The Imidushane clan was founded by one of the greatest Xhosa warriors Prince Mdushane who was the eldest son of Prince Ndlambe, the son of King Rharhabe.
The Imidushane are therefore a subgroup within the Xhosa nation and can be found in the Eastern Cape, South Africa where they have three Traditional Councils in Tamarha near King William's Town, Ncerha near East London and Centane in the Mnquma Local Municipality.
Although sometimes referred to by the misnomer "Imidushane kaNdlambe"; the Imidushane are in fact a distinct tribe separate from the amaNdlambe, i.e. the tribe of Prince Ndlambe; having been established after Mdushane succeeded his uncle Prince Cebo who had died without male successors, as the heir to the Right Hand House of King Rharhabe.
Rharhabe's reign
Rharhabe was the great son of the Right Hand House of King Phalo and is said to have been born around 1722. King Phalo was the last absolute ruler over a united Xhosa Kingdom, which is now split between the amaGcaleka and the amaRharhabe Xhosa branches.
According to Xhosa tradition, King Phalo had intended to marry two royal brides from two different kingdoms for whom he had paid lobola. However, one day he was caught by surprised when both bridal parties arrived simultaneously at his great place to begin the wedding festivities. In order to avoid offending either father of the intended brides; Phalo was convinced by one of his councillors to marry both princesses on the same day, making one princess his wife from the Great House and the other, the wife of the Right Hand House. The two houses would be independent of each other and equal in status; thereby avoiding any confrontation with the two noble families.
The great wife would bear the heir to the throne being the representative of the senior line; while the great son of the Right Hand House would be independent of his brother and would in due course be able create his own kingdom. Phalo had two important sons from the two houses who would play a pivotal role in the history of the amaXhosa; Prince Gcaleka his heir, born from the Great House, and Prince Rharhabe who was the eldest, born from the Right Hand House.
Rharhabe was much loved by his father and grew up to become a very successful and skilled hunter, whilst also a renowned warrior who was fearless in battle. As a result of Rharhabe's increasing popularity amongst his father's people; Gcaleka feared that one day he might lose his birthright as head of the senior branch to his brother and as such he tried to usurp the throne from his father. Rharhabe came to his father's aid and managed to quell this attempted coup by his brother. In order to keep the peace, Rharhabe with the blessing of his father, moved away from the great place and was provided with his own retinue and followers to create his own kingdom.
Accompanied by his father, Rharhabe left the great place and initially settled at Hohita near the amaNdungwana clan. It was during this period that Rharhabe would marry his great wife Queen Nojoli daughter of Ndungwana of the Thembu nation and they had three sons and two daughters. His sons were Prince Mlawu, Prince Ndlambe and Prince Nukwa; and his daughters were Princess Ntsusa and Princess Khinzela. After some time, Rharhabe and his followers left Hohita and settled at Amabele near present-day Stutterheim.
It was here that he would be engaged in many battles over land and cattle with the Twa people, who he found in this new territory. He was able within a short period of time to extend his territory and gain many followers. His influence was also felt by the various smaller Xhosa clans such as the imiDange, the amaGqunukwebe, amaMbalu and amaNtinde, who had long enjoyed their independence from the great place, having traversed the Great Kei River sometime between the late 1600s and early 1700s.
Rharhabe's great son from the Right Hand House was Prince Cebo. There is not much known about this prince except that in the prime of his years he was murdered by the amaQwathi clan, who ambushed him after taking offence to this prince demanding more lobola from his half-sister Ntsusa's husband Mdandala, who was a Qwathi chief. It is said that chief Mdandala had delivered as lobola less than 200 head of cattle to his father Rharhabe; which number was inadequate and viewed as an insult for a daughter of a king.
Not long after Cebo's death, Rharhabe sought to revenge his son's death as well as the slight received over his daughter's lobola, that he and his army fell upon the amaQwathi and seized hundreds of their cattle. At this battle Rharhabe was fatally wounded and died. This was about the year 1787.
Ndlambe's reign
Prince Ndlambe was Rharhabe's second son born in the great house, therefore next in rank to his brother Prince Mlawu. He was born in or about 1755.
Mlawu had predeceased his father having died in or about 1782, where it is said that on his wedding day to his great wife, he suddenly fell ill and died. Rharhabe installed Ndlambe as regent for the house of Mlawu, due to Mlawu having fathered two boys, Ngqika and Ntimbo before his death.
After Rharhabe death, Ngqika was chosen as the heir to the throne while Ntimbo became the great son of the Right Hand House of Mlawu, with Ndlambe their guardian.
Ndlambe reigned over the Rharhabe kingdom as regent for well over twenty years. His reign was very popular among the amaRharhabe as he was known to be a wise man and brave warrior. He is credited of being the true architect of the amaRharhabe's greatness, that within a short few years, most of the royal houses westward of the Great Kei River were under his authority.
As Ngqika came of age, he became suspicious that his uncle Ndlambe did not want to pass on the kingship to him and plotted to keep it for himself due to his popularity. Although denied by Ndlambe, this caused great tension between uncle and nephew that one day Ngqika, sometime around 1806, with the help of his father's councillors planned and executed a daring attack on Ndlambe, whose forces were caught by surprise and defeated.
