Kaffir War

The Kaffir War of 1851 was just one in a series of conflicts, lasting almost a century, between South African colonists and the native Xhosa. A prophet called Mlanjeni gained influence over the native refugees displaced by the colonists and, following drought and famine, led them against the British. Fanatical natives, convinced their prophet's prayers protected them from bullets, captured Fort Armstrong and were joined by many former policemen recruited by the British to maintain order. However, the Xhosa suffered a setback when one of their chiefs, Hermanus, was killed trying to capture Fort Henry. British reinforcements drove the rebels back to the Amatola Mountains and spent two years fighting an insurgency from the remaining Xhosa who survived by plundering local farms

During the Kaffir War, the insurgents slaughtered their own cattle, starting an artificial famine, and killed people suspected of witchcraft. Mlanjeni claimed to have the ability to identify witches by sight

In modern-day South Africa, "Kaffir" is slang for a black person. This is an Arabic word meaning a non-Muslim, presumably introduced by slavers who offered to sell Christian or pagan blacks to the early white colonists