Lusikisiki is a town in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Province,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The name is onomatopoeic, derived from the rustling sound of reeds in the wind, named by the local Xhosa people. Lusikisiki is 45 kilometers inland from and north of Port St Johns. The town is positioned along the

R61 R61 may refer to: * R61 (South Africa) The R61 is a long provincial route in South Africa that connects Beaufort West with Port Shepstone via Graaff-Reinet, Komani (previously Queenstown), Mthatha and Port Edward. The R61 is co-signed with the ...

(future

N2 Wild Coast Toll Route The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of makes it the ...

) leading to

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanzi ...

to the west and

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

to the north-east.

History

Pre-colonial era

In this era, the AmaMpondo chief's kraal occupied what is now the present town village.

Colonial era

By 1894 European

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

s started settling in Lusikisiki after Mpondoland was annexed by the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

and a magistrate took up residence there with a military camp established as well.

Apartheid era

In 1953 the South African Apartheid government made attempts to persuade the people of Lusikisiki to accept the rule of

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

authorities which they had established. The government worked with Paramount Chief Botha Sigcau to attempt to start a rehabilitation scheme in

Pondoland Pondoland or Mpondoland (Xhosa: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo peop ...

. The scheme was presented to the Lusikisiki community but was rejected. A few days later, the police entered the area. A man called Mngqinga led a large local group to attack the police. This was later known as the Lusikisiki Revolt.

Climate

Lusikisiki receives high levels of rainfall, ranging between 874mm - 1060mm of rain per annum. Rainfall is considered unseasonal, although Lusikisiki receives the majority of its rainfall during summer. Winter temperatures reach their lowest in July, averaging 8 degrees Celsius at night. The area lies within Forest and Indian Coastal Thicket biomes, and White Milkwood (''

Sideroxylon inerme ''Sideroxylon inerme'' (aMasethole or white milkwood, af, wit-melkhout, xh, Ximafana, zu, Umakhwelafingqane) is a Southern African coastal tree, with dense foliage, black berries and small, foetid, greenish flowers. The tree's generic name mea ...

'') are common.

Attractions around Lusikisiki

The Magwa Waterfall lies in the middle of the 1 800 hectare Magwa tea plantation, South Africa's last remaining tea estate just outside Lusikisiki. The curtain of the Magwa Waterfall falls 144 metres and drops into a narrow canyon. Other points of interest include the Mkambati Nature Reserve which includes the Mzamba Fossil Beds estimated to be about 60 million years old, the Ntsubane Forest and Lupatana Nature Reserve.

Notable people

Khotso Sethuntsa Khotso Sethuntsa (1898–1972) was an African herbalist who lived in the Eastern Cape town of Lusikisiki. By the mid-twentieth century, he was perceived to be a powerful man whose wealth was amassed through his relationship with Water Spirits, livi ...

- Sangoma *

Stella Sigcau Princess Stella Sigcau (4 or 14 January 1937 in Lusikisiki – 7 May 2006 in Durban) was a Minister in the South African Government. Sigcau was also the first female Prime Minister of the bantustan of Transkei before being deposed in a milit ...

- 1st female Prime Minister of the

Bantustan A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now N ...

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ba ...

& South African national minister *

Simphiwe Dana Simphiwe Dana (born 23 January 1980) is a South African singer and songwriter who works mostly in her mother tongue, the Xhosa language. Dana is also known for her creative social commentary and activism through music as a political art form. ...

- musician *

Mpho Mbiyozo Mpho Mbiyozo (born 7 February 1983) is a former South African rugby union player who played with and the between 2005 and 2013. He usually played as a flanker. He is currently a coach at the ' academy, the Boland Rugby Institute, having previo ...

- rugby union player

Crime

As of 2021, Lusikisiki has ranked number 1 in South Africa in terms of the national crime rate; these crimes includes; domestic robbery & sexual harassment.

References

External links

*http://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/sketch-map-locations-lusikisiki-district-identification-place-residence-oral-informants *http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2017/11/18/new-hope-brews-magwa-tea-estate/ *http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2017/07/13/majola-tea-estate-wound/ {{Authority control British military personnel of the 9th Cape Frontier War Political history of South Africa Populated places in the Ngquza Hill Local Municipality