. So there was a Right Hand House and the Great House.
Phalo had two sons, Rharhabe , the eldest son born from his Right Hand House and Gcaleka , born from the Great House.
Rharhabe was by birth older than Gcaleka having been born around 1722, with Gcaleka born in 1730. Rharhabe displayed signs of bravery and wisdom from a very young age, traits which made him by far the superior of Phalo's sons. This caused great friction between the brothers, as Gcaleka feared that his brother with his popularity may one day seek to claim the throne for himself. After Gcaleka had reached manhood, conflict arose when Gcaleka tried to usurp the throne from his father but failed.
Rharhabe who had assisted his father against his brother's designs for the throne, decided to leave Phalo's Great Place with a group of followers and crossed the Kei River and settled at Amabele, near present-day Stutterheim. This move had the blessing of Phalo, as he accompanied his son in his search for a new home.
On arrival in these new lands, Rharhabe encountered the KhoiKhoi (whom the Dutch named the Hottentots) and against whom fierce battles were fought over cattle and land. In the end and after killing the KhoiKhoi leader Hinsati, Rharhabe reached an amicable arrangement and negotiated with Hinsati's widow, Queen Hoho, for sale of land between the Keiskamma and Buffalo rivers. The Amathole Forests and Hoho Hills between Middledrift and King William's Town were also sold to Rharhabe. Thus, the Xhosa monarchy was, and still is, divided into the amaGcaleka and the amaRharhabe kingdoms.
Rharhabe's children from his great wife Nojoli kaNdungwana of the Thembu were Ntsusa kaRharhabe (daughter), Mlawu kaRharhabe (his great son), Ndlambe kaRharhabe, Nukwa kaRharhabe and Khinzela kaRharhabe (daughter). In the Right Hand House, he fathered Cebo kaRharhabe who died without male heirs, but whose house was placed under Mdushane, Ndlambe's eldest son, to be the successor of Cebo.
Rharhabe's other sons were Mnyaluza kaRharhabe, Siko kaRharhabe, Sigcawu kaRarabe, Nzwane kaRharhabe and Hlahla kaRharhabe.
In 1782, his great son Mlawu kaRharhabe died, but he had fathered two boys, Ngqika and Ntimbo, who were infants at their father's death. Mlawu's councillors (amaphakathi) were then placed under Ndlambe who became regent for the young Ngqika.
Rharhabe's daughter Ntsusa married the Qwathi chief Mdandala, who as dowry (lobola) sent a miserable hundred head of cattle to Rharhabe. This was seen by Rharhabe as a great insult for someone of his stature, so that he sent his Right Hand son Cebo to Thembuland to demand more cattle. When Cebo arrived at Mdandala's homestead to demand the cattle as instructed by Rharhabe, the Qwathis fell upon this prince and killed him.
These events enraged Rharhabe so that he at once entered Thembuland to remedy the affront at the tip of an assegai (spear). War broke out where Rharhabe scattered the Thembus and seized many of their cattle. But at the skirmish near the Xuka River, Rharhabe was fatally wounded and died. This battle is estimated to have occurred around 1787.
Rharhabe's grave is near present-day Dohne in the Eastern Cape Province.
The Xhosa people had held out against colonial invaders for more than a century, longer than any other Southern African anti-colonial resistance. [1] With the Apartheid government's policy of re-tribalisation, and the creation of the Ciskei Bantustan, a political rivalry between the Rharhabe and the Fengu-who had traditionally been better educated and tended to hold salaried positions-arose. This culminated in the election of Rharhabe Lennox Sebe as leader of the territory in 1973, [2] although Sebe subsequently abandoned his anti-Fengu rhetoric. [3]
The titular head of the Rharhabe kingdom is King Jonguxolo Sandile, Aah Vululwandle, who became king after the sudden passing in July 2020 of his mother, the regent Queen Noloyiso Sandile Aah! Noloyiso, daughter of King Cyprian Bhekuzulu Nyangayezizwe kaSolomon and sister to the Zulu monarch King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu. She was married to King Maxhob'ayakhawuleza Sandile Aah! Zanesizwe, who died in July 2011. The Rharhabe kingdom consists of 40 Traditional Councils, stretching out from King Williamstown, Peddie, Whittlesea and the Great Fish River areas, including Alice.
The amaMfengu was a reference of Xhosa clans whose ancestors were refugees that fled from the Mfecane in the early-mid 19th century to seek land and protection from the Xhosa. These refugees were assimilated into the Xhosa nation and were officially recognized by the then king, Hintsa. The term derives from the Xhosa verb "ukumfenguza" which means to wander about seeking service.
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 action in the history of European colonialism in Africa.
Hintsa ka Khawuta, also known as Great or King Hintsa, was the king of the Xhosa Kingdom, founded by his great ancestor, King Tshawe. He ruled from 1820 until his death in 1835. The Xhosa Kingdom, at its peak, during his reign stretched from Mbhashe River, south of Mthatha to the Gamtoos River, in the Southern Cape.
King Gcaleka KaPhalo (Born:1728-Died:1779) 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.
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.
Rarabe 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.
Mlawu ka Rarabe was a son of Rarabe ka Phalo, the founder of the right hand house of the Xhosa nation.
King (iKumkani) Maxhob'ayakhawuleza Sandile was the son of the late King Mxolisi Sandile "Aa! Bazindlovu", who was the son of King Archie Velile Sandile, and Queen Nolizwe, the daughter of Western Mpondoland King Victor Poto Ndamase "Aa! Bhekuzulu", and sister to both King Tutor Vulindlela Ndamase "Aa! Nyangelizwe" and the wife of Chief Thandathu Jongilizwe Mabandla of the AmaBhele aseTyhume royal clan. He was the 9th descendant of King Phalo, the Son of King Tshiwo.
Sipho Mangindi Burns-NcamasheAa! Zilimbola! (1920–1996) was a South African poet, short story writer and Xhosa imbongi. He was also the chief of the AmaGwali Xhosa sub-group in Alice. He was also the leader of the Ciskei National Unionist Party from 1972–1978, the only member from his party to get a seat in the Republic of Ciskei National Assembly, until 1978 when he joined the Ciskei opposition party, the Ciskei National Party led by Chief Justice Mabandla. In 1979, Ciskei officially became a one-party state under the rule of Lennox Sebe and Burns-Ncamashe remained as one of the members of the Ciskei National Assembly.
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.
Mgolombane Sandile (1820–1878) was a ruler of the Right Hand House of the Xhosa Kingdom. A dynamic leader, he led the Xhosa armies in several of the Xhosa-British Wars.
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 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.
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.
The Battle of Amalinde 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.