ImiDushane

Introduction

The Imidushane were founded by one of the greatest Xhosa warriors Mdushane who was the eldest son of Prince Ndlambe of the Rharhabe kingdom.

They are a subgroup of the Xhosa nation and can be found in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, where they have three traditional authorities in Tamarha Village near King William's Town, Ncera Village near East London and Centane in the Mnquma Local Municipality.

Rharhabe’s Reign

Rharhabe was the great son of the Right Hand House of King Phalo, born in 1722. King Phalo was the last absolute ruler over a united Xhosa speaking people. It is said amongst the Xhosa, whose culture allows for polygamy, that Phalo had intended to marry two royal brides from two different kingdoms. He has paid lobola for the two princesses; however one day was surprised when both bridal parties arrived simultaneously at his great place to begin the wedding festivities.

In order not to offend the father of either of the brides, Phalo was convinced by his councillors to marry both princesses on the same day, making one his wife from the Great House and the other the wife of Right Hand House. It was intended by Phalo that the two houses would be independent of each other and equal in status; thereby avoiding any offence to any of the two royal families.

The great wife would still bear the heir to the throne who would represent the senior line, while the great son of the Right Hand House would independent of his brother and in due course be able start his own kingdom. Phalo had two important sons from the two houses who would play a pivotal role in the history of the amaXhosa; prince Gcaleka his heir, born from the great house and prince Rharhabe who was the eldest, born from the Right Hand House.

Rharhabe grew up and became a very successful and skilled hunter, while also recognised as a fearless fighter in warfare. Because of Rharhabe’s increasing popularity, Gcaleka was unsettled by this and attempted to usurp the throne from his father. In order to keep the peace Rharhabe decided to move away from the great place and his father agreed to provide him with his own retinue and followers to create his own kingdom.

In the company of his father, Rharhabe left the great place and settled initially at Hohita near the amaNdungwana clan. It was during this period that Rharhabe would marry his great wife Queen Nojoli daughter of Ndungwana of the abaThembu nation and fathered three sons and two daughters. His sons were prince Mlawu, prince Ndlambe and prince Nukwa; and his daughters were princess Ntsusa and princess Khinzela. After some time, Rharhabe and his followers left Hohita and settled at Amabele near present day Stutterheim.

Rharhabe fought in many battles over cattle and land against the Thwa people and thereby extended his territory and gained many followers. His influence was also felt by the various smaller Xhosa clans such as the imiDange, the amaGqunukwebe, amaMbalu and amaNtinde, who had long enjoyed their independence from the great place, having traversed the Great Kei River sometime between the late 1600’s and early 1700's.

Rharhabe’s great son from the Right Hand House was prince Cebo. Not much is known about this prince, other than that he perished in battle against the amaQwathi clan who he fought against, after he was requested by his father to go and demand more lobola from his half-sister Ntsusa’s husband, who as dowry had delivered less than 200 head of cattle to Rharhabe. This number of cattle for a daughter of someone of Rharhabe’s stature was seen as a great insult.

Cebo died without male heirs but had daughters, who according to Xhosa law where excluded from succeeding him.

Not long after Cebo’s death, Rharhabe sought to revenge his son’s death as well as the slight received over his daughter’s lobola, that he and his army fell upon the amaQwathi and seized hundreds of their cattle. At this battle Rharhabe was fatally wounded and died. This was about the year 1787.

Ndlambe’s Reign

Ndlambe was Rharhabe’s second son born in the great house, therefore next in rank to his brother Mlawu. He was born in or about 1755.

Mlawu had predeceased his father having died in or about 1782, where it is said that on his wedding day festivities to his great wife, he fell ill and died. Rharhabe installed Ndlambe as regent for the house of Mlawu, due to Mlawu having fathered two boys, Ngqika and Ntimbo before his death.

After Rharhabe death, Ngqika was chosen as the heir to the throne while Ntimbo became the great son of the Right Hand House of Mlawu, with Ndlambe their guardian.

Ndlambe reigned over the Rharhabe kingdom as regent for well over twenty years. His reign was very popular among the amaRharhabe as he was known to be a wise man and brave warrior. He is credited for being the architect of the amaRharhabe’s greatness, that within a short few years, most of the royal houses westward of the Great Kei River were under his authority.

