DALINDYEBO
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Dalindyebo (1865-1920) was a modernist nkosi (traditional ruler) of the Abathembu people in the Transkei region of Eastern Cape Province from 1885 to 1920. An ex-officio member of the Bunga (a regional authority known officially as the Transkeian General Council) from 1903 until his death, Dalindyebo was respected for his progressive ideas.
PHOTO CAPTION: Dalindyebo. SOURCE: sahistory.org
Dalindyebo, the ninth nkosi of the Abathembu since the heroic King Dlomo, was the son of the eighth nkosi, the independent and ruthless Ngangelizwe. Nomkafulo, the daughter of Kreli, the senior Xhosa nkosi, was his mother. Dalindyebo was educated at Clarkebury institution and was known by the name Aliva (a Xhosa form of the name “Oliver”). Ngangelizwe died in December 1884, and Dalindyebo succeeded him as nkosi in 1885.
Ngangelizwe had supported a Thembu national church, independent of European mission control, founded in 1884 by the Rev. Nehemiah Tile, and Dalindyebo continued this support. However, Cape Colonial authorities exerted pressure on Dalindyebo until he was obliged to withdraw his participation and support and instead to rejoin a mission church.
Dalindyebo’s education, breadth of vision and status allowed him to participate in national and international developments. In 1904 he attended the coronation of King Edward VII in England accompanied by Dr. Walter Rubusana. In 1911, Dalindyebo was again in England and appeared before the Universal Races Congress in London. As an active member of the Bunga from 1903 onwards, Dalindyebo was the prime signatory to a formal petition from that body to the governor of the Cape Colony protesting the colour bar in the proposed Union of South Africa constitution because it implied second-class citizenship to Africans. Dalindyebo was an ardent supporter of quality education for Africans and urged the Bunga to promote African education in the Transkei. Dalindyebo’s progressive programme alienated the hard-core traditionalists among the Abathembu. In time, however, they were reconciled to some of the changes he advocated.
Significantly, Dalindyebo was chosen as one of the seven honorary presidents of the South African Native National Congress later to be known as the African National Congress (ANC) at its inaugural meeting in Bloemfontein in 1912. Dalindyebo belongs to a special group of African traditional leaders in South Africa. He was one of those who saw the need to enlarge horizons and support changes to enhance the quality of African life and institutions. He sought to challenge the more obnoxious aspects of white authority while working through a local government dominated by white officers. He supported efforts to increase the authority of traditional rulers but saw the need for cooperation with the new elite represented by the African National Congress. He grasped the need to save the future through strong support for education.
C. TSEHLOANE KETO
