Sekhukhuneland or Sekukuniland ( af, Sekoekoeniland) is a

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...

in north-east

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 ...

, located in the historical

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

zone, former

Transvaal Province The Province of the Transvaal ( af, Provinsie van Transvaal), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Trans ...

, also known as Bopedi (meaning “land of Bapedi”). The region is named after the 19th-century King, Sekhukhune I.

Geography

This region is mainly covered by

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

and was inhabited traditionally by the

Bapedi The Pedi or (also known as the Northern Sotho or and the Marota or ) – are a southern African ethnic group that speak Pedi or ''Sepedi'', a dialect belonging to the Sotho-Tswana enthnolinguistic group. Northern Sotho is a term used to ...

in an area stretching across central and northern Transvaal. Sekhukhuneland lies in present-day

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

and

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

provinces, between the Olifants River (Lepelle) and its tributary the Steelpoort River (Tubatse); bordered on the east by the

Drakensberg Range The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within th ...

, and crossed by the Thaba Ya Sekhukhune in the southeast and the Leolo Mountains in the north.

History

At the height of the Pedi power under Thulare, about 1790–1820, historical Sekhukhuneland included an area stretching from the site of present-day

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 2017 ...

in the west to the

Lowveld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...

in the east, and ranging as far south as the

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. ...

. The area under Pedi control was severely limited after the military campaigns by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

troops in 1879. Following their defeat native reserves were created for the Pedi and for other northern

Sotho people The Sotho () people, also known as the Basuto or Basotho (), are a Bantu nation native to southern Africa. They split into different ethnic groups over time, due to regional conflicts and colonialism, which resulted in the modern Basotho, who ...

groups by the Transvaal Republic's Native Location Commission. Between 1972 and 1994 part of Sekhukhuneland was included in the

Lebowa Lebowa was a bantustan ("homeland") located in the Transvaal in northeastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-government on 2 October 1 ...

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 ...

. The territory was not contiguous, being divided into two major and several minor portions. Having been intended as a homeland for the Northern Sotho-speaking tribes such as the Pedi, Lebowa included swathes of Sekukuniland. However, various other non-Northern Sotho-speaking tribes, including the Northern

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana Languages * Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele *Northern Ndebele language Northern ...

Batswana The Tswana ( tn, Batswana, singular ''Motswana'') are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Tswana language is a principal member of the Sotho-Tswana language group. Ethnic Tswana made up approximately 85% of the popu ...

and VhaTsonga lived in the bantustan as well. Sekukuniland is named after Pedi chief

Sekhukhune Sekhukhune I (Matsebe; circa 1814 – 13 August 1882) was the paramount King of the Marota, more commonly known as the Bapedi, from 21 September 1861 until his assassination on 13 August 1882 by his rival and half-brother, Mampuru II. As the Ped ...

or Sekukuni, who succeeded Sekwati in 1860 or 1861, and it is the only native region in South Africa named after a famous local chief. Present day

Sekhukhune District Municipality Sekhukhune is one of the 5 districts of Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat of Sekhukhune is Groblersdal. The majority of its 1,076,840 inhabitants speak Sepedi (2011 Census). The district code is DC47. This district is named after the n ...

in Limpopo Province is named after this natural region. South African artist Johannes Segogela, renowned internationally for his wooden sculptures, was born in Sekukuniland in 1936.Art from the African Diaspora - Johannes Segogela
/ref>

References

Bibliography

*
A L Hall, ''The geology of Sekukuniland : an explanation of sheet 8 (Sekukuniland)'', Government Printing and Sationery Office, Pretoria 1911
* *

External links

Map of SekhukhunelandThe 50th Anniversary Of The Sekhukhuneland RevoltThe Sekhukhuneland TerrorThe Loreto Mission, Glen Cowie, SekukunilandThe Nepheline Rocks of SekukunilandTrachoma in the South African Bantu; a survey in SekukunilandLandscape of SekukunilandA variant of Acacia karroo from Sekukuniland
{{Authority control Regions of Africa Former subdivisions of South Africa History of South Africa Natural regions of South Africa

Geography

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links