Ndebele people (South Africa)
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{{dablink|This article relates to the Ndebele people of the [[Transvaal]] region of [[South Africa]]. For information about the [[Matabele|Ndebele]] people of [[Zimbabwe]] and their language please see [[Matabele]] and [[Sindebele language]].}}
{{Infobox Ethnic group
|group = Ndebele
|image = [[Image:Ndebele-women-loopspruit.jpg|260px]]
|caption = The women of Loopspruit Cultural Village, near [[Bronkhorstspruit, Gauteng|Bronkhorstspruit]], in front of a [[Ndebele house painting|traditionally-painted Ndebele dwelling]].
|pop = '''703,906''' (2001 Census)
|regions = [[Limpopo Province|Limpopo]], [[Mpumalanga]] and [[Gauteng]] provinces<br/>in {{flag|South Africa}}
|languages = [[Ndebele language]]
|religions = [[Christianity|Christian]], [[Animist]]
|related = [[Nguni]]
}}
The '''Ndebele people''' are three [[tribe]]s or [[nation]]s of people living in [[South Africa]] and [[Zimbabwe]]; there are three main groups of Ndebele:
* The Southern [[Transvaal]] Ndebele, who live around [[Bronkhorstspruit]]
* The Northern Transvaal Ndebele, who live in [[Limpopo Province]] (formerly Northern [[Transvaal]] or Northern Province) around the towns of [[Mokopane]] (Potgietersrus) and [[Polokwane]] (Pietersburg).
* The [[Matabele|Ndebele]] people of [[Zimbabwe]], often called the [[Matabele]]
The Northern Transvaal Ndebele have largely adopted the language and culture of their [[Sotho language|Sotho]] and [[Tswana]] neighbours. Their spoken language is sometimes mistakenly grouped under the Northern Sotho group of dialects, and is becoming extinct. The new generation mostly speaks Northern Sotho.
==History==
The Ndebele are part of the larger [[Nguni]] ethnic group. They are thought to have travelled from [[kwaZulu]] to the Transvaal region, led by a chief called Musi and settling near Pretoria in about [[1600]]. In the mid-seventeenth century, the nation split over a succession dispute between his two sons, Manala and Ndzundza.
In [[1882]], following friction with [[Voortrekker]] settlers over land and other resources, the [[Boer]] leader [[Piet Joubert]] led a campaign against the Ndebele leader Nyabela. Nyabela was imprisoned, finally being released in the late 1890s, and many of his people were [[indenture]]d to white farmers.
During the [[apartheid]] era, Nyabela's successor as leader, Cornelius, was forcibly moved with his people to a tribal "[[homeland]]" called [[KwaNdebele]], which was given nominal self-government.
==References==
<references/>
* ''Ndebele: The art of an African tribe'', 1986. Margaret Courtney-Clarke, London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28387-7
==External links==
* [http://www.bulawayo1872.com/history/ndebele.htm History of the Ndebele (Matabele) people of zimbabwe ]
<br/>{{Ethnic groups in South Africa}}
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[[Category:Ethnic groups in South Africa]]
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