As Ngqika came of age, it became apparent that Ndlambe was reluctant to give up the kingship to Ngqika. This caused great tension between uncle and nephew that one day Ngqika, in or about 1806, with the help of his father’s councillor’s planned and executed a daring attack on Ndlambe, whose forces were caught by surprise and defeated.

Ndlambe left his great place at Ntaba kaNgqebeni on the Gqunube River which is near present day Gonubie, with a number of followers, crossing the Great Fish River and settled in eMnyameni near present day Alexandria. There he founded his amaNdlambe, which would once again surpass the house of Ngqika in numbers and wealth.

Ndlambe is known to have married several wives and had many sons. Ndlambe’s son who was to have succeeded him died in battle and Ndlambe did not elect a successor during his lifetime. Ndlambe’s other known sons were Mqhayi, Dyani, Mhala, Mxhamli, Zethu and Thuba.

Ndlambe died in February 1828.

Mdushane’s Reign

Mdushane was born in or about 1785 from Ndlambe’s first wife Nojaka.

In his formative years Mdushane grew up with his uncle Cebo, due to Ndlambe having divorced his mother before his birth. Ndlambe like his father Rharhabe, was a prince of warlike spirit that he is known to have engaged in many battles in his lifetime. After one of such battles, Ndlambe arrived home to discover that his wife, Nojaka was pregnant; and due to the lengthy period he had spent in battle, he suspected his wife of infidelity and refused to recognise the child as his own.

Ndlambe banished her from his great place that she sought refuge with Ndlambe’s father Rharhabe, whose great place was located near present day Burnshill. As Mdushane grew, Cebo noticed the resemblance between the child and his brother; and having no sons of his own, adopted the boy and raised him as his own.

When Cebo died, the councillors of that house requested Ndlambe to be supply them with a representative of their deceased prince from among his sons. Mdushane was appointed as Cebo’s heir and the great son of the Right Hand House of Rharhabe.

Mdushane became a much loved and popular leader and would prove to be one of the most capable and gifted military leaders in Xhosa history.

He grew up in the same homestead as his cousin Ngqika, future King of the amaRharhabe and the two young princes would remain friends right up until adulthood.

The relationship between Mdushane and Ngqika became strained when Ngqika abducted one of Ndlambe’s young wives Thuthula, who was known for her extraordinary beauty, with the intention of making her his wife. Among the Xhosa this act was seen as incestuous, that many of Ngqika’s followers left him and joined Ndlambe.

This also proved to be a very strategic opportunity for the councillors of Ndlambe who had long sought to reconcile father and son, seeing Mdushane’s exploits and the popularity he had brought to his house and that of Ngqika.

Mdushane would eventually leave Burnshill and join his father’s faction and thus bring with him such a large following and military strength it would enhance the position of the amaNdlambe amongst other royal houses of the frontier. This was no more evident than when the rivalry between Ngqika and Ndlambe came to a head in October 1818 at the battle of Amalinde.

The battle of Amalinde is one of the most famous battles ever fought amongst the Xhosa themselves. It is renowned for its sheer brutality and number of deaths that occurred.

Amongst the Xhosa it is said that the real reason for this battle was not the abduction of Thuthula as some early writers have postulated, but it was caused by Ngqika having a cosy relationship with the British Colonial authorities and also for pretending to speak on behalf of all Xhosa people in his dealings with the Colony.

The Colonial authorities viewed Ngqika as the supreme leader of all the Xhosa, despite the Gcaleka branch being senior to him; and treated him with more deference than all Xhosa royal houses, which angered Ndlambe, Mdushane and other royals west of the Kei.

At Amalinde, the Ngqika forces were led by Ngqika’s favourite son and the great son of the Right Hand House, Maqoma. The amaNdlambe forces which included the amaGcaleka, imiMdange, amaHleke and amaGqunukhwebe, were all under the overall command of Mdushane.

At this battle Mdushane distinguished himself as a man of outstanding ability and a superior of all his contemporaries among all Xhosa military tacticians of the day. He outmanouvred Maqoma by first sending to battle his weakest regiment who he dressed up in the regalia of his strongest. Mdushane then with his bravest warriors outflanked the Ngqika forces and a bloodbath ensued. Maqoma was who was severly injured at the battlefront was immediately whisked away to safety by his father’s forces which undoubtedly spared his life.

