Thembu Kingdom

Origins

The Thembu were among the Nguni-speaking peoples settled between the Kei and Mthatha rivers, with royal genealogies reaching back many generations before written records. By the 18th century the Thembu paramount was recognised as holding senior rank among the southern Nguni, alongside the Xhosa and Mpondo royal houses.

Rule and society

The king ruled through councils of chiefs and counsellors, with cattle as the measure of wealth and the basis of marriage alliances. Royal houses were divided into the Great House and the Right-Hand House, a pattern shared with the Xhosa Kingdom. Under Ngubengcuka in the early 19th century the Thembu sought alliances with the Cape Colony against raiders displaced by the wars of that era.

Decline and legacy

Missionary influence and Cape magistrates spread through Thembuland from the mid-19th century, and after conflicts under Ngangelizwe the territory was annexed to the Cape Colony by 1885. The royal house continues, and Nelson Mandela was a descendant of Ngubengcuka.