Nation's Bounty

The Xhosa Poetry of Nontsizi Mgqwetho

Nontsizi Mgqwetho, Isabel Hofmeyr, Jeff Opland, Phyllis Ntantala, Abner Nyamende, Phyllis Ntantala-Jordan, Nontsizi Mgqwetho

• Publisher: Wits University Press
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9781868145669
• eBook ISBN: 9781776143184
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism in Poetry
• Index: Literature

For nearly a decade Nontsizi Mgqwetho contributed poetry to a Johannesburg newspaper, Umteteli wa Bantu, the first and only female poet to produce a substantial body of work in isiXhosa. Apart from what is revealed in these writings, very little is known about her life. She explodes on the scene with her swaggering, urgent, confrontational woman's poetry on 23 October 1920, sends poems to the newspaper regularly throughout the three years from 1924 to 1926, withdraws for two years until two final poems appear in December 1928 and January 1929, then disappears into the shrouding silence she first burst from. Nothing more is heard from her, but the poetry she left immediately claims for her the status of one of the greatest literary artists ever to write in isiXhosa, an anguished voice of an urban woman confronting male dominance, ineffective leadership, black apathy, white malice and indifference, economic exploitation and a tragic history of nineteenth-century territorial and cultural dispossession. The Nation's Bounty contains the original poems alongside English translations by Jeff Opland. It was the first of a number of new titles planned for release in the African Treasury Series, a premier collection of texts by South Africa's pioneers of African literature and written in indigenous languages. First published by Wits University Press in the 1940s, the series provided a voice for the voiceless and celebrated African culture, history and heritage. It continues to make a contribution by supporting current efforts to empower and develop the status of African languages in South Africa.

In her first poem for Umteteli wa Bantu, Nontsizi Mgqwetho salutes the editor, Marshall Maxeke, and his wife Charlotte. She defends the editor against the charge that he has betrayed his people by consenting to edit the new newspaper, and she praises his wife for her active role in political and social protest.

1Chizama the poet

Sir, Editor of our Umteteli,

long life to you,

grandson of heroes who fell at Hoho.

Mercy! Go, Gatyeni,

we’ll follow you. 5

Hom! Wait a minute!

Those heroes fell for their country,

died at the side of Sandile their king.

Hom bo!

We’ll follow you: 10

we’re loyal to the royal prince

“who rumbles down Xesi’s banks,

flits over Vece, the rock-strewn Xesi,

shade for all, however many.”

I’m citing Sandile’s praises. 15

Go and we’ll follow you:

no traitor came

from your house.

Go and we’ll follow you:

no female poet 20

came from our house:

the poet who rouses the court

and censures the king’s always male.

Go and we’ll follow you!

We first encountered these female poets 25

here in this land of thugs and booze.

1Imbongi u Chizama

Nkosi, mhleli wo Mteteli wetu,

Wanga ungapila u bom obude,

Mzukulwana wamadoda afela kwaHoho

Taru, Gatyeni hamba,

Sokulandela. 5

Hom zajika,

Amadoda afela izwe lawo,

Afa kunye ne Nkosi yawo u Sandile

Hom bo’

Tina sokulandela, kuba singabantwa 10

na bo Gaga u Gago luhamba lu

Gongqoza lukwezi Xesi u Ndanda

Ko Vece u Xesi Magqagala

Umtunzi wa bantu bonke bengaka

Nje nditsho ku Sandile mna. 15

Hamba Sokulandela,

Kuba akuzange kupume ntamnani

Kowenu.

Hamba Sokulandela,

Kuba tina simadoda nje asizange 20

Siyibone kowetu imbongikazi,

Yenkazana kuba imbongi inyuka

Nenkundla ituke inkosi.

Hamba Sokulandela,

Nezi mbongikazi Tina sizibona 25

Apa kweli lo laita ne bhekile.

Go and we’ll follow you,

but how do we know

a traitor’s crime can’t be cloaked?

Go and we’ll follow you: 30

even a fool’s sure to know

a starveling can’t guide or ever lead a nation.

Go and we’ll follow you!

We danced at your birth, lord of men! 35

Umteteli’s bread for our table:

long may it last.

Good on you,

lord of men!

Go and we’ll follow you. 40

You too, broad-breasted woman:

your robe rattled Buxton

and prison walls tumbled.

Go and we’ll follow you,

woman who protested passes; 45

confronted by protests

the white man quailed,

and kept his pistol holstered.

Go and we’ll follow you,

woman whose words at Nancefield 50

fired the Commission

to dream her dreams.

Go and we’ll follow you,

woman who dogged the Commission

down to Elephant Bay, 55

I swear by Lady.

Go and we’ll follow you.

You too, Cethe, Nkombisa’s child.

