UMTATA
Province/state: Eastern Cape (since 1994, previously Republic of Transkei [1976-94],
and Cape Province/Cape Colony).
Incorporated: 2000, into King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality.
The arms may be blazoned:
Gules, a lion rampant between three annulets or; upon a chief azure, an industrial landscape including two minehead towers on either side, hawsers leading down to the middle where a chimney stands, with smoke blowing to the sinister, all sable.
The shield ensigned of a royal crown proper.
Supporters: Dexter a gnu (black wildebeest or Connochætes gnou), sinister a gemsbok (Oryx gazella gazella), both proper.
Motto: Conanime augeor.
About the arms:
The composition bears little relation to this town on the Mthatha River which served as capital of the Transkei (in various guises) from 1882 to 1994.
The arms appear to have been adopted during the early 20th century, and do not appear to have been granted or registered at any stage. It is surprising that neither the apartheid Republic of South Africa (1961) nor the Republic of Transkei (1976) made any attempt to change these arms, which reflect a brand of imperialism that appears to have been dominant among the white voters – officials, traders and farmers – who constituted the municipality of Umtata during the years 1900 to 1910.
The chief illustrates industries not seen anywhere in Transkei – in fact, the “dark satanic mills” shown (to quote from the English poet and visionary William Blake) are those of the Witwatersrand. Their significance appears to be that Umtata was a major centre for recruiting labour for the Witwatersrand and other centres of mining activity, chiefly on the Highveld.
The colours used in the chief are a contravention of the heraldic colour rule, that requires a metal (such as silver or gold) to contrast with a colour like black or blue. While the rule can at times be broken while still presenting a striking image, this is certainly not the case here.
Nothing in the rest of the arms reflects anything of the Mthatha valley either: the rest of the shield, and the supporters, too, are borrowed directly from the arms of the Cape Colony, and have no special significance to the town.
The gemsbok is especially inappropriate, since it is found in the desert regions of the Northern Cape, Botswana and Namibia, not anywhere near Umtata.
The crown illustrated is the Tudor crown, used as a symbol of the British sovereign in the first half of the 20th century, when it was replaced by St Edward’s crown in most representations (such as colonial flags), but appears to have remained unaltered in the arms of Umtata.
About the town:
Around 1869 the chiefs of the amaMpondo and the abeThembu, who were almost constantly at war, granted privileges to colonists settling in their respective territories on either bank of the Mthatha River. In this way a buffer settlement between the two tribes was gradually established, to eliminate the possibility of attacks by either side. Within a decade a village arose. Because of tribal unrest a military post was established in 1882; the land was surveyed, the township demarcated, and a village management board set up. This body had been in office only a few months when Umtata was proclaimed a municipality on
10 November 1882.
Umtata became the seat of the chief magistrate of the Transkeian Territories, under whose chairmanship the Transkeian Territories General Council (known as the Bunga) functioned. An imposing town hall was completed in 1908, and a building was erected for the Bunga which was later used as the parliament of “independent” Transkei.
The town was well equipped with modern municipal amenities and government offices even before the setting up of the Transkeian Territorial Authority in 1963.
In the run-up to Transkeian independence, the properties of white residents and nearby white farmers were purchased by the South African Government with the purpose of creating a purely black state. Following Transkeian independence in 1976 the town expanded considerably. Transkeian Government offices were housed in a skyscraper called the Botha Sigcau Building.
In 1994 Umtata formally ceased to be a capital, but the Transkeian administration continued to function in the town until 1996, and it remains a regional headquarters of the Eastern Cape provincial government.
Following the local government elections of 2000, Umtata, together with Mqanduli, became the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality, part of the O R Tambo District Municipality.
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Comments, queries: Mike Oettle