AmaXhosa are one of three nations, known as Nguni, that are found in South Africa. The other two are AmaSwazi and AmaZulu. The AmaXhosa settled in the Eastern Cape and over time spread to the Western Cape.

The Xhosa nation is made up of tribes and clans. Clans are groups of families with different surnames but sharing one clan name. For example, Radebe is the clan, but the nation is called AmaHlubi. The clan name is the name of the first ancestor or family that gave birth to the clan. Clans make up tribes and tribes make up nations.