Soweto, noun

/səˈwe(ː)təʊ/, /sɔˈwe(ː)tu/, /səˈwe(ː)tu/
Origin:
Acronym formed on South Western Townships, an early name for this area.
The name of a conglomeration of townships to the south-west of Johannesburg. See also Sowhereto.
1. (An allusive reference to) a series of uprisings by black schoolchildren in 1976 which began in these townships and spread round South Africa, being characterized by violent clashes with the police which led to many deaths; also transferred sense, any political demonstration or uprising which ends in violence and deaths. See also post-Soweto.
[1963 Star 20 Aug.The name of Soweto for Johannesburg’s spreading complex of African townships to the south-west of the city has been firmly accepted by the Johannesburg City Council and is already in general use...Soweto..has found favour with the Africans because it does not specially favour the language of any tribe.]
[1968 J. Lelyveld in Cole & Flaherty House of Bondage 8Soweto is not a Zulu or Xhosa word standing for something like Harmony or the name of some great black leader. It is simply an amalgam of the words South Western Townships.]
1976 A.P. Brink Mapmakers (1983) 147Already it is evident that ‘Soweto’ represents not just a moment of transition like Sharpeville: it is an effective watershed. Life in South Africa will never again be the same.
1976 I. Hamilton in New Statesman (U.K.) 10 Sept. 352Now that Soweto has happened, the solidarity between the generations is genuinely impassioned.
1976 M. Tholo in C. Hermer Diary of Maria Tholo (1980) 10Cape Town is no longer the only quiet place in the country. We have Soweto with us.
1977 Daily Dispatch 17 Aug. 6Internally, ten years ago, Soweto had not happened. Black conciousness and black power were phrases that had no meaning to most South Africans.
1977 Daily Dispatch 14 Sept. 1In 1960 we witnessed Sharpeville. In 1976 we witnessed a brutal and devastating Soweto.
1978 Washington Star (U.S.A.) 1 Sept. 9If you’ve seen reports of the riots and confrontations you know what to expect, but this show tries to go beyond the Sowetos for an overview of what’s involved.
1990 Varsity Voice Apr. 9Annually we hear calls to make this day or that day a holiday. The predominant dates that come to mind are the following: 21 March (Sharpeville), 16 June (Soweto).
2. figurative. The archetype of a South African township.
1980 Rand Daily Mail 31 Oct. 120 Sowetos needed before year 2000.
1985 Sunday Times 29 Sept. 12The CP propaganda is focusing on the ‘second Soweto’ envisaged by the Department of Constitutional Development.
1986 R. Bhengu in City Post 2 Nov. (Suppl.) p.viWe have no business to be in the Sowetos of this country — let alone love them.
3. Special Combination Soweto Day, the 16th of June, the anniversary of the start of the uprising by Soweto schoolchildren in 1976, kept, especially among left-wing political groups, as a day of mourning commemorating those who died in the struggle against apartheid; June 16 (sense b); National Youth Day; South African Youth Day; Youth Day. Also attributive.
1977 Rand Daily Mail 16 June 2Vigils, pickets, church services and demonstrations are planned today in Britain and many European centres to commemorate ‘Soweto Day’.
1986 Financial Mail 13 June 36Confrontation is probable because of the countrywide ban placed on meetings in June to commemorate Soweto Day and Freedom Charter Day.
1990 City Press 17 June 1It was tense, but quiet, in most of Natal with many people apparently having resisted the Soweto Day stayaway call and reporting for work.
1990 A. Goldstuck Rabbit in Thorn Tree 188It was called the ‘Pretoria virus’, or ‘June 16th virus’, and it..is designed to go off on Soweto Day.
1992 Guardian Weekly (U.K.) 3 July 7His organisation’s (sc. the ANC’s) plan to unseat the recalcitrant apartheid regime..was to begin with a series of Soweto Day marches...When the ANC responds with peaceful mass action, such as Soweto Day rallies, the government cynically tries to pin the blame for continued violence on it.
1993 Newsletter (Black Sash) 29 June 1We wonder why the Boipatong attack should have happened on June 17th — the day after the commemoration of 1976’s Soweto Day.
The name of a conglomeration of townships to the south-west of Johannesburg.
(An allusive reference to) a series of uprisings by black schoolchildren in 1976 which began in these townships and spread round South Africa, being characterized by violent clashes with the police which led to many deaths; also transferred sense, any political demonstration or uprising which ends in violence and deaths.
The archetype of a South African township.
Special Combination Soweto Day,the 16th of June, the anniversary of the start of the uprising by Soweto schoolchildren in 1976, kept, especially among left-wing political groups, as a day of mourning commemorating those who died in the struggle against apartheid; June 16 (sense b); National Youth Day; South African Youth Day; Youth Day. Also attributive.
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figurative or allusive
Sowetan, nounn.Sowetonian, nounn.
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