KuGompo, eMonti and Igabaab — these were put forward as new name suggestions for East London during a public meeting held at the city hall on Tuesday.
The public hearing in East London followed meetings in King William’s Town and Berlin last week, and concluded the current round of name change hearings in BCM.
More than 100 people, including chiefs from different tribes, gathered at the city hall to offer their views.
Zukile Jodwana, the geographical names committee's provincial deputy chair, said while the majority of the crowd supported KuGompo, it was only one of the names submitted and others preferred eMonti and Igabaab.
Chief Nongenile Pato, from Tsholomnqa, said: “This town is known as eMonti and I think we should change it to that name now that an opportunity has presented itself.”
Prince Xolisa Cibi, of Contralesa, said he was in support of the name KuGompo. “The name has a meaning behind it. Gompo is a stone that is found at Eastern Beach. This town was named after that stone,” Cibi said.
He was supported by Bhongweni resident Mandisa Nano, who said eMonti evolved as the Xhosa rendition of the Afrikaans word for mouth, “mond”.
“Afrikaners used to call this area “die mond van Buffalo Rivier”, referring to the mouth of the Buffalo River,” Nano said.
“Our ancestors could not pronounce that phrase and just held on to the term “mond” but pronounced it in their own way, hence the name Monti.
“Otherwise that is not the original name of the town. Before the oppressors came here, our people called this place KuGompo and we grew up knowing the place as such.”
A Khoi-San chief, Joseph Kreeling, said while he was in support of the name eMonti as a second option, his first choice was Igabaab.
“Long before colonisers came here, the Khoi were here. This was a place where the buffalo dwelled.
“Igabaab is a Khoi term that means a place where the buffalo dwells, and I move that we should rename the city Igabaab.
“EMonti would be my second option because I relate to that as the area is on the mouth of the Buffalo River.”
Four proposals for a new name for East London Airport were presented to the residents — King Hintsa, King Palo, Chief Pato and Steve Biko.
Nobody went for Hintsa or Biko, and Chief Pato and King Palo were favoured.
Pato’s family, chiefs and other residents from Tsholomnqa motivated for his name, saying he deserved to be honoured as the East London area was “his land”.
Bonisile Grey, who supported Palo’s name said: “An airport is a national keypoint and I think King Palo’s name would be relevant for this purpose.
“At least Chief Pato has a fort named after him. There is nothing in the province named after King Palo.”
Jodwana said there would be other meetings where residents would be given feedback on the names that would be forwarded to arts and culture minister Nathi Mthethwa for a final decision.
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