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noun
A member of a Xhosa-speaking people originating in present-day KwaZulu-Natal and now living in the Transkei.
- ‘All Thembus were free to come - and a great many did, on horseback or on foot.’
- ‘The king of the Tembus was told by a high court judge here yesterday that he would be treated like anyone else facing charges, regardless of who he was.’
- ‘Four Clarke generations lived among the Thembu before Broster, as a young bride, moved to the village of Qebe in 1952 to run a family store.’
- ‘Only two protested at meetings in their own tribal areas - Paramount Chief Sabata Dalindyebo of the Tembu and Paramount Chief Victor Poto of the Western Pondo.’
- ‘The last Paramount Chief of the Tembus, Jongolizwe Mtirara, died in July 1928, four months before Sabata Dalindyebo was born.’
- ‘Broster noted that the Thembu were reluctant to sell beadwork.’
- ‘Her later books lack the detail of her books on the Thembu.’
adjective
Relating to the Thembu.
- ‘Here Tembu goalkeeper Andile Sakhile was magnificent.’
- ‘Broster's work provides detailed evidence of how status could be read from dress in Thembu society.’
- ‘Sheep-shearing was also often done by migrant Mfengu and Thembu men.’
- ‘Born in Qunu, Transkei, on 18 July 1918, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was descended from the Thembu royal lineage.’
- ‘And on this day, kings, queens and chiefs from those clans gather to honor a Thembu son with their symbol of bravery.’
- ‘As Thembu men and women aged, their beadwork remained predominantly navy and white, but now contrasted with pink.’
- ‘He was then cared for by his uncle, Jongintaba Dalindyebo, chief of the Thembu people.’
- ‘In 1910 he became the only African ever elected to a seat on the Cape Provincial Council (representing the Thembu people).’
- ‘There she studied Thembu traditions, developed a passion for beadwork, and collected and annotated local costumes that demonstrate how minutely beadwork mapped social identity within this Xhosa-speaking community.’
- ‘The writings of Mandela often assert the rich and proud history of the Thembu monarchy.’
- ‘A typical Thembu cultural village could be established, and a library or museum provided to showcase and market the historical and cultural heritage of the local communities.’
- ‘Bereaved family members could not see their loved ones being buried as the Tembu custom forbids women from witnessing the burial of lightning victims.’
Origin
From Xhosa umThembu.
