Home › Clan names › Xhosa › Radebe
Radebe Clan — History & Meaning
Xhosa clan · isiXhosa
History & origin
Radebe (also Rhadebe or Hadebe) is the principal clan name of the amaHlubi, a Nguni people whose ruling house governed the Hlubi nation. The amaHlubi are part of the eMbo grouping and, before about the mid-17th century, were known by earlier names such as amaNgelengele. The royal genealogy runs through Mthimkhulu I, Ncobo, Dlomo, Mashiya and Ntsele to the celebrated king Bhungane (II) kaNsele, after whom the senior Hlubi line is repeatedly invoked. The amaHlubi originally settled in the area of the upper Thukela and the Drakensberg foothills in present-day KwaZulu-Natal; during the upheavals of the early 19th century (the Mfecane) many Hlubi were scattered, with substantial communities moving south into what became the Eastern Cape and absorbed among Xhosa-speaking and Mfengu communities, while others settled among the Sotho.
Notable figures & facts
Bhungane kaNsele, the great Hlubi king remembered as the high point of Hlubi power, and his successors in the Mthimkhulu royal line. In the modern era Jeff Radebe served as a long-serving South African cabinet minister.
Associated surnames
Surnames that share this clan: amaHlubi, Bhungane, Mthimkhulu, Zikode, Mashwabada.
We publish the full iziduko (clan praises) only once we can verify them against documented tradition — for this clan they are still being confirmed. If you can share an authoritative version, corrections are warmly welcomed.