Xhosa Clan names (Iziduko)

I am Xhosa but I have always wondered what the fuss about clan names is and why are they important?

Luckily for me I saw information on XhosaCulture.co.za and it has helped me to understand the importance of our clan names.

Xhosa Clan names (isiduko) are family names considered more important than surnames amongst Xhosa people. Mentioning the clan name of someone you want to thank is the highest form respect and it is considered polite to enquire after someone’s clan name when you meet them.When a woman marries she takes her husband’s surname but she keeps her clan name adding the prefix Ma to it. A man and a woman with the same clan name they cannot marry for they are considered related.

Not all Xhosa speaking people belong to the amaXhosa nation whose rulership descends from AmaTshawe also known as the Gcaleka and Rharhabe rulership. Some people make the mistake of saying all Xhosa speaking people are uMzi ka Phalo (the house of Phalo).

 I am Xhosa speaking and I always fail to explain why I am not Xhosa for I do not fall under the House of Phalo,but the house of AmamFengu I hope this will shed some light.

I am Xhosa speaking and I always fail to explain why I am not Xhosa for I do not fall under the House of Phalo. I belong to the house of Amafengu.

AmaMfengu are a Bantu people; originally closely related to the Zulu people, but now often considered to have assimilated to the Xhosa people whose language they now speak. Historically they achieved considerable renown for their military ability in the frontier wars.

They were previously known in English as the “Fingo” people, and they gave their name to the district of Fingoland (Mfenguland), the South West portion of the Transkei division, in the Cape Province.  The Fengu had no paramount-chief as other tribes did, but the Cape Commander Veldman Bikitsha was a Fengu, and held authority over the Fengu’s military capacity.

 Today virtually all the Fingo people have intermarried with other ethnic groups particularly with the Xhosa and Zulu. Many are now often considered – especially by outsiders – to be ethnically Xhosa and others Zulu, because of their common language and some similar customs. A considerable number have a mixed racial background, especially in and around the Cape provinces.

Source:http://xhosaculture.co.za/history/amamfengu/

Pictures: www.ezakwantu.com