Lusikisiki is a town in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

Province,

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 ...

. The name is onomatopoeic, derived from the rustling sound of reeds in the wind, named by the local

Xhosa people The Xhosa people ( , ; ) are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group that migrated over centuries into Southern Africa eventually settling in South Africa. They are the second largest ethnic group in South Africa and are native speakers of the Xho ...

. Lusikisiki is inland from and north of Port St Johns. The town is positioned along the

R61 R61 may refer to: * R61 (South Africa) The R61 is a long provincial route in South Africa that connects Beaufort West with Port Shepstone via Graaff-Reinet, Komani (previously Queenstown), Mthatha and Port Edward. The R61 is co-signed with th ...

(future

N2 Wild Coast Toll Route The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha, Port Shepstone and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of ...

) leading to

Mthatha Mthatha ( , ), alternatively rendered Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known ...

to the west and

Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate, KwaZulu-Natal, Margate and is positioned 120&nbs ...

to the north-east.

History

Pre-colonial era

In this era, the AmaMpondo King's

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 ...

occupied what is now the present town village.

Colonial era

By 1894 European

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s started settling in Lusikisiki after Mpondoland was annexed by the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

and a magistrate took up residence there with a military camp established as well.

Apartheid era

In 1953 the South African Apartheid government made attempts to persuade the people of Lusikisiki to accept the rule of

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

authorities which they had established. The government worked with Paramount Chief King Botha Sigcau to attempt to start a rehabilitation scheme in

Pondoland Pondoland or Mpondoland (Mpondo: ''EmaMpondweni''), is a natural region on the South African shores of the Indian Ocean. It is located in the coastal belt of the Eastern Cape province. Its territory is the former Mpondo Kingdom of the Mpondo peopl ...

. The scheme was presented to the Lusikisiki community but was rejected. A few days later, the police entered the area. A man called Mngqinga led a large local group to attack the police. This was later known as the Lusikisiki Revolt.

Climate

Lusikisiki receives high levels of rainfall, ranging between of rain per annum. Rainfall is considered unseasonal, although Lusikisiki receives the majority of its rainfall during summer. Winter temperatures reach their lowest in July, averaging Celsius at night. The area lies within Forest and Indian Coastal Thicket biomes, and White Milkwood (''

Sideroxylon inerme ''Sideroxylon inerme'' (aMasethole or white milkwood, , , ) is a southern and eastern African coastal tree, with dense foliage, black berries and small, foetid, greenish flowers. The tree's generic name means "Iron-wood" in Greek, referring to it ...

'') are common.

Attractions around Lusikisiki

The Magwa Waterfall lies in the middle of the Magwa tea plantation, South Africa's last remaining tea estate just outside Lusikisiki. The curtain of the Magwa Waterfall falls and drops into a narrow canyon. Other points of interest include the Mkambati Nature Reserve which includes the Mzamba Fossil Beds estimated to be about 60 million years old, the Ntsubane Forest and Lupatana Nature Reserve.

Notable people

* Khotso Sethuntsa – Sangoma * King

Botha Sigcau Chief Botha Sigcau (born c. 1913 – died 1 December 1978) was a King in Eastern Pondoland, Transkei, South Africa (1939–1976) and later the figurehead President of Transkei from 1976 to 1978. A graduate of the University of Fort Hare, Sigc ...

– 1st president of the

Bantustan A Bantustan (also known as a Bantu peoples, Bantu homeland, a Black people, black homeland, a Khoisan, black state or simply known as a homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party (South Africa), National Party administration of the ...

Transkei Transkei ( , meaning ''the area beyond Great Kei River,

he river The He River is a tributary of the Xi River in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it ...

Kei''), officially the Republic of Transkei (), was an list of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa f ...

* Princess

Stella Sigcau Stella Nomzamo Sigcau (14 January 1937 – 7 May 2006) was a South African politician. Sigcau was also the first female Prime Minister of the bantustan of Transkei before being deposed in a military coup in 1987. After Transkei was merged int ...

– 1st female prime minister of the

Transkei Transkei ( , meaning ''the area beyond Great Kei River,

Kei''), officially the Republic of Transkei (), was an list of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa f ...

& South African national minister * Prince Nkosi Ntsikayezwe Sigcau – traditional leader of Lwandlolubomvu Traditional Council. * Simphiwe Dana – musician *

Mpho Mbiyozo Mpho Mbiyozo (born 7 February 1983) is a former South African rugby union player who played with and the between 2005 and 2013. He usually played as a flanker. He is currently a coach at the ' academy, the Boland Rugby Institute, having previ ...

– rugby union player * H.H.T.N Bubu - Minister of Education Republic of Transkei

Crime

As of 2021, Lusikisiki has ranked number 1 in South Africa in terms of the national crime rate; these crimes include domestic robbery and sexual harassment. On September 28th 2024, two

mass shootings A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...

took place in Lusikisiki, killing 18 people and injuring 5 others.

References

External links

*http://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/sketch-map-locations-lusikisiki-district-identification-place-residence-oral-informants *http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2017/11/18/new-hope-brews-magwa-tea-estate/ *http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2017/07/13/majola-tea-estate-wound/ {{Authority control British military personnel of the 9th Cape Frontier War Political history of South Africa Populated places in the Ngquza Hill Local Municipality