Isitwalandwe/Seaparankoe

Isithwalandwe/Seaparankoe, until 1994 known as the Isithwalandwe Medal,^[1] also known as the Isithwalandwe Award^[2] and also spelt Isithwalandwe^[3] and Isithwalandwe/Seaparankwe,^[4] is the highest award given by the African National Congress (ANC) "to those who have made an outstanding contribution and sacrifice to the liberation struggle", that is, those who resisted the apartheid regime in South Africa (1949−1991) in various ways.^[5]

Isithwalandwe means "the one who wears the plumes of the rare bird",^[5] in particular the blue crane. This type of honor is taken directly from Xhosa culture where the plume of the Ndwe bird was used as an award.^[6] It was customarily only given to the bravest warriors, those distinguished by their leadership and heroism.^[2]