African Studies Thesaurus
Xhosa cattle killing
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294944850
Scope note
In 1856-1857 the Xhosa paramount Chief Sarhili approved the widespread destruction of cattle and crops following the prophecy of a teenage Xhosa girl, Nongqawuse, that if the Xhosa were to kill all their cattle and destroy all their crops, their ancestors would be resurrected, drive the British colonists from their land, and restore Xhosa prosperity. The actions of Governor George Grey in the immediate aftermath of the cattle killing guaranteed the final destruction of Xhosa power and the subsequent collapse of a unified Xhosa polity (A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures, ed. by Prem Poddar and David Johnson).
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cattle killing
Related terms
millenarianism
Xhosa
Subject category
06.03 RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND PRACTICE
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