EC government honours late AmaXhosa King Hintsa ka Khawuta

The Eastern Cape province celebrated Heritage Day by remembering those who died fighting against apartheid and colonialism.

The late AmaXhosa king Hintsa ka Khawuta was remembered for standing up against land dispossession by the British.

The day was celebrated at Nqadu Great Place in Willowvale, in the Eastern Cape’s Amathole District Municipality.

This year marks 189 years years since the passing of King Hintsa ka Khawuta. He was brutally killed and his body mutilated by British troops in 1835 near the Nqabara River.

He and other heroes and heroines were celebrated under the theme: “Celebrating heroes and heroines who laid down their lives for our freedom.”

Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders, prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe praised King Hintsa for his bravery and courage in the fight against land dispossession.

“This is a very important epoch in the history of our country because it takes us back down memory lane about our heroes and heroines who fought so gallantly against colonialists. In this regard we think of King Hintsa who was killed in action.”

According to Burns-Ncamashe the following events led to Hintsa’s demise.

“A war started with the spilling of the blood of  (Chief) Xhoxho, the son of Ngqika. This led to Maqoma, the son of Ngqika pronouncing there can’t be peace when the blood of Xhoxho has spilled on the ground. This then triggered a war in which Harry Smith who was a commander of the British forces at the time together with Sir Benjamin D’Urban crossed the River Kei and launched a vicious attack and demanded Hintsa to stop Maqoma. But Hintsa, respecting the protocol of the fraternal relationship, refused and died refusing to betray his own house.”

Heritage Day | Late AmaXhosa King Hintsa kaKhawuta honoured at Nqadu Great Place

Meanwhile, the people of the Eastern Cape celebrated the event by showcasing their diversity. But the issue around king Hintsa’s missing skull after he was beheaded still unsettles them.

“The important part here is that we don’t know where his skull is as you heard the king say. We still want to know where is the skull as we’ve been hearing people say they know where it is. We don’t want to be give a skull that is not King Hintsa’s as it was the case with Kinana Kambhabhatyo who brought us a head and showed us a hole in the ear saying it was bullet wound. But we are happy that our heroes are remembered today,” one of the attendees says.

Since 2019, the Eastern Cape government has been honoring the struggle heroes and heroines through geographic name changes.

Provincial premier Oscar Mabuyane says today’s event sought to restore moral regeneration and educate the younger generation about those who died for the liberation of the country.

A call has been made for the younger generation to emulate heroes like king Hintsa and fight for the betterment of the livelihood of communities.