Ancestry24

TRACING your ancestors or creating a family tree is a relatively simple matter when one lives in a society where key moments in the life of an individual, such as birth, marriage and death, are written down and recorded as a matter of course. But how do you go about constructing a family tree in a society where, especially in times past, written records were not kept.

Ndela Ntshangase

In societies, such as that of the Zulu, with an oral tradition, the significant events in a life are also recorded but in different form.

For a Zulu wishing to create a family tree the first port of call is izithakazelo — the clan praise. “For the Zulu people this is a source that can tell them who they are, where they come from, and what are the major incidents — positive and negative — that occurred to them as a tribe or a nation,” says Ndela Ntshangase, lecturer at the School of Zulu Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg.

Ntshangase points out that the Zulu people are made up of different tribes and clans. “Izithakazelo provide an abbreviated history of the clan,” he says. “For example, the Mkhize izithakazelo will mention the leaders and their great, great forefathers. And they will name them, such as Gcwabe being the forefather of Khabezela. Khaba Mkhize, the well-known journalist, takes his first name from this forefather.”

Another Mkhize ancestor detailed in the izithakazelo is Zihlandlo. “He was a hero during the days of King Shaka,” says Ntshangase. “He was a soldier and we know that he was physically very fit, very brave, and that he killed many enemy soldiers. So we know not only his name, but we also know incidents connected with him.”

Izithakazelo also reveal places associated with a particular clan. “For example, Wena wasembo — tells us that such-and-such lived or lives at the place of Embo. So izithakazelo are able to give us details of forefathers, of names and of places.”

Every Zulu family has its own izithakazelo and these are passed on whenever there is a ceremony marking a significant event in the life of that family. “When welcoming a newborn baby in an imbeleko ceremony, someone will do izithakazelo, usually an elderly person, umkhulu (grandfather) or ubaba (the father), and ugogo (the grandmother) will do this only if there is no elderly male person in the family. It’s not taught formally but passed on by being repeated in rituals and ceremonies.”

Izithakazelo will differ slightly according to the branches of a particular clan or family. “The izithakazelo of the Dlaminis will be similar. They all come from Dlamini but they have settled in different places. So the branch histories will be different.”

With the rise of literacy and with many Zulu people now living in an urban setting there is move from an oral tradition to a written tradition. “This is in full swing,” says Ntshangase. “The Mkhizes have traced themselves back over many generations and they have written books. They trace themselves back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

Ntshangase can recite his forefathers’ names and they take his roots back to the early 19th century. And it’s not just forefathers. “The mothers’ names are also remembered,” he says. “Ma- is added as a prefix, so a mother’s surname does not disappear.”

A woman born to the Khumalo clan will be commonly addressed as MaKhumalo ­after marriage and a woman with the maiden clan name Zondi will be known to all her new in-laws as .

A woman’s history will be told, for example, when a ceremony is performed to mark the moment a bride leaves her family home. “If a Cele marries a Sithole, when leaving the Cele home someone will tell who she is, where she came from. If she was born out of wedlock and she has taken her mother’s name the person reciting the izithakazelo will use her mother’s name, her biological father’s name too will be revealed publicly — this is information that is necessary, so that her children don’t ­marry into that family because they are close relatives.”

“In that ceremony you hear a family tree with all the names plus the praise names — izibongo — these praises let you know what type of person that was. The system is a complex one and still alive. It’s one way of retaining the genealogy of a particular family coupled with an abbreviated history of the clan or family as well.”

Izibongo or Izihasho are the praise ­poems of a particular individual, says ­Ntshangase. “King Goodwill Zwelethini has his bard, his imbongi, who will sing his izibongo that contain details of his special characteristics as an individual. King Shaka had his izibongo that told you what sort of person he was and how he was seen by the Zulu people.”

Ntshangase says that the izibongo sung for Jacob Zuma prior to his inauguration as president provided much information to those who speak and understand Zulu. “It mentioned his recent difficulties, it spoke of his character and there were also things we hadn’t heard before. Some of us learnt these things for the first time because they were in the izibongo performed at the inauguration.”  by Stephen Coan .

With kind permission from Natal Witness

Benjamin Osler also known as Bennie born in Aliwal North on 23rd November 1901 and died in Cape Town on 23rd April 1962, Springbok rugby player, was the son of Benjamin and Isobel Osler. Bennie’s ancestors have been traced back to Edward Osler, a prominent merchant and ship-owner, with a hint of piracy involvement.Bennie went to various schools, including the Western Province Preparatory School, Rondebosch Boys’ High School, and Kingswood College, Grahamstown. From 1921 he read law at the University of Cape Town, qualifying in 1925. During this period he represented the University on the rugby field, but from 1926 to 1930 played for Hamiltons and from 1931 to 1933 for Villagers. He acted as captain of all three clubs and on various occasions captained Western Province, which he represented from 1922 to 1933.

