Gazankulu was one of 10 homelands set up by the South African government under the former policy of enforced racial segregation known as apartheid. Gazankulu, like the other homelands, was reserved for Black Africans. Gazankulu was set aside for the Tsonga and Shangane people. It was self-governing in name but had no real power. It was reincorporated into South Africa in 1994.
Gazankulu comprised five areas in the eastern region of what is now the province of Limpopo. It covered 2,703 square miles (7,000 square kilometers). Giyani was the capital. Gazankulu’s official population was 700,000.
People with a culture like that of the Tsonga first lived in the area in the A.D. 100’s. Gazankulu, meaning Great Gaza, is the name of the founding ancestor of the line of Shangane chiefs. He conquered the Tsonga of this area and of southern Mozambique in about 1820.
