EC historical heritage remains untapped
How history comes to be researched and written is very often driven by the interests and fascinations that people hold. The fascination with Shaka as a historical figure, for example, has led to huge popular and scholarly attention on the origins of the Zulu kingdom and, indeed, the history of KwaZulu-Natal in general.
The defeat of the British at Isandlwana in 1879 at the hands of Cetshwayo’s amabutho boosted the image and reputation of AmaZulu globally as being among the fiercest warrior nations of history.
All this fascination means that the name “Zulu” is one of the most recognised and lucrative heritage brands in all of Africa and the world.
Academics and amateur scholars have devoted so much writing to the Zulu and I can tell you it is also because such books sell. If you go into any secondhand bookshop, any book with the title “Zulu” in it is going to be very expensive. Old and out-of-print books about AmaZulu are collectors’ items.
Perhaps because I grew up in so many different places, I have never had such a strong fascination with Zulu history, even though I am Zulu speaking and my father’s family are from KwaZulu-Natal. I have been much more interested in the histories of the places where I have lived.
Right now, I consider myself a pupil learning the history of AmaXhosa.
What has been fascinating for me has been comparing the extraordinary international reputation that the House of Zulu attracts, much more so than the House of Phalo — even though AmaXhosa held off the British for over 100 years.
Well, I am not trying to make a competition out of the two histories — singamaAfrika
(we are all Africans). sonke!
Of course, the most famous person of Xhosa history is Nelson Mandela (even though he is uMthembu).
But Mandela is a modern person within our lifetime, and it is the precolonial history that we must devote our attention to. One of the areas of Eastern Cape precolonial history that requires attention is the pre-Phalo Iron Age. By this I suppose I mean the general era of the 1300s to 1600s.
That 400-year period prior to Kumkani Phalo requires intense focus from historians and archaeologists.
We need to bring together different forms of evidence and weave a story of the Eastern Cape people without putting the contact with whites as the main point of departure.
I am always fascinated by how much Iron Age archaeological research happens in KwaZulu-Natal to reconstruct pre-Shaka history.
Where the Eastern Cape is concerned, it does also feel as if there is focus on the archaeology of the San people in a manner that almost suggests a total separation with pastoral communities such as AmaXhosa and Khoikhoi.
The story of the Eastern Cape seems fixed into distinct ethnic categories of San, Khoi and Xhosa based on who has done the research.
It makes me wonder how to make sense of the people of the Karoo areas such as AmaCethe, who seem to be Xhosa speaking clans but of Khoikhoi origin.
The history of Gaba, and the Ngqosini clans is another point of fascination of Khoikhoi and Xhosa political history.
The politics of pastoral clans and kingdoms is the heart of the history of this region.
I have wondered, can we write a cohesive and comprehensive 800-year account of the Eastern Cape’s political and social history?
Can long histories of pastoral, semi-nomadic peoples be written up to account for the details of long time spans?
I certainly would like to think that the challenge is not one we would shy away from.
The story of the Eastern Cape seems fixed into distinct ethnic categories of San, Khoi and Xhosa based on who has done the research