Fengu people
Photograph of King Veldtman also known James, his son prince Charles I and Theodore of the Amangesi/Fingo people | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| South Africa Zimbabwe | |
| Languages | |
| IsiXhosa, English, formerly Old Mfengu (Guthrie code S401) | |
| Religion | |
| Christian, uThixo | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| British · Welsh · English · IsiXhosa · Scots · Irish |
| Person | uMfengu |
|---|---|
| People | AmaMfengu |
| Language | IsiXhosa |
| Country | KwaMfengu |
The Fengu or amaNgesi (in the Xhosa language Mfengu, plural amaMfengu) are a group of clans whose ancestors were initially refugees that fled from the Mfecane holocaust waged by the Boers alongside the Zulu armies from the far north against the peoples within the former British colony of Natal in the early-mid 19th century. Many of these clans were already aligned with the British in the Natal colony hence it was easy for them to integrate within the Cape Colony. It also explains why they were assigned privileges and rights reserved for British settlers.
These refugees were allowed into the Xhosa nation and were officially recognized by the then king, Hintsa, though they would shortly after be fully assimilated into the Cape Colony by the Crown as British settlers and known locally as AmaNgesi, a Xhosa word meaning the English people.
The word Fengu comes from the old Xhosa word which is "ukumfenguza" which in the old Xhosa dialect meant to wander.