Transkei

[trans-key, -kahy]

noun

1. a self-governing Bantu territory of South Africa on the Indian Ocean: granted independence in 1976 by South Africa, but not recognized by any other country as an independent state. 16,910 sq. mi. (43,798 sq. km). Umtata.

Transkei

/ trænˈskaɪ /

noun

1. (formerly) the largest of the Bantu homelands in South Africa; declared an independent state in 1976 but this was not recognized outside South Africa; abolished in 1993. Capital: Umtata

Other Word Forms

• Transkeian adjective

Example Sentences

In an interview with the New York Times published Thursday, Makaziwe Mandela said her father wanted the former Transkei region where he was born and raised to benefit economically from tourism.

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In a video interview from Johannesburg, Dr. Mandela said her father had made clear that he wanted to be buried “where he came from, among his ancestors” and also wanted that region, formerly known as the Transkei, to benefit economically from tourism.

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Its people rose up against the apartheid government in the 1950s and won a homeland, Transkei, that did not abide by the most oppressive strictures of White rule.

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He attended the University of Transkei in South Africa but dropped out and moved into a “one-room outhouse” to devote his life to reading.

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The proper homelands, Venda and Gazankulu and Transkei, were places where black people actually lived, and the government drew a border around them and said, “Stay there.”

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