Khayelitsha Book Festival breathes new life into work of forgotten Xhosa poet

Themed ‘Narratives of the resilient: our lived experiences become our literature’, the third annual Khayelitsha Book Festival over the weekend was a success. The event was held at the Kilombo Village in Mandela Park. Among the authors present at the event were Chumile Sali, author of the Bus People, and Kenyan political science professor, Dr Njoki Wamai. In a session on Saturday, they discussed different stories from Sali’s book, and how they align with everyday working class problems. Cape Town-based isiXhosa writer, Bhut’Fura also launched his children’s book, Munca’ungaqhekezi during the event. uhlanga books

The work of pioneering Xhosa poet Nontsizi Mgqwetho also came alive during a colloquium. Mgqwetho is remembered as the first female poet to write in isiXhosa, whose contributions were most prominently to a Johannesburg-based newspaper called uMteteli wa Bantu (Mouthpiece of the People) which published until 1956. She also contributed to the Imvo ZabaNtsundu (Black Opinion) newspaper, the first black-owned newspaper and was based in King Williams Town (eQonce). She wrote nearly one hundred poems between 1920 and 1929.

Sinovuyo Bikitsha, a University of Cape Town history graduate, said she came across Mgqwetho’s work while she was doing her final year. “I was so amazed when I came across her work. It was fascinating to learn that there was a woman who was writing poetry in the 1920s. Her work was very critical of the situation at that time and how black people were living. When she writes, she likes twisting things. She also wrote across different topics, such as political economy and socio-economic issues. For me it was very necessary to document her work, because we can’t have such important people go missing in history,” said Bikitsha.

She found that her preoccupations and things she was struggling with were not new but articulated by Mgqwetho better than she ever could. “My background in social anthropology and economic history gave me the tools to contextualise her work within broader societal shifts and understand how intellectuals like her navigated and resisted the oppressive structures of the time. I was captured by a line in Mgqwetho’s poetry which spoke to telling the truth. She wrote asinakuthula umhlaba ubolile which means, ‘we cannot keep quiet, the country is rotten’.

“Her poetry is still significant today because it speaks to issues that remain unresolved, such as racial injustice, the oppression of women, and the quest for national identity. Mgqwetho’s work offers both a historical critique and a powerful vision for liberation, making her voice incredibly relevant in our ongoing struggles for freedom,” Bikitsha explained. 

According to Bikitsha, Mgqwetho’s work resonates deeply with contemporary struggles because the issues she wrote about such as racial inequality, cultural identity, and the role of women in society – are still pressing in post-apartheid South Africa. “Her call for unity, pride in African heritage, and resistance to oppression can inspire today’s movements for social justice, particularly those focused on gender and racial equity. Mgqwetho’s legacy teaches us the importance of using our voices to challenge injustice, even when it seems like the odds are against us. She was fearless in addressing issues that many people were hesitant to speak about, such as gender inequality and the need for cultural preservation,” Bikitsha told Elitsha. 

“Young women today can draw inspiration from her courage, her commitment to her beliefs, and her refusal to be silenced,” she added. 

In one of her poems, Mayibuye i-Afrika, Mgqwetho writes,

Simi ngama Rhini simemeza wena zikwako ne Tasi zinonodyuwana//
Siselel’ ukufa sibuyisa wena sikubamb’ amehlo siti awuboni//
Umnke ke impela ubuyele emva xa ukubuyisa ngalo ishwangusha//.
Uti Mayibuye? Makubuye wena izizwe zomhlaba zix’witana ngawe//
ziphuma eNode ziphuma eSude ,kwas’ empumalanga nase ntshonalanga//

The poem laments why Africans call for the return or restoration of Africa while they are in Africa. It criticises how black people are suffering in their land of birth. Her poems were prophetic in the sense that, even though she wrote over a 100 years ago, some of the issues she addresses are relatable to the situation in South Africa today.

Last year, the isiXhosa language celebrated 200 years as a written and published language. According to Iziko Museum, isiXhosa was first written and published in 1823 by John Ross and John Bennie in Lovedale, giving birth to a great evolutionary journey towards intellectualisation and development of the language. Professor Jeff Opland in his book The Nation’s Bounty: The Xhosa Poetry Of Nontsizi Mgqwetho, describes her poetry as swaggering and confrontational. 

In explaining Mgqwetho’s poetry, Bikitsha says it draws on the traditional style of izibongo while also embracing the western stanza structure and then later, rhyme which is unusual for traditional Xhosa poetry. “Mgqwetho’s poetry is urban, despite her constantly drawing on rural imagery and taking on the persona of a traditionalist, adorned in blankets. Her poetry is mixed with isiZulu, English and Afrikaans words. Unlike the poetry of an imbongi she does not praise chiefs or write in great detail the history of the Xhosa people. She wrote Amagama enkosi ayandipazamisa (the names of kings and chiefs disturb me),” says Bikitsha. Her reluctance in praising chiefs has to do with her past experiences in Tamara near Peddie where she was thrashed with a knobkerrie for trying to praise in the royal court.

“Poetry gave Mgqwetho a way of speaking in public that few black women of the time could enjoy with ease. She was able to insert her public political voice – something that women were not expected to have – onto the stage using an aestheticised format, rather than delivering a direct political speech.”