Cory Library and Historical Archives

Item sets

• Subject is exactly African heritage 🗙

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  African Literary and Intellectual Works Collection

  The Works by African Poets, Writers, and Intellectuals collection is a digitised archival grouping from the Cory Library and Historical Archives at Rhodes University, highlighting the literary, intellectual, and cultural contributions of African authors and thinkers preserved in the library’s holdings. Situated within the African Heritage Collections, this item set brings together materials that reflect creative expression, literary production, and intellectual discourse from prominent African poets, writers, and scholars. The collection encompasses sub-collections and individual item groups such as works and related archival material by authors including Henry Masila Ndawo, Malcolm Everitt Mlungiseleli Nyoka, pieces associated with the S.E.K. Mqhayi Collection, and materials linked to jazz-era cultural figure Todd Matshikiza (including parts of a King Kong thematic grouping). Collectively, these materials document a range of literary voices and intellectual traditions from the African continent, with a particular focus on South Africa, spanning poetry, prose, correspondence, manuscript materials, and related cultural artefacts. By foregrounding African creative and intellectual heritage, this collection supports research in literature, cultural studies, history, and African studies.
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  Clans, Tribes and Nations

  The Clans, Tribes and Nations collection is a digitised archival set from the Cory Library and Historical Archives at Rhodes University, located in Grahamstown (Makhanda), Eastern Cape, South Africa. This collection is part of the African Heritage Collections and comprises items that document records, histories, and genealogical accounts of Xhosa clans and related traditional communities, including materials on groups such as the amaCirha and amaJobe. The items include historical narratives and genealogical texts in both English and Xhosa, reflecting the longstanding cultural traditions, lineage information, and oral histories of these communities. This collection contributes to understanding pre-colonial and historical social structures, clan genealogies, traditional authority, and Indigenous heritage in the Eastern Cape and broader southern African context. It supports research into African ethnography, indigenous history, Xhosa social organisation, and cultural continuity.