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Southern Ndebele People
AmaNdebele are an Mbo ethnic group native to South Africa who speak isiNdebele language. AmaNdebele mainly inhabit the provinces of Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo, all of which are in the northeast of the country. Although both are part of the larger Mbo ethnic group, the South African Ndebele should not be confused with the AbaThwakazi of Zimbabwe who are a more recent offshoot of the Zulu. The amaNdebele are related to and considered part of the same nation as the maNdrebele who inhibit parts of Limpopo and Northwest provinces. The maNdrebele are constituted by three major tribes namely Gheghana, Mghumbhani and Mtjhatjhani. Both the amaNdebele and maNdrebele are descendants of the same ancestral king called Musi kaMhlanga. AmaNdebele are popular of their history with the Ndebele-Boer War of 1883. During the ruling of Nyabela in the Transvaal in Mpumalanga, amaNdebele were entangled in a war with Boers for hiding Kgosi Mampuru of the Pedi people and the tribal war is kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sotho–Tswana
The Sotho-Tswana people are a meta-ethnicity of southern Africa and live predominantly in Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho. The group mainly consists of four clusters; Southern Sotho (Sotho), Northern Sotho (which consists of the Bapedi, the Balobedu and others), Lozi, and Tswana people. A fifth cluster is sometimes referred to as the Eastern Sotho, and consists of the Pulana, Makgolokwe/Bakholokoe the Pai and others. The Sotho-Tswana people would have diversified into their current arrangement during the course of the 2nd millennium, but they retain a number of linguistic and cultural characteristics that distinguish them from other Bantu-speakers of southern Africa. These are features such as totemism, a pre-emptive right of men to marry their maternal cousins, and an architectural style characterized by a round hut with a conical thatch roof supported by wooden pillars on the outside. Other major distinguishing features included their dress of skin cloaks and a pref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sclerocarya Birrea
''Sclerocarya birrea'' ( grc, σκληρός , "hard", and , "nut", in reference to the stone inside the fleshy fruit), commonly known as the marula, is a medium-sized deciduous fruit-bearing tree, indigenous to the miombo woodlands of Southern Africa, the Sudano-Sahelian range of West Africa, the savanna woodlands of East Africa and Madagascar. Description The tree is a single stemmed tree with a wide spreading crown. It is characterised by a grey mottled bark. The tree grows up to 18 m tall mostly in low altitudes and open woodlands. The distribution of this species throughout Africa and Madagascar has followed the Bantu in their migrations. There is some evidence of human domestication of marula trees, as trees found on farm lands tend to have larger fruit size. The fruits, which ripen between December and March, have a light yellow skin (exocarp), with white flesh (mesocarp). They fall to the ground when unripe and green in colour, and then ripen to a yellow colour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apies River
__NOTOC__ The Apies River is a river that flows through the city of Pretoria, South Africa. Its source is located just south of the city (south of Erasmus Park) and it flows northward until it drains into the Pienaars River. The word "Apies" is Afrikaans for small monkeys and is a reference to the historical abundance of vervet monkeys on the Apies River banks. Nguni-speaking people, who became known as the Ndebele, are thought to have been the first people to recognise the suitability of the Apies River valley as a place to put down roots. The Ndebele encountered indigenous nomadic Khoisan people, which they called abaTshwa (the People who are Ignored), occupying the area. The Ndebele named the river 'Tshwane' which means 'Place of the abaTshwa'. It is also argued that they named the river after one of their chiefs "Tshwane" who is reputedly buried under the Wonderboom (tree), Wonderboom. It is also proposed that 'Tshwane' is a corruption of 'tshwene' which is the Sepedi, Sotho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hennops River
The Hennops River is one of the larger rivers that drains Gauteng, South Africa. It has its source near Kempton Park, east of Johannesburg and meets the Crocodile River (Limpopo) shortly before Hartbeespoort Dam. It is one of Gauteng's most polluted rivers. Course The Hennops River starts in Terenure, Kempton Park, and flows in a northerly direction towards Tembisa township. It then flows past Olifantsfontein and meets the Sesmyl Spruit which flows out of the Rietvlei Dam. The river then turns north-west flowing through the centre of Centurion. The river continues in this direction flowing through the foothills of the Magaliesberg before flowing into the Crocodile River (Limpopo) on its right bank near the Hartbeespoort Dam. Dams The Rietvlei Dam, which provides water to City of Tshwane, as well as numerous farm dams are situated in the Hennops River Basin. Lake Centurion as well as numerous weirs are situated on the river. Pollution The Hennops River is one of Gaute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jukskei River
The Jukskei River is one of the largest rivers in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the southernmost river in the Crocodile River (West) basin. Course The Jukskei begins in Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Its original spring was on the former Doornfontein farm, which measured at 18,000 liters per hour, but has since disappeared under subsequent urban development. Now the first surface expression of the Jukskei is in Bertrams at the intersection of Queen Street and Sports Avenue where it emerges from a storm drain. From there the river flows through Bezuidenhout Valley and Bruma. It then meanders in a northerly direction through Bedfordview and Edenvale before flowing through Alexandra Township. It then turns northwest and flows through Modderfontein, Buccleuch, Leeuwkop Prison, Lone Hill, Dainfern and Steyn City before joining the Crocodile River (Limpopo) outside Lanseria. Tributaries The Jukskei River is joined by numerous streams along its course with its major tributaries being ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randfontein
Randfontein is a gold mining town in the West Rand, Gauteng, South Africa, west of Johannesburg. With the Witwatersrand gold rush in full swing, mining financier JB Robinson bought the farm Randfontein and, in 1889, floated the Randfontein Estates Gold Mining Company. The town was established in 1890 to serve the new mine and was administered by Krugersdorp until it became a municipality in 1929. Apart from having the largest stamp mill in the world, Randfontein, like many of the other outlying areas of Johannesburg, is essentially a rural collection of farms and small holdings in a particularly beautiful part of Gauteng. History Early History Randfontein's existence dates back to the 1550s when the AmaNdebele lived as one nation at Emhlangeni (today's Randfontein area) under King Mhlanga approximately between 1550 and 1580. The name of Emhlangeni is translated today into the Sesotho language as Mohlakeng, which is one of the southeastern suburbs of the town. Formation Randfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaal River
The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction with the Orange River southwest of Kimberley in the Northern Cape. It is long, and forms the border between Mpumalanga, Gauteng and North West Province on its north bank, and the Free State on its south. It is the third largest river in South Africa after the Orange River (2200 km long) and the Limpopo River (1750 km long) and was established as the main source of water for the great Witswatersrand area after the gold rush during the 19th century. The Vaal Dam lies on the Vaal River in Deneysville just south of the border between Gauteng and the Free State. It is also important to note that the Vaal River is the longest river wholly within the borders of South Africa. ''Vaal'' is a D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
