Nontsizi Mgqwetho: The Poet of the People (1919–1929), authored by Dr Thulani Mkhize, a senior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, explores the enduring relevance of Mgqwetho’s work and her profound engagement with the social and political issues of her time.
Addressing a capacity audience at Mandela University’s Ocean Sciences Campus, Dr Mkhize describes Mgqwetho as a modern poet who skilfully navigated both oral and literary traditions.
She explains that her work was not merely artistic but deeply rooted in the lives and experiences of her people – a response to the political and social struggles of the day. “She was in search of a solution, a ford that would lead her people out of mental and ultimately political subjugation”.
Mgqwetho began writing in the wake of the 1913 Land Act – a discriminatory law that drastically limited Black South Africans’ land ownership rights. She directly engaged with the political leadership of the time, particularly the ANC, offering bold critiques not only in spoken word but also through published writing.
“She challenged popular slogans like Mayibuye iAfrika,” said Mkhize. “To her, Africa had never left. Rather than calling for the land to return to Africans, she called for Africans to return to their senses – a restoration of identity and selfhood disrupted by colonial forces.”
While colonial occupation and systemic oppression were frequent themes in her poetry, Mgqwetho was especially concerned with the loss of African selfhood and cultural values – which she regarded as even more tragic than the loss of land.
Importantly, her work transcended rural origins. “She didn’t just write for Xhosa people – she brought into conversation numerous voices and organic intellectuals into the urban space, and into the cultural melting pot,” said Dr Mkhize. Her influence extended beyond oral traditions, appearing in newspapers and formal publications – a rare feat for a woman at the time.
Mkhize also places Mgqwetho in dialogue with other African intellectuals. She points to the early 19th-century prophet Ntsikana, who could neither read nor write, yet was a profound thinker. Mgqwetho, like Ntsikana, drew from organic African knowledge systems while critically engaging with the Bible and Christianity. “We must do the work of searching and engaging with knowledge, not just accepting what has been handed down,” Dr Mkhize noted.
She also introduced William Wellington Gqoba, a prolific 19th-century Xhosa intellectual who authored Ingxoxo Enkulu Ngemfundo (The Great Debate on Education), showing that Africans have long engaged in deep intellectual reflection, even under colonial domination.
“We don’t look at our own writers enough,” said Mkhize. “Mgqwetho wrote over a century ago, yet her work remains relevant today – but we must ask ourselves whether we are critically engaging with it.”
One person who has taken up that challenge is Precious Bikitsha, co-speaker at the launch, who holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Cape Town. Her research focused on tracing the memory of Nontsizi Mgqwetho.
“My family and I travelled to Komani to speak to her living descendants, but we soon discovered that very little is known about her – not even her birth or death dates,” said Bikitsha. This lack of historical record supports Dr Mkhize’s call for more scholarship to recover the contributions of early African intellectuals.
From left, Precious Bikitsha, Dr Thulani Mkhize, Dr Zakhile Somlata and Awodwa Ntshwanti, who performed a poem recital
Dr Zakhile Somlata, Head of the Department of Languages and Literatures, praised Mgqwetho’s resilience in overcoming what he termed “triple oppression” – racial, gender- and class-based. “She rose above the limitations of her time to ensure that women's voices were heard. Her writings remain relevant and continue to inform our pursuit of social cohesion,” he said.
Professor Pamela Maseko and Precious Bikitsha, together with members of the IsiXhosa Society
Adding to this, Professor Pamela Maseko, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, emphasised the relevance of the book in understanding feminism through the lens of Africanity and pre-colonial governance systems. “This book is crucial for understanding the politics and philosophies that shaped African societies before colonial disruption,” she noted.
Prof Maseko also highlighted that the book aligns with the Faculty’s scholarship, which is centred around strategic thematic areas, including the African Vernacular Archive, Heritage Studies, African Womanhood, and Gender Histories.
“The launch is not only a celebration of a literary icon,” she concluded, “but also a vital opportunity for scholars – especially within the Humanities, to re-engage with groundbreaking figures like Nontsizi Mgqwetho, whose legacy continues to guide us more than a century later.”