Ndlambe left his great place at Ntaba kaNgqebeni on the Gqunube River which is near present-day Gonubie, with a number of followers, crossing the Great Fish River and settled in eMnyameni near present-day Alexandria. There he founded his amaNdlambe, which would once again surpass the house of Ngqika in numbers and wealth.
Ndlambe is known to have married several wives and had many sons. Ndlambe's son who was to have succeeded him died in battle and Ndlambe did not elect a successor during his lifetime. Ndlambe's other known sons were Mqhayi, Dyani, Mhala, Mxhamli, Zethu and Thuba.
Ndlambe died in February 1828.
Mdushane's reign
Prince Mdushane was born in or about 1785; the eldest son of Prince Ndlambe and his first wife Princess Nojaka.
In his formative years Mdushane grew up with his uncle Cebo, as a result of Ndlambe having divorced his mother whilst she was pregnant with Mdushane. Ndlambe like his father Rharhabe, was a prince of warlike spirit that he is known to have engaged in many battles during his lifetime. After one of such battles, Ndlambe arrived home to discover that his wife, Nojaka was pregnant; and due to the lengthy period he had spent in battle, he suspected his wife of infidelity and refused to recognise the child as his own.
Ndlambe banished her and the child from his great place that she sought refuge with Ndlambe's father Rharhabe, whose great place was located near present-day Burnshill. As Mdushane grew, Cebo noticed the resemblance between the child and his brother; and having no sons of his own, adopted the boy and raised him as his own.
When Cebo died without male heirs, and as his daughters were according to Xhosa Salic law excluded from succeeding him; the councillors of that house requested Ndlambe as the Rharhabe regent to supply them with a representative of their deceased prince from among his sons. Seeing that Mdushane was already associated with that house, it was natural that he appointed Mdushane as Cebo's heir and the great son of the Right Hand House of Rharhabe.
He grew up in the same homestead as his cousin Ngqika, the future king of the amaRharhabe. The two young princes would form a close bond that would remain so until adulthood.
The relationship between Mdushane and Ngqika became strained when Ngqika abducted one of Ndlambe's young wives Thuthula, who was known for her extraordinary beauty, with the intention of making her his wife. Among the conservative Xhosa, this act was not only seen as immoral but also incestuous, that many of Ngqika's followers abandoned him and joined Ndlambe in disgust. This also proved to be a very strategic opportunity for the councillors of Ndlambe and Mdushane, who had long sought to reconcile estranged both father and son, due to Mdushane's military exploits and popularity.
Mdushane would eventually leave Burnshill and join his father's faction and thus bring with him such a large following and military strength it would enhance the position of the amaNdlambe amongst other royal houses of the frontier. This was no more evident than when the rivalry between Ngqika and Ndlambe came to a head in October 1818 at the battle of Amalinde.
The battle of Amalinde is regarded as one of the most violent and famous battles ever fought amongst the Xhosa themselves. Generally when the Xhosa fought one another, such battles did not amount to more than mere skirmishes and never became all out war where the loser was vanquished. At Amalinde, the fighting lasted the entire day where no mercy was shown even to the wounded. The sheer brutality shown to the enemy meant that a great number of deaths as never seen before occurred, where some families lost their entire male kin.
Amongst the Xhosa it is said that the real reason for this battle was not the abduction of Thuthula as some early writers have postulated, but it was caused by Ngqika having a cosy relationship with the British colonial authorities and also for pretending to speak on behalf of all Xhosa people in his dealings with the Colony.
The colonial authorities viewed Ngqika as the supreme leader of all the Xhosa, despite the Gcaleka branch being senior to him; and treated him with more deference than all Xhosa royal houses, which angered Ndlambe, Mdushane and other royals west of the Kei.
At Amalinde, the Ngqika forces were led by Ngqika's favourite son and the great son of the Right Hand House, Prince Maqoma. The amaNdlambe forces which included the amaGcaleka, imiDange, amaHleke and amaGqunukhwebe, were under the overall command of Mdushane.
At this battle Mdushane distinguished himself as a man of outstanding ability and a superior of all his contemporaries in military tactics. He outmanoeuvred Maqoma by first sending to battle his weakest regiment which he dressed up in the regalia of his strongest warriors. Mdushane leading his bravest warriors, outflanked the Ngqika forces and a bloodbath ensued. Maqoma, who was injured at the battlefront was whisked away to safety by his father's forces which undoubtedly spared his life.
After this crippling loss, Ngqika appealed to the British colonial authorities for assistance, claiming that he was only being punished by the other royal houses for his efforts and attempts at stopping cattle raiding by the Xhosa in the Colony. In December 1818, Ngqika received the aid he so long wished for in the form of Colonel Brereton, who with his troops attacked the amaNdlambe and would seize 23,000 head of cattle. Ngqika was compensated with 10,000 cattle by Brereton.
This caused great resentment amongst the Xhosa, that in April 1819, the amaNdlambe forces marched in broad daylight into the Cape Colony and descended on Grahamstown in all-out war.