Venda
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Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language.[1] It bordered modern Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is now part of Limpopo in South Africa.
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[edit] History
Venda in red.
It was declared self-governing on 1 February 1973.[2] On 13 September 1979, it was declared independent by the South African government and its residents lost their South African citizenship.[3][4] In common with other bantustans, its independence was not recognized by the international community. Being nominally independent it was possible to set up a casino which was done in the early 1980s, staffed in the main by British workers. The sovereign nation of Venda didn't practice apartheid, leading to relationships across the racial divide. It was initially a series of non-contiguous territories in the Transvaal, with one main part and one main exclave. Its capital, formerly at Sibasa, was moved to Thohoyandou (which included the old Sibasa administrative district) when Venda was declared independent in 1979. Prior to independence it was expanded to form one contiguous territory, with a total land area of 6,807 km².[1] Its stated population in 1991 was 558,797 (this was not accurate),[1] with the majority of Venda peoples in Southern Africa living within its territory. The state was cut off from neighboring Zimbabwe by the Madimbo corridor, patrolled by South African troops, to the north, and from nearby Mozambique by the Kruger National Park.[1]
The first President of Venda, Patrick Mphephu, was also a chief of the Venda people; he was born and lived in Dzanani. His successor, Frank Ravele, was overthrown in a military coup in 1990, after which the territory was ruled by the Council of National Unity. Venda was re-absorbed into South Africa on 27 April 1994.[2]
In 1982, the University of Venda was established as an institution for higher learning for vha-Venda people.[5]
[edit] Geography
Venda is divided into four districts Dzanani, Mutale, Thohoyandou and Vuwani.
[edit] See also
- Heads of State of Venda
- Venda people (Vhavenda), the ethnic group who live mostly in the Limpopo province in South Africa.
[edit] Notes and References
- ^ a b c d Lahiff, Edward, An Apartheid Oasis?: Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods in Venda. Routledge, 2000, p.55. ISBN 0714651370.
- ^ a b Worldstatesman.com has a chronology of Venda's transition to nominal independence and reintegration into South Africa.
- ^ The Birth of a New Non-State, in Time Magazine, 24 September 1979
- ^ "S. Africa Launches 'Independent Black State' of Venda," in The Washington Post, 13 September 1979.
- ^ University of Venda website, retrieved 28 June 2007.
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