Ngubengcuka was the king of the Thembu

Thembu

The Thimbu are one of the handful of nations and population groups which speak Xhosa in South Africa. In Xhosa the name is abaThembu, aba- being a common prefix for peoples....

 people, in the southern part of the Transkei

Transkei

The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...

 region of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. Known as Inkosi Enkhulu (great chief), Ngubengcuka united the Thembu nation before it was subjected to British colonial rule. He was the proverbial author and finisher of the modern kingdom that it eventually became.

Ngubengcuka had wives from the Great House or Right Hand House, and the Ixhiba, the lesser or Left Hand House. Among his many descendants is Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

, a great-grandson via the Ixhiba or left-hand house. The name Mandela was first given to a younger brother of Simakade, the oldest son of the Ixhiba house.

External links

• Royal lineage at worldstatesmen.org