Thembu

The Thembu are a southern Nguni people whose country lay between the Mthatha and Mbashe rivers and extended into the inland hills. Their kingship brought together communities with different histories, while other groups formed chiefdoms of their own. Ngubengcuka ruled in the early nineteenth century and gathered refugees from neighbouring wars into his following. When Matiwane's amaNgwane entered Thembu country, the Thembu faced a dangerous new conflict. In 1828 a force of Thembu, Xhosa and British troops defeated the amaNgwane at Mbholompo. The upheaval also led some Thembu communities to move west, while the main royal line remained in the country between the rivers.