After this crippling loss, Ngqika appealed to the British Colonial Authorities for assistance claiming that he was only being punished by the others royal houses for his efforts and attempts at stopping cattle raiding by the Xhosa in the Colony. In December 1818, Ngqika received the aid he so long for in the form of Colonel Brereton, who with his commandos attacked the amaNdlambe and as booty took 23 000 head of cattle. Ngqika was given 10 000 cattle from the cattle seized by Brereton.

This caused great resentment on Ndlambe and Mdushane, that in April 1819, the amaNdlambe forces marched in broad daylight into the Colony and descended on Grahamstown in all-out war.

Makhanda (Nxele), who was a son of a commoner, had by this time through sheer force of personally risen to become supreme wardoctor of the amaNdlambe, and managed to convince Ndlambe that with his mystical powers they would defeat the British and drive them back into the sea from whence they came.

With an army of about 6000 strong, the amaNdlambe under their commander-in-chief Mdushane attacked Grahamstown, with Makhanda leading a section of this army. Makhanda and his troops managed to penetrate the British defences and reached the army barracks where they looted all before them.

The British with a garrison of about 300 men managed with their firepower to overcome the assault and the Xhosa retreated back over the Fish River.

The war continued for several months thereafter, where the Xhosa’s suffered heavy losses. In order to ease the suffering of his countrymen and believing it would stop the British advance; Makhanda surrendered to the British, who immediately put him under arrest and had him imprisoned on Robben Island.

Makhanda would drowned the following year while attempting to escape from his island prison with other prisoners.

Mdushane’s Family

Mdushane’s great wife was Nonibe, daughter of Jikwa of the Nkumba clan. In the Great House, his heir was Siwani, and his great son in the Right Hand House was Qasana (Mfundisi). In the Ixhiba House (Left Hand House or Grandfather’s House), a house which it said was introduced by Ngqika to Xhosa lines of succession; his great son was Siyolo (Matebese), who was also his eldest son.

Qasana and Siyolo would like their father and grandfather before them prove to be great thorns against the British in many frontier wars and showed themselves to be true African nationalist who believed in a free Xhosa society without British influence.

Siwani having seen the destruction caused by the British commandos on his people, tended to choose neutrality in wars against the Colony.

Mdushane’s Death

After his father’s death in February 1828, Mdushane took over the reins of amaNdlambe and sought to amalgamate the Imidushane and amaNdlambe into one unified force; however no sooner had he succeeded his father that he became ill.

Mdushane’s brother’s Mqhayi and Dyani then took over the affairs of the Imidushane and Amandlambe respectively. This uncertainty caused another brother, Mhala, a junior brother born from one of the Qadi Houses (support houses) of Ndlambe to break away with some followers seeking his own independence.

Prior to his untimely death, Mdushane would in a twist of fate like his father before him, reject his great wife Nonibe and her infant son, where after he would proclaim his son Qasana as his successor.

It was customary among the Xhosa that when someone of importance became ill or some misfortune befell him, that a witchdoctor would be called upon to identify the reason for the person’s malady. It was during one of these so called "smelling out" rituals that Nonibe was identified as the person causing the great Mdushane's sickness. As with such outcomes she was to be killed and her belongings and homestead to be set alight.

Nonibe was to be saved from certain death by her step son Siyolo, who had recently emerged from the Xhosa custom of ukwaluka, who defied his father and pleaded that she be met with no harm. Nonibe and her child were then banished from the great place.

In May 1829, this colossal of a man in the prime of his years died at his great place near the Dube stream, a tributary of the Keiskamma River. After Mdushane’s death the amaNdlambe went into a steady decline and disintegrated into smaller factions.

According to the Missionary Rev. Stephen Kay, Mdushane and Ndlambe were one of the first Xhosa leaders to welcome missionary work among their people, that the very place on which the missionary station in Mount Coke was built in 1825 was chosen by him and Mdushane.

Another Missionary Rev. Samuel Young would later write that he was present at both the funerals of Ndlambe and Mdushane where he performed the prayer at both burials and that to his knowledge, these were the first instances where members of the Xhosa Royal Family were buried in accordance with Christian rites.

The Imidushane after Mdushane's death

Qasana who was Mdushane’s successor was placed under the guardinaship of his uncle Mqhayi. However in war of 1834, Qasana defied his uncle who supported peace with the Colony and decided to join the war against the British, which proved very costly for his people as he suffered numerous losses and lost vast tracks of lands.

