Kama, The Christian Kaffir Chief (July 1853, X, p

Ama Gqunukhwebe is a chiefdom of the Xhosa Nation that was created under the reign of King Tshiwo (1670–1702) of amaXhosa who was a grandfather to

Gcaleka The Gcaleka House is the Great house of the Xhosa Kingdom in what is now the Eastern Cape. Its royal palace is in the former Transkei and its counterpart in the former Ciskei is the Rharhabe, which is the right hand house of Phalo. The Gcaleka H ...

and

Rharhabe The Rharhabe House is the second senior house (Right Hand House) of the Xhosa Kingdom. The Rharhabe house was founded by Xhosa warrior Rharhabe, who was the older brother of Gcaleka ka Phalo. History of the Rharhabe The Xhosa royal blood line st ...

. It consisted mostly of the Khoi chiefdoms (

Gonaqua The Gonaqua (or Gonaguas, meaning "borderers") were a Xhosa ethnic group, descendants of a very old union between the Khoikhoi and the Xhosa. This union predates the arrival of Europeans in South Africa. The Gonaqua have been regarded as outcasts by ...

, Hoengeniqua, Inqua and others) that had been displaced by colonists and became incorporated into the Xhosa nation. Khwane kaLungane, a counselor and warrior under King Tshiwo, was chosen to lead the new chiefdom. This marked the start of his ''Khwane'' dynasty'','' which would lead the chiefdom for decades. The chiefdom spanned from the Buffalo River to Zwaartkops, but most of its territory was lost after the

Xhosa Wars The Xhosa Wars (also known as the Cape Frontier Wars or the Kaffir Wars) were a series of nine wars (from 1779 to 1879) between the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa. T ...

and was given to colony settlers (west of the Fish River) and the

Fengu people The ''amaMfengu'' (in the Xhosa language ''Mfengu'', plural ''amafengu'') was a reference of Xhosa clans whose ancestors were refugees that fled from the Mfecane in the early 19th century to seek land and protection from the Xhosa and have sin ...

(between the Fish and

Keiskamma The Keiskamma River ( af, Keiskammarivier) is a river in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The river flows into the Indian Ocean in the Keiskamma Estuary, located by Hamburg Nature Reserve, near Hamburg, midway between East London and Po ...

rivers) by the colonial government. The chiefdom gradually grew more homogeneous, until a divide occurred when two members of the leading family, Pato and Kama, split and settled different areas of the region. In addition, Kama converted to Christianity, which further alienated himself from the royal family. Later, Kama was recognized by the Cape Colony as the true leader of the chiefdom, possibly due to his religious conversion. This further eroded the influence of Pato and the ruling family of Gqunukhwebe. Today, the chiefdom is effectively two entities led from two different centres, with one led by the ''Pato house'' and one led by the ''Kama house''. Zolani ka-Ntlanganiso Phatho, a direct descendant of Pato, is currently next in line to be leader of the chiefdom.

References

{{authority control Xhosa-speaking peoples Ethnic groups in South Africa Sub-ethnic groups