Skukuza - Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
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Metro2
S 24° 59.442 E 031° 35.333
36J E 357584 N 7235341
Skukuza is the main camp of Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Waymark Code: WMMTRF
Location: Mpumalanga, South Africa
Date Posted: 11/04/2014
Views: 1
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Skukuza is the administrative headquarters and main camp of the Kruger National Park, it is situated on the southern banks of the Sabie River in Mpumalanga Province. Skukuza is a shortened word for Sikhukhuza in Tsonga language. Skukuza was given by the local Tsonga people as a nickname for James Stevenson-Hamilton. It could be translated as 'a new broom', as Stevenson-Hamilton swept the area clean of poachers and outlaws. Skukuza is the natural home of the Tsonga people and they have lived here peacefully with Africa's Big five for generations until Paul Kruger evicted them from their ancestral land when the Afrikaner colonised this part of the lowveld. Skukuza is the largest camp in the Kruger Park.
History of Skukuza
Skukuza was a large, densely populated Tsonga chiefdom under the Authority of Chief Ngomane and his people. The Tsonga people of Skukuza were great big game hunters, they hunted Africa's big five as well as smaller animals. They used Sabie River for fishing and were regarded as great fishermen by their neighbours. The land where the Skukuza camp is situated was chief Ngomane's palace (eHubyeni) and he used to conduct tribal meetings there. The entire area of Skukuza was dotted with Tsonga villages and was not an empty land as many people were made to believe, Skukuza was not even a game reserve, it was a residential area where Tsonga people used to live. When the South African Government decided to establish a National Park during the late 1800's and early 1900's, Skukuza was identified as a pontential site because there was abundance of Africa's big five.
Around 1905, the Tsonga people were asked to vacate their ancestral land by Paul Kruger's Government. The person that was used to come and remove the Tsonga people from their beloved homeland of Skukuza was James Stevenson-Hamilton, a good friend and fellow of the Tsonga people. Stevenson-Hamilton was fluent in Tsonga language and was very familiar with Tsonga culture, he was a good friend of the Tsonga people and was taught animal hunting and tracking skills by the Tsonga. Now the Colonial Government managed to turned good friends into bitter enemies. Stevenson-Hamilton was then given a new name by the Tsonga, they named him Skukuza, meaning 'new broom' or someone who turn things upside down, inside out. With the help of Stevenson-Hamailton, forced removal of Tsonga people took place between 1905 and 1910. The evicted Tsonga people were taken to villages next to the small town of Hazyview, some were taken to villages around Bushbuckridge, the villages next to Hazyview and Bushbuckridge were already occupied by other Tsonga tribe, the result was that Chief Ngomane lost his chieftainship and the Tsonga chiefdom of Skukuza was lost forever."