Flag of QwaQwa, the Republic of South Africa シール

QwaQwa was a Bantustan ("homeland") in the central eastern part of South Africa. It encompassed a very small region of 655 square kilometres (253 sq mi) in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho. Its capital was Witsieshoek. It was the designated homeland of more than 180,000 Sesotho-speaking Basotho people. The frequent snow on the Maloti mountain peaks led the San to call the region "QwaQwa" (whiter than white). In Afrikaans it was known as "Witsieshoek", after Oetse (also Witsie and Wetsi), a Makholokoe chief who lived there from 1839 to 1856. Three tribes lived in the region, the Makholokoe, Bakoena and the Batlokoa. In 1969 they were united and the area was named "KwaKwa". In the same year, the name was changed to "QwaQwa" to avoid an ethnic identification.