As the two young princesses were of equal status, by choosing one as the Great Wife, King Phalo stood to offend the father of the other.
This dilemma was solved by a wise old man called Majeke, who said: "What is greater than the head of the king, and what is stronger than his right hand?
Rharhabe displayed signs of bravery and wisdom from a very young age, traits which made him by far the superior of Phalo's sons.
Rharhabe who had assisted his father against his brother's designs for the throne, decided to leave Phalo's Great Place with a group of followers and crossed the Kei River and settled at Amabele, near present-day Stutterheim.
When Cebo arrived at Mdandala's homestead to demand the cattle as instructed by Rharhabe, the Qwathis fell upon this prince and killed him.
These events enraged Rharhabe so that he at once entered Thembuland to remedy the affront at the tip of an assegai (spear).
The Xhosa people had held out against colonial invaders for more than a century, longer than any other Southern African anti-colonial resistance.
[1] With the Apartheid government's policy of re-tribalisation, and the creation of the Ciskei Bantustan, a political rivalry between the Rharhabe and the Fengu-who had traditionally been better educated and tended to hold salaried positions-arose.
The Rharhabe kingdom consists of 40 Traditional Councils, stretching out from King Williamstown, Peddie, Whittlesea and the Great Fish River areas, including Alice.