Taylor Laufenberg, Group Expert

ETHNIC GROUPS IN SOUTH AFRICA

TODAYS BREAKDOWN

Blacks- 79.4% or approximately 41

million
Whites- 9% or 4.5 million
Coloured- 9% or 4.6 million
Indian/Asian- 2.5% or 1.3 million
11 official languages- Afrikaans,
English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiXhosa,
Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho, Setswana,
siSwati ,Tshivenda ,Xitsonga

INDIGENOUS BLACK POPULATION

Nguni People include Xhosa, Zulu,

Ndebele, and Swazi
Sotho-Tswana People
Tsonga
Venda
Khoi and San (Bushmen)are among the
oldest inhabitants in South Africa

APARTHEID ERA

Ten self-governing homelands

(Bantustans) established for the
future forced removal various
Black populations:

Xhosa: Transkei in Eastern Cape

Province and Ciskei just west of
Transkei
Zulu: KwaZulu in Natal Province
Ndebele, North Sotho and Tswana:
Bophuthatswana
Swazi: KaNgwane
Southern Ndbele: KwaNdebele

BACKGROUND ON NGUNI PEOPLE

LANGUAGE

Originally a common Bantu

language
Distinct languages
developed during the 19th
and 20th centuries
Intermarriages with the
Khoi and San people
brought imploded
clicking phonemes
4 of SAs official languages
are Nguni- isiZulu, isiXhosa,
siSwati and isiNdebele

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

1800s Chiefly lineage

that brought political and
ritual power
Women- Raised crops and
gathered

Tobacco, sorgum, corn, grains

Patrilineal descent
Lived in small groups
Wives were obtained
legally through a
bridewealth (lobola)

HISTORY

Shaka ruled Zulu state during1820s aka MfecaneThe Crushing

Expanding European presence and a series of wars
were fought in the Cape of Good Hope
Nguni people were conquered and the men began to
search for work as migrating laborers
1886- Gold deposits found in Witwatersrand
accelerated process of occupying Nguni lands and
seizing their cattle
Three main groups- Northern Nguni (Zulu and Swazi),
Southern Nguni (Xhosa, Thembu and Mpondo) and
Ndebele
Xhosa had contact with Christian missionaries early
on and welcomed them, this led them to discriminate
between school people and red people
Ndebele leaders were executed, lands were seized
and forced to be indentured servants for Afrikaner
farmers by the Boer leader Paul Kruger

NGUNI TRADITION

Life is seen in stages

Marriage is very important

Lobolo is paid to future brides family

Brides family pays

Dance, music and song have large role in all

important events
Religion is monotheistic but ancestors are
revered and worshipped

Girls adjust their style of dress to mature

Boys must be circumcised in teens

Combination of Christianity and traditional religion

Sangomas- ancestor communicating
Nyanga- herbal doctors

Traditional clothes are worn for special events

Bright colors, personal adornment, animal skins

Specific patterns of beads represent status, clan,
home village and act as love letters

MODERN NGUNI
PEOPLE
ZULU

XHO
Zulu make up substantial
SA
portion of urban work,

especially gold and

copper mines of
Witwatersrand
They are also responsible
for creating some of the

first black labor unions

Zulu emphasis on

military prowess fueled

political violence during
the 1990s

Xhosa school people

form the core of black
professional class
including lawyers,
ministers and doctors
Famous beach cattle
with mixed blood
Nelson Mandela

SAN

Inhabited Africa nearly

20,000 years ago
Developed in isolation
Gathered plants and
shellfish (women)
Hunted and fished (men)
Made clothes from animal
hide, musical instruments
and are responsible for
rock paintings

KHOI (KHOIKHOI

Descendents of San
Raised fat-tailed sheep
and long-horn cattle ,
pastoralists
Settled along the coast
between the Orange
River and the Great Fish
River
Moved with the seasons
in search of pastureland

HISTORY OF THE SAN AND KHOI

PEOPLE

EARLY TRADE
KHOIKHOI

Sheep
Cattle

SAN

Hides and game

MOZAMBIQUE

Dagga (cannabis)

NORTH AND BANTUSPEAKING

AFRICANS

Copper and iron

ENGLISH SPEAKING POPULATION

Descendents of settlers from Ireland, Great

Britain, Whales, Scotland and Germany
British were always threatened by Boers
having access to the sea as well foreign
countries through rail
Gold and other resources encouraged force on
current settlers of many kingdoms and states
Skilled mine workers in Johannesburg became
majority White male population by 1890s

AFRIKAANS HISTORY

Dutch, Belgium, French

and German roots
Share the Afrikaans language
Dutch Reformed Church
South African War- 26,000 died in British
concentration camps
Rural poverty in the early 1900s drove them into
urban areas
Afrikaner Broederbond- association of educated
elite that worked to form a sense of unity in 1930s
and 1940s
National Party won 1948 election- Apartheid

PROBLEMS TODAY

Boer history is being changed to be

included as Afrikaan in history books
Boers are losing their ethnic identity
Monument names are changing

FAMOUS BOER YOU MAY RECOGNIZE

Paul Kruger aka Uncle Paul led

the Boer resistance against the
British in second Boer War and
sought to build up countrys
strength
He kept the British white males
from voting, imported arms from
Europe and engaged in diplomatic
relations with Germany
Nationalistic Identity of Afrikaners
comes from his efforts to
strengthen his country

THE GREAT TREK

Fed up with British rule, poor Dutch farmers

took their families and Black servants to
Highveld interior
Pioneers or Voortrekkers
Some went north near Ndebele and Lesotho
Kingdoms along the coast between Orange
and Vaal Rivers
Most of them went northeastward around
Lesotho but were killed by Dingane, the Zulu
ruler of the area
Andreis Pretorius led 500 men to avenge their
death on December 16 (Day of the Vow)

NATAL WAS BORN

Mpande, Pretorius and

Voortrekkers fought and
defeated Dingane
Voortrekkers recognized Mpande
as their leader and started their
own state south of Tugela River
British saw the Dutch having
access to the sea as a threat
and took over, forcing
Voortrekkers out
Britain then imported Indian
indentured servants to work
sugar plants

INDIAN/ASIAN POPULATION

Ancestors were brought as indentured

servants to work on British sugar
plants- Hindu
Some were wealthy immigrantsMuslim
Class distinctions based on origin

INDIAN/ASIAN POPULATION TODAY

Speak English as first language

Tamil, Hindi or Afrikaans are
second/third languages spoken
Most live in Natal in urban areas such
as Durban
Merchants, businessmen, teachers and
artisans

COLOUREDS

Descendents of former slaves, blacks

and whites
Proudly assert that they are living proof
that the races can get along
Largest subgroup is Griqua- KhoikhoiAfrikaner live north of Capetown
Suffered indignation underapartheid,
but still had more rights than Blacks

RELIGION

Christianity- 80%

Dutch Reformed Church

Catholic

Islam- 400,000
Jewish- 100,000
Hindu- 350,000
Traditional African beliefs

Khoisan- Duality of Good and evil

Used healing dances and altered states of mind

SOURCES

Faces of South Africa. National

Geographic News. Web.
Rita M. Byrnes, ed. South Africa: A
Country Study. Washington: GPO for the
Library of Congress, 1996.
"Shaka".Encyclopdia Britannica.
Encyclopdia Britannica Online.
Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2013.
Web. 03 May. 2013.