Chizama, hold tight now,

your people are watching you. 60

Go and we’ll follow you,

Rhadebe, Mbambisa’s son,

Hamba So...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword by Isabel Hofmeyr
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 Chizama the poet / Imbongi u Chizama
• 2 Nontsizi Chizama, the woman poet / Imbongikazi Nontsizi u Chizama
• 3 [The split within Congress] / [Uqekeko lwe Congress]
• 4 The woman poet and Abantu-Batho / Imbongikazi No “Abantu-Batho”
• 5 The vale of tears / Iziko le Nyembezi
• 6 The poet of the ford / Imbongi ye Zibuko
• 7 Mama’s death / Umpanga ka Mama
• 8 A Red debates with Christians / Ingxoxo yo Mginwa ku Magqoboka!
• 9 Johannesburg earthquake / Unyikimo Lomhlaba-E-Rautini
• 10 Come back, Africa! Awu! / Maibuye! I Afrika! Awu!
• 11 A long lying-in, then the python uncoils and leaves! (1923) / Yacombuluka! Inamba u 1923 ebisoloko ifukamele ukunduluka
• 12 It’s here! Find-at-the-Door-What-you-Shot-from-Inside and only later identified! (New Year) / Ufikile! Udubulesendlwini bac’ol’i nto emnyango! Kuse beyifanisa (New Year)
• 13 Listen, compatriots! / Pulapulani! Makowetu
• 14 Prophets false and true / Abaprofeti benyaniso-nabo-buxoki
• 15 Something’s coming! / Zatsha! Inkomo Nomazakuzaku!
• 16 The hill Difficulty the black man scales / Induli ka Xakeka!—Enyukwa ngu Ntu!!
• 17 Unity, black workers! / Umanyano! Basebenzi Abantsundu!!
• 18 The loss of Rev B.S. Mazwi / Umpanga! ka Rev B.S. Mazwi
• 19 Consult the ancient sage! / Vumisani! kwi Nyange Lemihla!!
• 20 Spots feed the leopard / Ingwe Idla Ngamabala!!
• 21 Africa stayed! She’s nowhere else!! / I Afrika ihleli Ayiyangandawo!!
• 22 Show me the mountain that packed up and left / Ikona na Intaba Oyaziyo? Kwezi Zimiyo Eyaka Yafuduka?
• 23 Lament of the parents / Isimbonono Saba Zali!!
• 24 Where are leaders like Daniel? / Zipina Inkokeli Ezinje ngo Daniel?
• 25 He’s here! The Drum of the Cross!! (Good Friday) / Ifikile! Ingqongqo Yomnqamlezo!! (Good Friday).
• 26 We perch like birds on twigs / Sicope Emasebeni Emiti Njengentaka!!
• 27 The vale of tears / Iziko Lenyembezi!!
• 28 How do we differ from Cain? / Sahluke Pina Tina ku Kayin?
• 29 A ford! / Izibuko!!
• 30 Silence implies consent / Ukutula! Ikwakukuvuma!!
• 31 Prayer Union and Die-As-One / Umanyano! Nomfela ndawonye!!
• 32 The king is dead! Long live the king! / Kuguzulwa Okumkani! Kumiswe Okumkani!!
• 33 Strangers strip a squabbling nation / Isizwe! Esingavaniyo! Nesingavelaniyo! Siyadwatywa Zezinye!!
• 34 Liquor’s the lightning-bird itself / Utywala Sisiqu Sempundulu!
• 35 We’re stabbing Africa! / Siyayibinza!—I Afrika!!
• 36 Foreign laws have upended this land of Phalo! / Imimiselo ye Zizwe! Iwugqwetile Lomhlaba ka Palo!
• 37 Africa’s wailings / Izililo! Ze Afrika!!
• 38 Back to age-old ways! / Emva! Kumasiko Andulo!!
• 39 Women of the Prayer Unions. Listen! / Abafazi! Bomtandazo!! Pulapula!!!
• 40 Our efforts stone us! / Saxulutywa!—Ngamatye Omsebenzi!!
• 41 Mene! Mene! Tekel! Parsin!! / Mene! Mene! Tekele! Ufarsin!!
• 42 What’s this? Let’s build for each other! / “Masizake”!! Yin’ nale!!!
• 43 Africa’s petticoat / “Ub’inqo”! We-Afrika!!
• 44 The stream of despair / Umfula! Wosizi!!
• 45 The prophecies about blacks have now come to pass! Listen! / Ziyazaliseka—Ngoku! Izihlabo ko Ntsundu!! Pulapula!!!
• 46 The lion of blackness still roars / Ingonyama! Yobumnyama Isagquma!!
• 47 Reds! Listen / Amaqaba! Pulapula.
• 48 We’re the topic of talk / Singu-Ndabamlonyeni!
• 49 Take a look, dawn’s breaking / Lunguza! Ku-ya-sa
• 50 What’s this lament? / Sesanina? Esisimb’onono?
• 51 Something’s rotten in Africa. Listen! / Lityumtyum! E-Afrika!! Pulapula!!!
• 52 Joburg earthquake: remember Sodom / Inyikima e Rautini! Gqala esase Sodom!!
• 53 Are you bundled for threshing, Africa? / Wabutwana—Afrika? Njengezitungu—Zesanda?
