Rharhabe (also written Rarabe) is the founding ancestor of one of the two great branches into which the Xhosa nation split in the 18th century – a division that still shapes Xhosa royal politics today. The amaRharhabe trace their line directly back through Tshawe, Nkosiyamntu and Malangana to Xhosa himself.
The split from Gcaleka
Phalo (c. 1715-1775) was the last king to rule a politically united Xhosa nation. His two most prominent sons came from different royal houses: Gcaleka, his heir from the Great House, and Rharhabe, the elder son, born of the Right Hand House. As Rharhabe’s standing and popularity grew, Gcaleka – fearing he would lose his position as heir – attempted to seize the throne from their father. The coup failed, in part because Rharhabe came to Phalo’s defence. Rather than press his advantage and remain a rival at court, Rharhabe chose to leave: with Phalo’s agreement, he led a section of the nation across the Kei River and settled at Amabele, near present-day Stutterheim, founding what would become the amaRharhabe.
Phalo died in 1775 (some sources give 1778) and was succeeded as head of the Great House by Gcaleka, who continued to assert formal seniority over all Xhosa chiefs even after the split – a claim the amaRharhabe have never fully accepted. Historian J.B. Peires describes the quarrel between Phalo’s two sons as the event that “laid the foundations of a split which divided the Xhosa into two great sections, the amaGcaleka of the east and the amaRharhabe of the west” – a division that has structured Xhosa royal politics ever since.
The amaRharhabe themselves later split again, into the amaNgqika and amaNdlambe houses, following a further dynastic dispute remembered as the War of Thuthula (1807-1808).
Totem and related clans
Rharhabe descends in the direct Xhosa royal line: Xhosa fathered Malangana, who fathered Nkosiyamntu, who fathered Tshawe – the ancestor from whom the whole Xhosa royal house, including both the Gcaleka and Rharhabe branches, takes its praise name. We have not been able to confirm a specific isiduko (clan name) or totem distinct to the Rharhabe house from the sources available to us – the royal line is generally identified through the Tshawe praise name shared across both branches.
Geography
The amaRharhabe territory lies west of the Kei River, in what is now the Eastern Cape around Stutterheim, King William’s Town and the former Ciskei – distinguishing it from amaGcaleka territory in the Transkei to the east.
Izithakazelo
We have not yet sourced a confirmed written record of izithakazelo specific to the Rharhabe royal house, distinct from the wider Tshawe praises already documented on our Tshawe clan page. If you can help us document them accurately, please get in touch using the details below.
What the government commission found
In its determination on the amaRharhabe, the Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims recorded that Rharhabe was the first-born son of the right-hand house of Phalo and that Phalo gave him authority to settle west of the Kei River, where he found communities including the amaGqunukhwebe, amaNtide, amaGwali, amaHleke, imiDange and amaMbalu. It found that his traditional leadership was always subordinate to the great house of Phalo, that with the exception of Ngqika his successors respected the Gcaleka house as their seniors, and that the 1961 elevation of Archie Velile Sandile to paramount chief was irregular because it created a dual kingship. It concluded that the position of the amaRharhabe paramount chief, Bangilizwe Maxhobayakhawuleza Sandile, is that of senior traditional leader. See our Gcaleka and Ngqika pages.
Sources and further reading
- J.B. Peires, “Continuity and change in Ciskei chiefship,” SAS-Space
- Wikipedia, “Rharhabe” and “ImiDushane”
- Dictionary of South African English, entry for “Gcaleka”
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