Iziduko (pl.) in
Xhosa
Xhosa may refer to:
* Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa
* Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people
See als ...
are family names that are considered more important than surnames among
Xhosa people
The Xhosa people, or Xhosa-speaking people (; ) are African people who are direct kinsmen of Tswana people, Sotho people and Twa people, yet are narrowly sub grouped by European as Nguni ethnic group whose traditional homeland is primarily t ...
.
Many Xhosa persons can trace their family history back to a specific male ancestor or stock. Mentioning the clan name of someone is the highest form of respect, and it is considered polite to enquire after someone's clan name on meeting. The clan name is also sometimes used as an
exclamation
An exclamation is an emphatic utterance, the articulate expression of an affect.
Exclamation may also refer to:
* Exclamation mark, the punctuation mark "!"
* Exclamation, an emphatic interjection
* Exclamation, a statement against penal intere ...
by members of that clan.
When a woman marries, she may take her husband's surname, but she always keeps her own clan name and adds the prefix "Ma-" to it. A man and a woman who have the same clan name may not marry, as they are considered to be related.
References
Sources
* Mlungisi Ndima (1988). ''A History of the Qwathi People from the Earliest Times to 1910''. MA Thesis. Rhodes University.
* Kirsch et al. ''Clicking with Xhosa'' (2001). Cape Town: David Phillips Publishers. p. 22.
* Makuliwe, Mpumelelo T.A. ''Iziduko zabantu abathetha IsiXhosa: isikhokelo kwintetho yesintu''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xhosa Clan Names
Clan names