Xhosa clan names
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Xhosa clan names (isiduko (sing.), iziduko (pl.) in Xhosa) are family names which are considered more important than surnames. Much like the clan system of Scotland, each Xhosa person can trace their family history back to a specific male ancestor or stock. Mentioning the clan name of someone you wish to thank is the highest form of respect, and it is considered polite to enquire after someone's clan name when you meet them. The clan name is also sometimes used as an exclamation by members of that clan.
When a woman marries she may take her husband's surname, but she always keeps her own clan name, adding the prefix Ma- to it. A man and a woman who have the same clan name may not marry, as they are considered to be related.
A few clan names of amaXhosa and related ethnic groups include:
- Bhele (divides into several sub-clan groups - Dongo, Langa, etc.)
- Cirha
- Deyi
- Dlamini (or Zizi, the clan name of Thabo Mbeki, an Mfengu subgroup)
- Dlane
- Dlangamandla
- Dlomo (different lines, Thembu or Hlubi subgroups)
- Dontsa (a Hlubi subgroup clan name)
- Dosini
- Duma (Nxuba)
- Faku (Nyawuza)
- Gadluma
- Ganu
- Gebe (a Bomvana clan name)
- Gqwashu (with Khoi-khoi ancestry)
- Gubevu (Maduna)
- Hegebe
- Jwarha
- Khawuta
- Khiwa (Khonjwayo, a Pondo clan)
- Khumalo (an Mfengu clan name)
- Khwetshube (an Mpondo clan name)
- Madiba (the clan name of Nelson Mandela, a Thembu. Important rulers and chiefs include Mthikrakra, Ngangelizwe, Dalindyebo, Joyi, Jumba, Sabatha,Buyelekhaya)
- Maduna (an Mfengu clan name)
- Mbanjwa
- Mbatha
- Mbotho
- Mfene
- Mhaga
- Miya
- Mpehle (Mpodomise subgroup clan name)
- Mpemvu (a Thembu clan name)
- Mpinga (Mawawa)
- Mvulane
- Myirha
- Ncuthu
- Ngcitshane
- Ngxongo
- Ngwanya
- Nkwali (an Mfengu clan name)
- Nqarhwane
- Ntshilibe
- Nxasana
- Nxuba
- Nyawuza (Faku, Mpondo ruling line. Chiefs include Faku, Sigcau, Bokleni, Ndamase)
- Nzothwa
- Qadi
- Qhinebe
- Qoco
- Qoma
- Qwambi
- Qwathi (divides into several sub-clans:Dikela, Sdindi, Bhlangwe,Bhose, etc. Chiefs include Nqeno, Stokwe, Dalasile, Fubu, Zwelakhe)
- Rhadebe
- Rhoyi
- Sithathu - means "third" (the third Khoi-khoi ancestry clan)
- Skhoji (A group of Xhosa speaking people who mainly occupy the the small town called Tsolo on the Tsitsa valley. They are the direct descendants of a Scottish man by the name of William Saunders who befriended a Xhosa girl and later had issue.)
- Shiya
- Sohobese
- Sukwini (with Khoi-khoi ancestry)
- Tolo (Dlangamandla)
- Tshangisa
- Tshawe (the ruling house among all the Xhosa. Chiefs include Hintsa, Sigcawu, Sarhili, Xolilizwe, etc.)
- Tshezi (the ruling Bomvana clan of the Jalamba-Gambushe line, with European shipwreck ancestry)
- Tshomane (with shipwreck ancestry, split from the ruling Nyawuza clan of the Mpondo)
- Xesibe
- Xhamela
- Zangwa
- Zikhali
[edit] Sources
Kirsch et al., Clicking with Xhosa (2001), David Phillips Publishers, Cape Town, p.22
My name is Malibongwe Nqanqase and my clan name is Qhinebe: Gqugqugqu, Zithong' ezithathu, Nondela, HaHa, Duka namahlathi...
It is incorrect to associate the Ntshilibe clan with the Qhinebe clan. They are two different clans not related at all.
My name is Fezile Mgayo the issue of surnames is the most important issue amongst the Xhosa people. The Mgayo family is a sub clan of AmaMPondo group OoKhiwa, Khonjwayo. The Nyandeni Municipality in the Eastern Cape is dominantly occupied by this group.
My name is [Silulami Mhlakane] ndingu Gcwanini,Sbewu,Salakulandelwa,Sijekula,Mja,Mancoba,Makaluza,Vezi,Rhengqwa,Nongxongxothwala,Miya,Bhinqela ehlezweni,Zimba elimdaka elingatyiwa nazintaka.Aah into zikaNgqangweni,zikaQangule,zikaJoka,zikaMkiva kungade kuse
