Items
Subject is exactly
South Africa -- History -- Frontier Wars, 1811-1878
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Gravestone with the words “Hottentot victim of the [drawing of an axe] war 1846” engraved on it. Note on the back: “A Hottentot victim of the war of the axe 1846 45". -
The gravestone is engraved: “Hottentot Victim of the [picture of an axe] war 1846”. On the back of the image is a note reading: “T Mackenzie Kingston House SMT”. -
This text presents a historical and ethnographic introduction to the origins, migrations, social organisation, and political leadership of the abaThembu and related Nguni-speaking peoples of southern Africa. Drawing on oral traditions, early European accounts, and later colonial-era writings, it traces the movement of the descendants of Ntu from north-eastern Africa through central and southern regions of the continent, culminating in the settlement and interaction of groups such as the abaThembu, amaXhosa, amaMpondo, amaMpondomise, amaBaca, amaXesibe, and others. Particular attention is given to the emergence of the name “Thembu” in early European records, descriptions of social customs, governance, and moral values, and the role of kings, chiefs, and councillors in maintaining order and tradition. The narrative further engages critically with historical testimonies by explorers, missionaries, colonial officials, and indigenous informants, including accounts associated with Dr. George McCall Theal, Simon van der Stel, Somtsewu (Sir Theophilus Shepstone), and others. By comparing these written sources with African oral histories, the work seeks to reconstruct genealogies of chiefly lineages and to clarify the relationships among major royal houses, particularly those descending from Zwide. While acknowledging unresolved debates concerning early ancestral links between Zwide, the Zulu, and Ntu, the text aims to lay a foundation for further scholarly inquiry into Nguni history, migration, and kingship, and to encourage deeper investigation into areas where historical evidence remains contested or incomplete.
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From the Preface: This volume presents a critically compiled and historically grounded narrative of Ntsikana, widely regarded as one of the earliest African Christian converts and hymn composers among the amaXhosa. Prepared originally in 1878–79 and revised for publication in 1914, the work represents the first sustained attempt to render Ntsikana’s life and religious influence into a coherent English narrative. The account is based on a triangulation of sources, including oral testimony from elders who personally knew Ntsikana or his family, family memory preserved through the author’s grandparents, early missionary periodicals, and archival documents. Central among the written sources are articles published in Isigidimi Samaxosa (1875–1888) and the rediscovered 1845 issues of Ikwezi, the earliest Kafir–English missionary periodical, printed at the Chumie Mission Press. The volume also preserves four hymns attributed to Ntsikana, transmitted through oral tradition and here recorded with both words and melodies, underscoring his role in the indigenisation of Christian worship in southern Africa. Supplementary appendices include contemporaneous writings by Ntsikana’s close companions—later known as Charles Henry (Matshaya) and Robert Balfour (Noyi)—as well as extracts from Charles Brownlee’s authoritative nineteenth-century reflections on Xhosa society. Together, these materials situate Ntsikana within the broader historical context of early missionary encounter, African religious agency, and the beginnings of Christianity among the amaXhosa. The work argues for the essential reliability of the narrative, noting that subsequent references and critiques have largely confirmed, rather than contradicted, its central claims.
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Programme of the centenary celebrations in commemoration of the arrival of the 1820 British settlers of Albany, to be held at Port Elizabeth on April 9th and at Grahamstown on April 11th 1921 : containing a descriptive guide to the motor route through the Eastern Province to be travelled by Major-General H R H Price Arthur of Connaught ..., Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, accompanied by H R H Princess Arthur of Connaught, at the close of the celebrations.