Venda (redirected from Republic of Venda)

Venda (vĕnd`ə), former black "homeland" and nominal republic, NE South Africa. It comprised two connected areas near the Zimbabwe border in what is now Limpopo prov. Kruger National Park bordered on its northeast, and the former homeland of Gazankulu bordered on the southeast. The capital was Thohoyandou.

Under acts of the South African Parliament, land was set aside for blacks in pseudoindependent territories (originally called "Bantustans"), allegedly to allow blacks self-government and cultural preservation. Venda was designated for Venda-speaking people. In reality the homelands allowed the white government to control blacks and exclude them from the political process.

In 1973, Venda was granted "self-government," and in 1979 it became the third homeland to be granted "independence" from South Africa. As an independent state, all residents of Venda were treated as foreigners in the remainder of South Africa. The UN Security Council condemned the homelands policy as an attempt by the white government to further their policies of apartheid and Venda was not recognized internationally as an independent state. Venda was reabsorbed into South Africa in 1994.

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Venda

Bantu-speaking people who inhabit the northeastern corner of South Africa and neighbouring Zimbabwe. The Venda, today numbering more than 750,000, were the last of the peoples in the area to come under European control. Agriculture dominates their economy; cattle raising has increased in importance. Venda chiefs are traditionally custodians of the land, while local headmen permit household groups to occupy and work tracts of land.

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Venda

Former Bantustan, northeastern Republic of South Africa. Located near the Zimbabwe border, the region attracted the Venda people, who migrated there in the early 1700s from what is now Zimbabwe. It was annexed to Transvaal in 1898 and was a distinct administrative unit within South Africa when the country designated it a Bantustan for Venda-speaking people in 1962. The territory was granted partial self-government in 1973 and became an independent republic in 1979, but it never received international recognition. In 1994, after apartheid was abolished, Venda was reincorporated into South Africa as part of the newly created Northern (now Limpopo) province.