• 54 The tale of the wasps / Yintsomi yo Nomeva!!
• 55 If a man can’t rule his own house, how would he manage God’s nation? / Ukuba Umntu! Akakwazi!! Ukuyongamela Eyake-Indlu!!! Angatinina Ukupata Isizwe Sika Tixo?
• 56 Hosanna! Melchizedek!! (Xmas) / Hosanna!! Melkizedek!!! (Xmas)
• 57 They are stealing our cattle on misty plains! / Zemk’ Inkomo Zetafa! Zeza Nenkungu!!
• 58 Will the years roll by while you mark time? / Yaqengqelekana Iminyaka Umi Ndaweninye?
• 59 The mark of Cain (the pass) enflames the land / Watsha Umzi! Lupawu Luka Kayini!! (Passport)
• 60 The night is deep before the dawn / Ubusuku—Bunzulu! Ekuzeni—Kokusa!!
• 61 Are you trampling your nation’s girls to enslave them? / Wazinyatela na? Intombi Zezwe Lako Zibe Ngamakoboka?
• 62 Where’s a well in Africa? / Lipina Iqula Lamanzi e Afrika?
• 63 There’s the key to the lock on your land: take it! / Tabata! Naso Isitshixo!! Esikinxe Izwe Lako!!!
• 64 “Agree!” “Agreed!!” / Vumani! Siyavuma!!
• 65 Cattle are lost in divorce / Zapela Inkomo! Luqaulo Lwemitshato!!
• 66 Stop the divisive commemorations / Mazibhange! Izikumbuzo Ezingenalo u Manyano
• 67 Africa, are you trashed like a worthless plate? / Wapulwana Afrika Njengesitya Esingananziweyo?
• 68 Agreed! / Siyavuma!!
• 69 Who said there’s no need of divination? / Ngubani Oti Ukuvumisa Akufuneki?
• 70 Snap this snare / Tsheca-Lomgibe!!
• 71 Gossip! Listen!! / Ukuxoka! Pulapula!!
• 72 Behold the lamb set for shearing (Good Friday) / Nantso-Igushakazi! Pantsi Kwabaguguli!! (Good Friday)
• 73 Roll back the stone! (Easter) / Qengqa!-Elolitye!! (Easter)
• 74 My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me? / Tixo Wam! Tixo Wam! Undishiyelanina?
• 75 Go forth and teach all nations / Hambani! Niyekuzenza Abafundi Zonke Intlanga!!
• 76 When will we gain ourselves glory? / Siyakuzizekela Ninina Uzuko?
• 77 Hosanna, Lake with a bonnet on top! (Xmas) / Hosanna! Cibi Elino Mnqwazi Ngapezulu!! (Xmas)
• 78 On the plains they’re stealing our cattle! 1925 / Zemk’ Inkomo Zetafa!! 1925
• 79 Will the years all roll by while you mark time? (1926) / Yaqengqelekana Yonke Iminyaka Umi ndaweninye? (1926)
• 80 The country will be patched like clothing!! / Ilizwe-Liyakutungwa-Njengengubo!!
• 81 Unity, diverse sheep!! / Umanyano! Mihlamb’ Eyalanayo!!
• 82 Look at his blood-flecked body (Good Friday) / Nalo Igazi! Lidyob’ Umzimba Wake!! (Good Friday)
• 83 Agree! God in heaven’s reconciled!! (Easter) / Vuyani! Uxolile u Tixo Wezulu! (Easter)
• 84 Envy! Listen!! / Umona! Pulapula!!
• 85 Where do we stand? / Simi pina?
• 86 A godless nation perishes / Isizwe Esingena Tixo Siyatshabalala
• 87 Does Jehovah hear us? / U-Yehova Uyasivana?
• 88 Today he roars in a whirlwind! (Ascension Day) / Namhla Izwi Lake Lise Zaqwitini!! (Usuku loku Nyukela)
• 89 Africa’s lament!! / Isimbonono se Afrika!!
• 90 Love!! / Utando!!
• 91 Prayer Union and Die-As-One / Umanyano Nomfela Ndawonye!
• 92 Where does this teaching come from? / Yeyapina Lemfundiso?
• 93 Do we remember the famine? / Siyayikumbula Njena Indlala?
• 94 Sympathy! Listen!! / Uvelwano! Pulapula!!
• 95 A long lying-in, then the python uncoils and leaves (Ministers) / Yacombuluka Inamba Ebisoloke Ifukamele Ukunduluka (Abefundisi)
• 96 Patience / Umonde!!
• 97 Why was the bible created? / Yayisenzelwa Ntonina i Bhaibhile?
• 98 Will this Africa ever come back? / Azi Le Afrika Iyakuze Ibuye na?
• 99 “Agree!” “Agreed!!” / Vumani! Siyavuma!!
• 100 Did we invite this nation of theirs? / Lomzi Wakona na Sawubizana?
• 101 Watchmen, respond: you’re summoned!! / Sabelani Niyabizwa Balindi
• 102 Roar, oceans! Frolic, continents!! (Xmas) / Gqumani Zilwandle! Gcobani Mihlaba! (Xmas)
• 103 On the plains they’re stealing our cattle! / Zemk’Inkomo Zetafa—Vula Ndingene!
• Notes
• Bibliography