After the war, the Imidushane were divided under those who supported Qasana, those under Siwani and those under Siyolo. Siwani, who was under his mother Nonibe’s regency was neutral and would after the war, perhaps due to the high esteem the British held his mother who was said to be of British ancestry, be regarded as Mdushane's heir.

Despite this loss of power, Qasana would fight in two more frontiers wars against the Colony, in 1846 and 1850. His final act in the resistance against the British was in the cattle killing of 1856-1858, where as part of the Amagogotya (Believers), he and other important Xhosa royal houses were led to believe by the young prophetesses Nongqawuse and Nonkosi to kill all the cattle and destroy their sustenance in the belief that it would bring salvation against the British by raising from the dead all the great Xhosa warriors of old like Mdushane, Ndlambe and Hintsa.

Like many other prominent actors in the cattle killing, which the British believed to be a desperate plot by the Xhosa leaders to start another war; princes such as Maqoma, Siyolo, Phato, Mhala and Xhoxho, were arrested and sent to Robben Island. Qasana and Tola who had also been arrested along with Xhoxho at the notorious prison in King Wlliam's Town, where prisoners were held before being sent to Robben Island, managed to escape with their sons. Qasana and his sons Jongilanga and Mqanqeni were never to be caught. They deserted their ancestral home and would for many years remain in hiding among the Gcaleka in Centani.

Tola and his sons were not so lucky; after a year on the run their hiding place was betrayed to Magistrate Colley in Dutywa, where they were cornered and in the ensuing battle, fought to the bitter end.

Siyolo was eventually released along with others such as Maqoma and Mhala. He returned to his old lands where he again took up arms against the British and would eventually be killed in battle in 1879.

Siwani had refused to partake in the cattle killing and he would emerge after this catastrophic period in Xhosa history relatively unscathed.

The AmaNdlambe after Mdushane's death

The AmaNdlambe were divided between those followers of Dyani, Mqhayi and those of Mhala. Dyani had the strongest claim to the throne of the amaNdlambe. Mhala was however a man much loved by his father’s followers and would through some intrigue accuse his brother Dyani of bewitching him after falling gravely ill. Dyani was smelt out by a witchdoctor as the person who was making Mhala sick, and fearing for his life, Dyani fled his great place leaving behind all his possession, where after Mhala was proclaimed the successor of Ndlambe and head of the amaNdlambe.

Mhala was also an fervent supporter of the cattle killing movement which led to his arrest. Like Siyolo he would return to his old lands, where he found them totaly barren. As it was a condition of his release from Robben Island that he should not seek his followers or return to his land, Mhala was again hunted by the British where he would also die in battle.

Imidushane Today

The Imidushane of Siwani, being the Great House of Mdushane are under the leadership of iNkosi Ludwe Siwani in Tamarha, King Williamstown. The Imidushane of Qasana, being the Right Hand House of Mdushane are under the leadership of iNkosi Lwanda Jongilanga in Ncera, East London.

The Imidushane have another branch stemming from those of Qasana. Qasana’s heir from the Great House was Jongilanga and his great son in the Right Hand House was Mnqanqeni. Mnqanqeni’s great son from the Great House was Pikisa. This subgroup of the Imidushane is under the leadership of iNkosi Mekeni Pikisa in Centane. It is this line that completes the lineage of the Imidushane.

Siyolo’s Imidushane disintegrated after his death, that his heir Bangayi was the last to rule in this house.

References:

• The House of Phalo: A History of the Xhosa People in the Days of Their Independence - Peires, J.B. (1981) University of California Press, USA.
• Imibengo - Bennie, W.G. (1970) Lovedale Press, South Africa.
• The South-Eastern Bantu - Soga, J.H. (1930) Cambridge University Press, USA
• The Dead Will Arise: Nongqawuse and the Great Cattle Killing Movement of 1856-1857 - Peires, J.B. (1989) Indiana University Press, USA
• A Missionary Narrative of the Triumphs of Grace - Rev Young, S. (1842) Wesleyan Conference Office, London, UK
• Travels and Researches in Caffraria - Rev. Kay, S. (1834) Harper and Brothers, New York, USA
• Zemk' Inkomo Magwalandini - Rubusana W.B. and S.C. Sotyo (2002) New Africa Books, Claremont, South Africa