No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
The '''Xesibe''' are a [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]-speaking people from [[Transkei]], [[South Africa]].The descendants of Xesibe are Nxontsa, Bhuku, Mlatsheni and Ngqatyana (these descendants of Xesibe could be found in an area called Mount Ayliff (EmaXesibeni), in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa). |
The '''Xesibe''' are a [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]-speaking people from [[Transkei]], [[South Africa]].The descendants of Xesibe are Nxontsa, Bhuku, Mlatsheni and Ngqatyana (these descendants of Xesibe could be found in an area called Mount Ayliff (EmaXesibeni), in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa). |
||
The village of Mt Ayliff (Maxesibeni) is situated on the N2 National road 32 km South of Kokstad, and about 160km North of Umtata. |
|||
In the 1800’s the Xesibe tribe settled in the valleys and hills between Tabankulu and Brooks’Nek (the pass over Nolangeni to Kokstad), and this is where Mt Ayliff is now situated. This tribe fought for their Independence against other tribes and in the early 1870’s asked the British Government at the Cape for protection and their area was then attached to East Griqualand. |
|||
In 1878 Magistrate Read set up his office on the slopes of Mt Evelyn at the back of the town. The town is named after Rev John Ayliff, a Methodist minister, who had founded a mission near the present village. Then in 1889 the Presbyterian Minister, Rev Peter Hunter, established a mission at nearby Gillespie. |
|||
Like other Transkei villages in the 1880’s and 1890’s, a Cape Mounted Rifles (CMR) garrison was started there during the unrest with the surrounding tribes. There was further development in the 1890’s when Mt Ayliff, being the centre of the Xesibe area, attracted a good number of traders. |
|||
In the early 1900’s the mountain nearby, Ntsizwa, deposits of nickel were found but proved too expensive to exploit. So in 1936 an attempt was made to mine it, but was unfeasible because of the cost. Later in 1960’s a further unsuccessful attempt was made in the 1960’s |
|||
There are other Xesibes like Ntozabantu to Ndzuza to Miyana to Bimbi to Nondzaba who begot Hlabe to Mthetho to Mtshutshumbe who founded the amaQwathi nation. Mtshutshumbe begot Mndwana begot Ncobe begot Nkovane begot Ntswayibana begot Dikela. The amaMpondo, amaMpondomise, amaXesibe and amaQwathi nations are related but the amaQwathi settled in Thembuland more than 350 years ago and as a result Qwathi chiefdom is more Thembu in culture and political association.<ref>O'Connell, M.C. 1982 Spirit Possession and Role Stress among the Xesibe of Eastern Transkei Ethnology, 21 (1): 21-37.</ref> |
|||
[[Spirit possession]] appears among them, and the majority of possessed are married women. The condition of spirit possession among them is called ''intwaso''. Those who develop the condition of ''intwaso'' are regarded as having a special calling to divine the future. They are first treated with sympathy, and then with respect as they develop their abilities to foretell the future.<ref>O'Connell, M.C. 1982 Spirit Possession and Role Stress among the Xesibe of Eastern Transkei Ethnology, 21 (1): 21-37.</ref> |
[[Spirit possession]] appears among them, and the majority of possessed are married women. The condition of spirit possession among them is called ''intwaso''. Those who develop the condition of ''intwaso'' are regarded as having a special calling to divine the future. They are first treated with sympathy, and then with respect as they develop their abilities to foretell the future.<ref>O'Connell, M.C. 1982 Spirit Possession and Role Stress among the Xesibe of Eastern Transkei Ethnology, 21 (1): 21-37.</ref> |
Revision as of 10:01, 17 August 2015
The Xesibe are a Xhosa-speaking people from Transkei, South Africa.The descendants of Xesibe are Nxontsa, Bhuku, Mlatsheni and Ngqatyana (these descendants of Xesibe could be found in an area called Mount Ayliff (EmaXesibeni), in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa).
The village of Mt Ayliff (Maxesibeni) is situated on the N2 National road 32 km South of Kokstad, and about 160km North of Umtata. In the 1800’s the Xesibe tribe settled in the valleys and hills between Tabankulu and Brooks’Nek (the pass over Nolangeni to Kokstad), and this is where Mt Ayliff is now situated. This tribe fought for their Independence against other tribes and in the early 1870’s asked the British Government at the Cape for protection and their area was then attached to East Griqualand.
In 1878 Magistrate Read set up his office on the slopes of Mt Evelyn at the back of the town. The town is named after Rev John Ayliff, a Methodist minister, who had founded a mission near the present village. Then in 1889 the Presbyterian Minister, Rev Peter Hunter, established a mission at nearby Gillespie. Like other Transkei villages in the 1880’s and 1890’s, a Cape Mounted Rifles (CMR) garrison was started there during the unrest with the surrounding tribes. There was further development in the 1890’s when Mt Ayliff, being the centre of the Xesibe area, attracted a good number of traders. In the early 1900’s the mountain nearby, Ntsizwa, deposits of nickel were found but proved too expensive to exploit. So in 1936 an attempt was made to mine it, but was unfeasible because of the cost. Later in 1960’s a further unsuccessful attempt was made in the 1960’s
There are other Xesibes like Ntozabantu to Ndzuza to Miyana to Bimbi to Nondzaba who begot Hlabe to Mthetho to Mtshutshumbe who founded the amaQwathi nation. Mtshutshumbe begot Mndwana begot Ncobe begot Nkovane begot Ntswayibana begot Dikela. The amaMpondo, amaMpondomise, amaXesibe and amaQwathi nations are related but the amaQwathi settled in Thembuland more than 350 years ago and as a result Qwathi chiefdom is more Thembu in culture and political association.[1]
Spirit possession appears among them, and the majority of possessed are married women. The condition of spirit possession among them is called intwaso. Those who develop the condition of intwaso are regarded as having a special calling to divine the future. They are first treated with sympathy, and then with respect as they develop their abilities to foretell the future.[2]