Imidange, plural noun

Forms:
Also imiDange.
Origin:
Named for the founding leader Umdange.
Collectively, the members of a Xhosa chiefdom with traditional lands in the Suurberg region of the Eastern Cape. Also attributive.
Note:
As is the case with many names of peoples and groups in South African English, this word has been found only in plural uses; however, it may be that it has also been used in unrecorded singular forms.
c1847 H.H. Dugmore in J. Maclean Compendium of Kafir Laws (1858) 16The formation of the Imidange tribe dates a generation still farther back. Umdange, its founder, was the ‘right hand’ of Gconde.
1924 G.E. Cory Rise of S. Afr. I. 35The Imidange tribe under Mahota, the son of Umdange, and the Amambala tribe under Langa, crossed into the Zuurveld, dispossesing the Amangqunukwebi under Tshaka.
1978 E. Prov. Herald 24 Mar. (Indaba) 7Brownlee explains clearly that the ImiDange were the very first inhabitants of Peelton.
1986 P. Maylam Hist. of Afr. People 37He (sc. Ndlambe) drove the imiDange, another autonomous Xhosa chiefdom, into a conflict with the white colonists who were expanding from the west. In the First Frontier War of 1779–81, the imiDange were defeated by the boers.
Collectively, the members of a Xhosa chiefdom with traditional lands in the Suurberg region of the Eastern Cape. Also attributive.
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18471986