The tribes of eastern and central Africa were long established and they had sufficient time to become organized into larger groups. However, the Nguni only migrated into the southern part of Natal Province and the northern part of Cape Province in the 17th and 18th century, and the tribes were still small and not unified. The population divided and a new tribe split off from the older one when the population pressure became too intense. The new tribe would then migrate further to the south, dividing once more as soon as they exceeded the size that the land could support. Insufficient time has elapsed for the small tribes of the Cape Nguni to truly amalgamate into larger units and consequently there are many small tribes in the region.
The Nguni lineages are combined into clans, the members of which claim descent from a common ancestor. The senior male of the senior clan was the tribal chief. The best known tribes of the Cape Nguni are the amaXhosa , amaZulu, amaSwazi and the amaNdebele. Today the main coastal tribe is the Xhosa speaking group. This includes, from south to north, the Mfengu [Fengo], the Ngqika [around Keiskamma Hoek], the Bomvana [between the Xora and Bashee rivers], the Khonjwayo, the Mpondo and the Ngutyana clans.
The emergence of the Zulu nation under king Shaka brought havoc to the south eastern region starting in 1816. Waves of refugees moved north, west and south from the zulu attacks on neighboring tribes, as the zulu army extended south into Pondoland as far as the Umzimvubu River. The zulu raids lasted 25 years and this period in history is known as The Mfecane. Shaka was assassinated in 1828.
In the western Transkei the refugees combined into the Mfengu tribe. Amongst the Xhosa there was no standing army, as there was in the Zulu tribe, thus the chief did not raise to being a powerful dictator. Instead he ruled by consent of the people and had a council of advisors. Because the chief could levee taxes he was the most affluent member of the tribe.
The basic unit of the clan was the family who all dwelt together in a cluster of huts or homestead. The huts were clustered as a semi-circle, around the cattle kraal. Because the Xhosa practiced polygny the head wife had her hut in the centre of the semi-circle, and lesser wives were in huts to her left and right. In addition, there was a granary, a guest hut, a boys hut and a girls hut. Besides the sleeping hut each of the wives huts might include a storage hut and a kitchen hut. Collectivism was the civic law and individualism could not thrive. Each family produced enough food for itself. The women did the horticuluture and this was principally growing sorghum, pumpkins, gourds, and other vegetables. Today maize is a common crop.