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While hiking through Intaba kaNdoda in the beautiful Amathole Forest, where the remains of Nkosi Jongumsobomvu Maqoma are laid near Keiskammahoek, we passed a beautiful natural landscape handed down from past generations of the Khoekhoe (Khoi) to the Xhosa people.
SEK Mqhayi, in his famous story Ityala lamawele, described the beauty of this countryside as “intatyana enesiphongo esijonge eNtshonalanga, ithe ngcu kumahlathi akwaHoho, ekuphuma kuwo iXesi neQonce” (A hill facing westwards protruding in the forest of Hoho, from which Xesi and Qonce emerge). The landscape sparked a conversation on our identity and prompted us to wonder where we, as amaXhosa, come from. The hike engagement moved beyond the Nguni to discuss the distinction and relation between the Nguni, particularly amaXhosa, and the KhoiSan people.
One of the questions that stood out was whether the celebrations of the Heritage Month should be a solo project, a programme of government only or a much-needed collaborative effort from all South Africans (diverse races). This is a conversation worth having and it is surely bigger than government and the department of sport, arts and culture alone. It is a dialogue our society must have, a conversation that must take place in the auditoriums and community halls of the townships, the streets of the quiet urban areas and gated communities of high walls and during traditional leaders’ meetings near the kraals of kings' and chiefs' palaces in the villages.
Our discussion as hikers culminated into serious questions that we must address as South Africans. We must critically ask ourselves what we mean when we speak of a racial group labelled as ‘coloureds’. To whom are we referring? Who are the leaders of the coloureds and what was their contribution to society? Are coloureds the same as the Khoi and the San as we often seem to suggest? Why is the heritage of the Khoi and San people important in the process of building a non-racial, sexist and democratic society?
In the 70th commemoration of the thousands of women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on 9 August 1956, we are also reminded that before the generation of Sophia Theresa Williams-De Bruyn, Lillian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph, there was a strong generation of pioneering women who understood that although true leadership is about fighting the fight, not all battles have to be physical struggles. The case in point to this lesson was set by a female leader of the debased Khoi people. It was Queen Hoho who taught us that leadership is often about choosing what set of values the leader must withhold and represent. For her, that meant choosing peace and securing the future for generations. She was a prudent leader, a woman of fortitude.
Queen Hoho was the last monarch of the Inqua/Humcumqua, an influential Khoi subgroup in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Pre-colonial historians generally place her contribution and leadership during the territorial shifts and conflicts that started to happen during the 1700s when Nguni groups migrated into Khoi territories. This is the era when the elder son of the late King Phalo, Chief Rharhabe, moved westward across the Great Kei River into the fertile lands surrounding the Amathole Mountains. The area was under the control of the Khoi, led by Queen Hoho.
The inspirational story of Queen Hoho is one of tremendous courage in the face of a formidable opponent. She chose negotiation and unity over war when common sense dictated that it was justifiable to continue fighting. Thanks to her, today the Khoi and the amaXhosa heritage is woven together.
When it was clear that the weak and vulnerable, including her lover, Chief Hinsati, were dying, people expected more of her wrath and eagerness for revenge but she chose peace through negotiation with the perpetrators of her loss to break the stalemate. Her unexpected choice saved the lives of the amaRharhabe and Khoi people because she put her nation's interests before the pain of her personal loss. When she realised that the only constant in the stalemate was death on both sides, she opted for negotiation even when it was not easy.
The cherry on top was that the Khoi got a huge herd of cattle and amaXhosa got the land to settle. Mqhayi refers to this in one of his writings when he speaks about Intaba kaNdoda. The scene of the stalemate is well articulated in Ityala lamawele when the poet of Gompo says: Laphalala igazi layimityididi, zandla zahlutha zada zanqunguda izikhali zikaRharhabe kwada kwabonakala makwenziwe imvumelwano ngayimbi indlela. Ibe yeyokuba lithengwe lonke elozwe ngemihlambi yenkomo (Blood was spilt in streams, hands grabbed and even snatched away the weapons of the Rharhabe people, until it became clear that a peace agreement had to be made by some other means. It was that the whole country be bought with herds of cattle).
Mqhayi, who is Xhosa, argues that the mountain is a product of a transaction of livestock instead of a violent seizure. This contradicts the narrative that Queen Hoho was defeated. There would be no reason to remunerate the Khoi with a big herd of cattle when they were defeated. However, the narrative of a defeated Queen Hoho is rehashed by the patriarchal and tribalist storytellers because they want men to always appear superior to women. The fact that an army led by a woman had a stalemate in war with the army led by a man does not sit well with these folks. Women leaders must address and challenge the historical revisions because they are no good for building a non-sexist world.
As August is a month of women and September is the month to celebrate our heritage, we must reflect on the role of the queen. Women must learn from her that strength isn’t only in fighting. Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is talk, negotiate and build a future where everyone belongs. Without negotiations the Khoi would have not got compensation for their land. On the other side, the Rharhabe people would have remained landless, without anywhere to settle. The probability is that many Khoi and Xhosa people would have died in the war.
The story of Queen Hoho teaches us that women in leadership are leaders to everyone and they can lead everywhere. Queen Hoho demonstrated this when she led men in the battlefield as a warrior leader and also led them in the negotiations as an organic intellectual leader. It is because of her necessary versatility as a leader that we remember her name, from Keiskammmahoek to the Amathole Mountains to the Buffalo River.
To show that they have really learnt from her great contribution, women have a duty to address the sad conditions in which the Khoi and the San live. The dire conditions of poverty and being uncritically reduced to just ‘coloured’ must not be ignored because, among other things, through intermarriage and peaceful assimilation the amaXhosa have ooSukwini, amaGqwashu, ooQhinebe, ooJola and so on because of the Khoi and the San. Great kings, chiefs and clan leaders of amaXhosa are also fruits of the Khoi and San wives. Names such as Cirha, Yirha, Hintsa, Jwarha, Qwambi and many more can be traced from the Khoi and San’s history. Women leaders must compel the San and Khoi to put more pressure on government to recognise their pioneering role in the wars of resistance against colonialism.
From the above, it is clear that the plight of the San and the Khoi people is close to the heritage of those in power in government and the corporate world. It is thus a shame that the conditions of the minority groups are not prioritised post-1994. Woman leaders must realise that the conditions of the minority groups must be prudently addressed to achieve firm results in the mission of having a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa. The incorporation of the San and Khoi leaders in the House of Traditional Leaders was a step that must lead to other steps being taken. One of the steps is to properly place women leadership roles within our nations. Women such as Queen Hoho of the Khoi and Queen Nonesi of abaThembu, for example, should be celebrated.
If there is any takeaway for women leaders today from this inspirational Queen, it is that the choices of leaders must always be based on the best interests of the people instead of egoistic actions being taken.
Vusumzi Vusie Mba is a researcher for the Eastern Cape department of transport and a strategic advisor to Nkosi Wongalesizwe Zimema! Ah Wongalesizwe. He writes in his personal capacity
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