<P> The name "Xhosa" comes from that of a legendary leader and King called uXhosa . There is also a fringe theory that, in fact the King's name which has since been lost amongst the people was not Xhosa, but that "xhosa" was a name given to him by the San and which means "fierce" or "angry" in Khoisan languages . The Xhosa people refer to themselves as the AmaXhosa, and to their language as isiXhosa . </P> <P> Presently approximately 8 million Xhosa are distributed across the country, and the Xhosa language is South Africa's second-most - populous home language, after the Zulu language, to which Xhosa is closely related . The pre-1994 apartheid system of Bantustans denied Xhosas South African citizenship, but enabled them to have self - governing "homelands" namely; Transkei and Ciskei, now both a part of the Eastern Cape Province where most Xhosa remain . Many Xhosa live in Cape Town (eKapa in Xhosa), East London (eMonti), and Port Elizabeth (eBhayi). </P> <P> As of 2003 the majority of Xhosa speakers, approximately 5.3 million, lived in the Eastern Cape, followed by the Western Cape (approximately 1 million), Gauteng (671,045), the Free State (246,192), KwaZulu - Natal (219,826), North West (214,461), Mpumalanga (46,553), the Northern Cape (51,228), and Limpopo (14,225). </P> <P> The Xhosa are part of the South African Nguni migration which slowly moved south from the region around the Great Lakes, displacing the original Khoisan hunter gatherers of Southern Africa . </P>

When did the xhosa arrive in south africa