Intro: Where do Xhosa people come from?

Where do Xhosa people come from?

I am interested in things that are treated with high regards by the Xhosa people and yet their origins are sketchy and some are obviously from the west.

So, I would like to understand the origin of a lot of these and hopefully my questions will be cleared.

#Xhosa #History #Culture #Tradition #Customs #Practices #language #Origin #WesternInfluence

[the_jenefas]

As a costume designer, I am doing research into Xhosa clothing history and these are some of the questions I started to ask as well.

[siphokuhlelanga]

I feel like being Xhosa is a matter of being able to adapt to anything while staying true to yourself and never losing the cultural beliefs that's why we incorporated khoisan languages and married their woman while also staying true to our language, we went from animal skins to fabric but never changed the style in which we dress all in all we adapt but stay true to our identity

[GrootmanSipho]

Thank you so much for actually questioning and making this video because I’ve also been curious about the origin of Xhosa people myself.

The truth is that the only true Xhosa people are found in the sub category which is ironically called “AmaXhosa” the one that’s comprised of Tshawe, Jwarha, Cirha etc.

A lot of people don’t realise that the true Xhosa people are not Nguni and that they were Xhosa before the arrival of Nguni people in the Natal and the Cape region.

Xhosa people were originally a mixed Khoe and Bantu nation of people. The /Xam (extinct San) described them as a group of people who spoke a funny mix of Khoe and Sintu language. The /Xam would give them the name //kosa (pronounced Xhosa). How Xhosa people became known to be Nguni is due to a simplification of a very complex tribal system that confused Europeans and not forgetting Mfecane. As a result, you now have people who aren’t Nguni being labelled as Nguni and people who aren’t Xhosa being labelled as Xhosa for convenience. Another example of that is the term “Khoisan” which is so widely used to describe 2 different groups of people (Khoe and San) who are comprised of many tribes, Clans, languages and diverse cultures.

Now the origin of Nguni people is that they came from as far as modern day Limpopo and they were a mix of Bakoni (a now extinct group), //xegwi (San group, at risk of extinction) and Tsonga heritage. The language we know today as IsXhosa is some type of Nguni dialect closely related to IsiSwati and IsiPhuthi. It’s not the //kosa language that was spoken in precolonial South Africa.

It’s no coincidence that other African countries have hundreds of languages and different cultures. In South Africa our cultures have been simplified for the convenience of Europeans and that lead to many cultures and languages dying. If things were not simplified, we’d have hundreds hundreds of cultures and languages.

[loydriquedakos]

Xhosa comes from khoisan mixed with nguni genetic

[TheeeEmpresss]

Let me help clarify a few things. When the missionaries came - they came with Christianity and the Bible. Our people were beaten and killed - mostly made to change their cultural ways and follow that of missionaries. Our way of living was changed and so were the clothes that we wore - because they were not deemed as conservative…we adopted alot of the western way of doing things. I hope that helps a little bit…

[monwabisibambinkala]

What makes us Xhosa is not what we wear, use etc it is how we carry ourselves it is our practice and our beliefs.Remember how we came to know Qamata that he exist (belief) we followed that way.Traditional healers use these (western tools) because these tools come from Qamata(nature) meaning they are spiritual, hence they can connect to our ancestors if we use them accordingly.This all started from the "discovery"of the existence of our God(Qamata) that everything around us is connected spirituality.We then improved our methods (got dreams from Qamata on how to go forward)which led us to be able to connect to the dead(our ancestors)using what Qamata gave us(all the things that are created water, rocks, grass everything even the manufactured ones).So again what makes us Xhosa?It is our belief of the existence of Qamata and his works.There is no one that does the way we do/did, and received the message like we did/do when we pray to Qamata only Xhosa people

[hluliryyynti]

Xhosa people are not the same thing because there are clans, every clan is different

[ZomziWeAfrika]

I thought we were coming from the Zulu tribe and before we were in west Africa after the great migration. Before we were Nguni we were up North, the Black Israelites… hence we sticked to the circumscision because Abraham made a covenant with God .

