Qwaqwa was one of 10 homelands set up by the South African government under the former policy of enforced racial separation known as apartheid. Qwaqwa, like other homelands, was reserved for blacks. It was self-governing in name but had no real power. It was home to more than 180,000 people who speak Sesotho as their first language. Qwaqwa and the other homelands were reincorporated into South Africa in 1994. Qwaqwa means whiter than white in the San language. The name describes the sandstone hills that surround the former homeland.
