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) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Founded in 1904, the town 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 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 language, Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an pen (enclosure), enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African Human settlement ...

UmGungundlovu uMgungundlovu was the royal capital of the Zulu King Dingane (1828–1840) and one of several military complexes () which he maintained. He established his royal kraal in 1829 in the eMakhosini valley against Lion hill (''Singonyama''), just ...

, 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 later assumed command of punitive expeditions during the sixth Xhosa War. He became a s ...

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 band formed 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 the age of 14 ...

's sixth album Work For All.

References

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