Maqoma
Wikipedia describes Maqoma (about 1798 to 9 September 1873) as a Xhosa chief and military commander in the Cape Frontier Wars, born in the Right Hand House of the Xhosa kingdom, the eldest son of Ngqika, older brother of Sandile and nephew of King Hintsa. It gives his praise-style name as “Aa! Jongumsobomvu!”. The article carries tags asking for page numbers and better sources, so we report its main points and mark where it is thin.
Early life
The Battle of Amalinde article says that in October 1818 Maqoma, then 21 and in his first battle, led Ngqika’s army with Jingqi against the army of Ndlambe, led by Mdushane; see Ndlambe. The Maqoma article says he opposed his father’s policy of ceding land to the Cape Colony and that in 1822 he moved into the Neutral Zone to set up his own chiefdom, from which British troops expelled him.
The wars
- Sixth War (1834 to 1836). Wikipedia says the Xhosa call it Hintsa’s War, that Hintsa supported it but did not start it, and that Maqoma was the main Xhosa leader, reportedly leading about 10,000 men into the colony after a colonial commando killed a high-ranking chief on 11 December 1834. It says he and Tyali retreated to the Amatola mountains after defeats such as Trompetter’s Drift and that hostilities ended on 17 September 1836.
- Eighth War (1850 to 1853). It says Maqoma led insurgents in the forested Waterkloof, raiding from a stronghold on Mount Misery, for about two years, and killed Lieutenant-Colonel John Fordyce. It calls the war the most bitter of the series and says it ended in the subjugation of the Ciskei Xhosa, with Sandile and other chiefs surrendering in February 1853.
The article does not cover the Seventh War (1846 to 1847).
Robben Island and death
The article says he was imprisoned on Robben Island twice, with his wife and son allowed to stay with him the first time and sent alone, at about 73, the second. It says he died there on 9 September 1873 of old age and poor treatment, and quotes an Anglican chaplain as saying he “cried bitterly, before dying of old age and dejection”.
What we have not read
Wikipedia cites South African History Online’s “Chief Maqoma”, Ian Knight’s Warrior Chiefs of Southern Africa (1994), Peires’s The Dead Will Arise (1989), Stapleton’s “The Memory of Maqoma” (1993) and Martin Meredith’s Mandela (1997); we have read none of them, and Stapleton’s book on Maqoma is the standard biography. We found no Maqoma family account.
Izithakazelo and totem
The only praise-style name we have is the one above, quoted from Wikipedia without a longer text, and we have no confirmed totem, so we are printing nothing more. If you belong to Maqoma’s family and recite his izibongo, we would like to record them, with your permission and credited to you.
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Maqoma (tagged for page numbers and better sources)
- Wikipedia: Battle of Amalinde
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