"Have To" History: The Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement (1856 - 1857)
Posted by Blue Cereal on Saturday, 27 April 2019
Three Big Things:
1. The Xhosa were a South African people threatened by European encroachment beginning in the 17th century.
2. In 1856, a young Xhosa girl encountered two supernatural strangers who told her a time of renewal was coming but must be preceded by the slaughter of their existing cattle and crops.
3. The resulting Cattle-Killing Movement left the Xhosa destitute and divided against themselves. Over a century and a half later, they remain one of South Africa’s poorest demographics.