Makhanya Clan Names History and Origin
Makhanya is the 16,377th most-common surname worldwide and most frequently found in South Africa.
Makhanya clan members have an ongoing association with American Board Missionaries. For decades they lived near Dukuza/Stanger Adams Mission.
These were the initial Nguni settlers to occupy what is now known as Adams Mission; later it would be renamed Maphumulo Village and KwaMaphumulo Royal Kraal.
Makhanya Clan Names
- Makhanya
- Zulu
- Buthelezi
- Mthethwa
- Ndlovu
- Khumalo
- Ntuli
- Mthembu
- Ngcobo
- Nxumalo
- Cele
- Dlamini
- Gumede
- Shabalala
- Zungu
- Mkhize
- Majozi
- Hlongwane
- Zwane
- Sithole
Xhosa
The Xhosa people of South Africa belong to one of four Nguni tribes that can be found there, known for their rich traditions and oral communication styles. Being knowledgeable of your clan identity is considered vitally important – in fact it would be considered disrespectful if not knowing was considered shameful (uburhanuka).
The xhosa community is well known for their vibrant handmade textile tradition, characterized by heavy skirts in various designs and lengths embellished with beadwork and colors that speak of cultural symbolism. Furthermore, the Xhosas are also revered for offering goats as sacrifices to appease their ancestor’s spirits and honor cultural tradition.
As more Xhosas disperse and receive modern education, many traditional customs, beliefs, and ways of life may become extinct. Our team of Xhosa language experts is here to bridge that gap. With their in-depth knowledge of its unique grammar and culture, they deliver accurate translations for your every need.
Zulu
The Zulu are renowned South African tribe, famed for their courage and resilience. Their culture is steeped in ancestral tradition that continues to influence how they live today, such as believing in ancestral spirits known as umadlozi or abaphansi and also in an invisible higher being known as “UMveliqangi”, meaning “he who came first”.
Before joining forces under Shaka and creating an empire in South Africa, the Zulu were only one of several Nguni clans in southern Africa. Clans remain central to Zulu social structure; patrilineal households serve as basic units within clans; women (and their offspring) rank according to strict seniority. Clan chiefs are distinguished men who lead their clans both during wartime and peace, while headmen (induna), often close relatives of clan chiefs, lead sections within it.
Sotho
Sotho society was composed of villages governed by chiefs, and its economy centered around agriculture. People often served as cattle herders while cultivating crops such as sorghum and tobacco for subsistence farming.
Clan names typically feature animal references, with membership rooted firmly in paternal lineage. However, Sotho kinship was fluid; family members could marry cousins without concern about breaking up the clan structure.
Moshoeshoe united the Sotho into one nation known as Basuto in the early 1800s. A skilled diplomat and military leader, Moshoeshoe protected his tribes from falling prey to Zulu and Ndebele raiders.
Written traditions vary on when and how the Sotho arrived in southern Africa; however, they were able to establish separate chiefdoms across the southern African highveld from Great Lakes region to Limpopo River region through three series of migration. Today the Basotho nation comprises herders, farmers and craftspeople united by cultural heritage and an immense respect for royal families.
Nguni
Modern South Africa uses the term Nguni to refer to peoples who speak Nguni-based languages (Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi). These three dialects all belong to the Nguni family; their speakers migrated from lower foothills of Drakensberg Escarpment into higher elevation upland slopes over time with knowledge of grain agriculture and livestock keeping.
The Ndebele are a Bantu ethnic group from southern Africa who now reside mainly in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. They share genetic ties with other Nguni groups of South Africa and Eswatini.
Ndebele are known for being warriors, with a reputation for high casualty rates in battle and an affinity for pottery and beadwork. Families residing among them tended to live together in communal kraals where their cattle and wives resided together; millet was their main staple food source as they kept livestock as livelihood.
Pedi
Matsebe/Sekhukhune’s (literally “it cries inside”) birth to Kgatla chief Sekwati and Thorometjane Phala went unnoticed, yet this child would later bring immense pride, courage and prowess to the Pedi nation – consolidating it while protecting against attack from Zulus and Swazis alike.
Thulare’s reign (1780-1820) saw the Pedis reach their pinnacle of power, as their success rested heavily on cattle ownership and manufacturing of iron tools. Their culture, including language and imagery used in poetry and speech was heavily reliant upon cattle imagery.
Tradition was even more extreme among male-oriented societies in its division between genders; women were frequently associated with immoral qualities and antisocial behaviors, and witchcraft of the night was passed from mother to daughter as an effective means of protecting oneself from danger or countering male aggression.
Tswana
In the southern grasslands, ancestral Sotho- and Venda-speakers intermarried and fused together into Tswana people. Living in circular family compounds with stone walls, Tswana were noted for their fine craftsmanship in ivory carvings, leatherwork and metalworking as well as breeding livestock and cultivating grain and tobacco crops.
Throughout the 19th century, Tswana chiefdoms were forced to move by Afrikaner and British colonial forces into other territories, paying taxes while many found work as migrant labor. Even so, they retained many traditional beliefs and practices such as spiritual rituals.
Tswana peoples believe in Modimo as the supreme god and Badimo as an ancestor, with both serving as symbols for them to seek wisdom from. While today they primarily practice Christianity, most also attend African Independent churches which incorporate Christian beliefs with precolonial practices. Furthermore, herbal healers known as khona may provide alternative medicine solutions.