Langa, Cape Town

Langa
Langa Township
Langa Show map of Western Cape Langa Show map of South Africa Langa Show map of Africa  Langa shown within Western Cape
Location within Cape Town  Langa
Coordinates: 33°56′43″S 18°31′48″E / 33.94528°S 18.53000°E / -33.94528; 18.53000Coordinates: 33°56′43″S 18°31′48″E / 33.94528°S 18.53000°E / -33.94528; 18.53000
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Established	1927
Government
• Councillor	Mayenzeke Sopaqa (Ward 51) (ANC) Neliswa Nqose (Ward 52) (Independent) Brian Watkyns (Ward 53) (DA)
Area
• Total	3.09 km2 (1.19 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	52,401
• Density	17,000/km2 (44,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	99.1%
• Coloured	0.4%
• Indian/Asian	0.1%
• White	0.1%
• Other	0.4%
First languages (2011)
• Xhosa	92.0%
• English	2.5%
• Other	5.5%
Postal code (street)	7455
PO box	7456

Langa is a township and suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It was established in 1927 in terms of the 1923 Urban Areas Act. Similar to Nyanga, Langa is one of the many areas in South Africa that were designated for Black Africans before the apartheid era. It is the oldest of such suburbs in Cape Town and was the location of much resistance to apartheid. Langa is also where several people were killed on 21 March 1960 same day as the Sharpeville massacre, during the anti-pass campaign. On 21 March 2010, now 50 years later, a monument was unveiled by the government in remembrance of the people who lost their lives.

Langa is bordered by Jan Smuts Drive to the west, the N2 to the south, the N7 to the east and is served by Langa Railway Station.

Although Langa literally means "sun" in Xhosa, the name of the township is derived from the name of Langalibalele - a chief and renowned rainmaker who in 1873 was imprisoned on Robben Island for rebelling against the Natal government. Various prominent people fought for his release and he was subsequently confined to a farm called "Uitvlugt", which is on the site of present-day Pinelands. Langa, which adjoins Pinelands, commemorates this folk hero as it was developed in 1898 on the land known as "Langalibalele's Location". Hence Langa is often called "Kwa-Langa" meaning "place of Langa".

Langa was originally designed in a way to allow the authorities maximum visibility and control of residents. In the early years local laws prohibiting the brewing of sorghum beer (utywala) was strongly resented and in the 1930s prohibition was abolished in the area with the construction of municipal beer halls taking place in 1945. In these early years tribal and sub-tribal ethnic identities were still very strong. Often local celebrations by the Mfengu community celebrating their "liberation" from the Xhosa would lead to an increase in tensions. However, the close living conditions of residents in Langa promoted a high degree of neighbourliness and the creation of broader African institutions that promoted a greater sense of community cohesion.