[sibusisondlovu]

i believe that Xhosa people have always been in the Cape. White man found Xhosa people in the Cape . Xhosa people were first Nguni group to meet Whites. The Xhosa stayed with whites fir more than 159years before other Nguni group met withWhife - that explains dress code and beads and English surnames.

[sibusisosimama]

first check the xhosa name of kings, Hintsa,Sarhili,Togu,Rharhabe,Ngqika,Gcaleka,Maqoma,Tshawe,Cirha, the kings that came from the house of Malangana(Xhosa), , , then check the names of villages and rivers in the E.C like Qunu, Qumbu, Nqgushwa, Xesi, khobonqaba, Qoboqobo, Nxukwebe, River Like Gqebe, , , ask yourself the meaning of these names then you maybe get a clue where the Xhosas came from nditsho amaxhosa omthonyana not amambo, , cause eyemambo history is clear

[mzukulwanakangubengcuka]

First things first, Xhosa are Nguni together with Zulu and Ndebele and maybe Swati (now my research says Swatis are part of the Tembu tribes, Tembu tribes speak and practice Xhosa language and traditions). If Nguni, then they are Bantu. Those who say we are Khoe are lying even though we had mixed marriages with Khoisan people. I said first things first, beads are African and nylon was invented in Africa because civilization started in Africa. Saharan region was the cradle of ancient civilization and where we come from, for we come from Egypt, but we were not Egyptians. I don't know about Isishweshwe but all that we wear as Xhosa attire is African. Nylon is African, beads were worn in Egypt, see films on ancient Egypt, even the rondavels roofings have a pyramid shape. Beads zenziwe ngophondo not plastic.

[lgomomo]

Know I history!!! Check the old dictionaries.

[hluliryyynti]

We must DEVELOP ON WHAT WAS MADE BEFORE

[jmozyrp]

The clothing you start of your comments was about clothing and enticing beards made of 😅plastic haha keep searching course lm not certified with the way you had introduced the whole comment

[gags-villsounds]

With the bids... well, get in contact a lot with people from Villages and you will know that bids were originally not from plastics. I forgot the name for lawa Mason but you can literally get them from amatyholo. Amampdomise wives wore ingwaqu and other stuff. A lot of our culture was lost during colonialism and apartheid

[thobilenyaku]

Yes you mention beads, pearls look a lot like the plastic beads you're referring to and pearls are gotten from it's plausible that we in actual fact had pearls

[freepapuatv]

i get the same feeling.. it is said that xhosa were nomadic brand of people who for some reason ran into conflict with the whites when they reached south africa.. the so called white colonist who have lived in africa all there life.. a war pursued which i presume was couped by the british and they became prisoners and some even in the colony.. but the question is still where do they come from

[dalidalii]

Zulu first to show akukho into ekuthiwa nguni tribe this tribes came from different areas welcomed by xhosa and khoisan, xhosa doing sintu and khoisan culture also language ngunies arrived later influence xhosa lead them to change their culture of working naked wearing isibheshu and inciyo with cloth and also replace qamata and worship umveli nqambi God of ngunnies the time they arrived we were busy fighting Portuguese for 25yrs they were defeated by umaqoma several times but keep coming back ezinye endicacisayo azikho zeza later on history yona yeyakudala 1st people to accupy south africa

[lonwabotembani]

Why dont u come to Port Elizabeth make a merting with us and we will tell u where these things come from..
Bcz answering these things on social media wont help.
Xhosa culture comes from the Bantu culture if u know bantu culture than u will find all the anawers u r looking for.
Before u look at Bantu also check Mentuhotep Ntu than Bantu than became Mnguni. Swati Xhosa Zulu Ndebele we practice similar traditions but Zulu sropped the circumcision in the1800. But we do similar doctrines due to same background.

[yangarasta]

Ulwazi lakho luseluncinci mfanasekhaya