Babanango is a small town located about 58 kilometers north-west of Melmoth in the

KwaZulu-Natal Province KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

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 coun ...

. Founded in 1904, the town is takes its name from the nearby stream and mountain.

Etymology

The exact origin of the name 'Babanango' is uncertain, and many possible origins have been proposed. The commonly accepted version comes from the Zulu words 'baba nango'. The popular story goes that many years ago a small Buthelezi child got lost on the slopes of the mist-shrouded hill and when an elder brother found him he shouted, "baba, nango", meaning "Father, there he is".

History

eMakhosini, located in the Mkhumbane Valley on the banks of a tributary of the

White Umfolozi River The White Umfolozi River originates just west of Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and has a confluence with the Black Umfolozi River at to form the Umfolozi River, which flows eastward towards the Indian Ocean. See also * List of rivers o ...

near the town of Babanango, is the site of one of Zulu king King Dingane kaSenzangakhona's great royal

kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African settlement or village surrounded by a fence of t ...

s, UmGungundlovu, where

Piet Retief Pieter Mauritz Retief (12 November 1780 – 6 February 1838) was a ''Voortrekker'' leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he assumed command of punitive expeditions in response to raiding parties from the adjacent ...

and his Voortrekkers were massacred in 1838. The name "Mgungundlovu" is said to mean "the place of the elephant", and the name eMakhosini means "At the place of the chiefs". The settlement of Babanango was originally part of a land grant to European farmers in 1885 by King Dinizulu for their support after his father's death the year before.

Culture

The town's name is the title of the song "Baba Nango" on

Juluka Juluka was a South African music band formed in 1969 by Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu. means "sweat" in Zulu, and was the name of a bull owned by Mchunu. The band was closely associated with the mass movement against apartheid. History At th ...

's sixth album Work For All.

References

Populated places in the Ulundi Local Municipality {{KwaZuluNatal-geo-stub