He gained his Springbok colours in 1924, when he played against Ronald Cove-Smith’s British team in all four test matches. Four years later (1928) he also played in all four tests against Maurice Brownlee’s New Zealand touring side, and in 1931-32 captained the Springbok team (which went to the British Isles) in all the tests of that series. He rounded off his rugby career in 1933 by playing in all five tests against the visiting Australians, acting as captain in the second test. He had scored forty-six points in the seventeen consecutive tests in which he played Osler is generally regarded as the best fly-half South Africa has produced so far (1979), a man who could dictate play. The decade during which he was a Springbok is even called the ‘Osler Era’ by sports writers, owing to his influence on the game. While he played for South Africa the country won all the test series, his province carried off the Currie Cup throughout, and each club for which he played won the Grand Challenge Cup. He had no equal as a tactical kicker and it was in particular his almost perfectly-placed corner kicks to wings which gained many tries for the Springboks. He could launch long outside kicks from any corner and as a drop-kicker he often clinched matches. Nobody was more feared by opponents than Osler.

He was also an attacking fly-half who could send his full-backs off with incredible speed when circumstances permitted or, if not, could himself shoot through an opening like lightning. Autocratic on the field, he would tolerate no passes from scrumhalfs that were above waist height; if the centres next to him blundered even once, he usually mistrusted them afterwards and would rather kick the ball – a course of action which can be regarded as one of his few weaknesses. As a captain he attached great value to tactical planning before a match, and he believed in strict team discipline.

During the Second World War (1939-45) Bennie went with the South African forces to East Africa where he contracted both malaria and amoebic dysentery which probably contributed to his relatively early death.

Unlike other great players Osler had little interest in coaching or the administration of the sport when he retired. After working as a salesman for a long time, he eventually went farming on a small scale, at first near East London and later near Bellville.

The brothers Bennie and Stanley Osler

He married Gladys Hobson and had two children. Photographs of him appear inter alia in The Bennie Osler story and Springbok saga (both infra).

Osler’s Cornish Connections

Benjamin. Falmouth born circa 1776 son of Edward and Mary (Paddy) Osler of Falmouth and husband of Jane (Sawle) Osler born 1775. father of Susannah, Stephen Sawle, Mary Anne, Amelia, Elizabeth, Sarah, Joseph, Jane, Benjamin, Phillippa and Julia. Leader of W.J. Cornish 1820 Settlers. Returned to Cornwall with wife and some members of his family 4.1822.

Stephen Sawle born in Falmouth 27th September 1804, died 21st October 1867 in Simonstown. Son of Benjamin and Jane (Sawle) Osler and husband of Catherine Osler (born Dakins, formerly Wright) of Llaway Glen, Montgomeryshire, Wales. 1802-1881. father to Benjamin, James Goodriche, Catherine and Jane; and also Christina, dtr of Orange Kleyne (Klein). Founder of the Osler family in SA.

Susannah Osler born in Falmouth circa 1800. daughter of Benjamin and Jane (Sawle) Osler married 1st John Coleman (1792-1829) of Cock’s party at Reedfountain, Eastern Cape on 17th June 1820, 2nd time to Mr Fineran from Quebec.

The small Cornish party, under the leadership of Benjamin Osler of Falmouth, Cornwall, sailed in the ‘Weymouth’, which left Portsmouth in January 1820. Having arrived in Albany so that he might supervise the first arrivals, Sir Rufane Donkin considered that a more central and accessible site should be chosen for the administration of the settlement. Ignoring the fact of Graham’s Town’s better defensible position and that it was already established as a military base, the site he chose on 9 May 1820, was just west of Thorn Ridge. This was to be the centre of the civilian administration and also the seat of magistracy. Sir Rufane declared it was to supercede Graham’s Town as the capital town of Albany, and it was to be named Bathurst in honour of Earl Bathurst, Secretary for the Colonies. In his enthusiasm Donkin allotted plots to the Earl and also his own sons and nephews, while 500 acres of Glebe were allotted for a clergyman and chaplain of the Church of England, the vacant post to be filled in due course by a suitable man. The post of administrator, however, was filled by the transfer to Albany from the Western Cape of Capt Charles Trappes.

By 9 June the Cornish party of Benjamin Osler was enroute to their location from Algoa Bay. Osler’s party, it had been decided, was to be located some 12 miles southwest of the new town of Bathurst, and halfway to the Kowie River mouth. This was in the curve of the Mansfield River, a left bank tributary to Kowie River, today known as Grove Hill. Osler named the location Pendennis in memory of the similarity the area bore to his Cornish hometown of Falmouth and its Pendennis Castle.

Pitching their tents for protection from the cold winter nights and the intermittent drizzle, the party immediately set to clearing the land so that ploughing and sowing of their first crop could be done. Soon after arrival, they were to be joined by a young man, John Coleman, 28 years of age and a gardener from Cock’s party who had sailed with them in the Weymouth. Coleman was not altogether an unexpected arrival, for he had made his intentions clear earlier and on the 17 June, he was married by the Rev William Shaw to Benjamin Osler’s eldest daughter, Susannah. Theirs were the first marriage in the whole settlement.

The proximity to Bathurst of Osler’s location at Pendennis meant that these settlers were closely concerned with the early development of that town. Lots were already being offered for sale and the Colonial Secretary had ordered erection of a prison. The building of the Bathurst Residency got under way by October. All this activity afforded employment to bricklayers, carpenters, slaters, sawyers and stone-masons, who were able to direct their energies into a rewarding field while they waited patiently for the crops to ripen. Hopes for the future were bright, but by the end of November it became apparent that ‘rust’ had affected practically all the wheat sown since their arrival and the crops were useless. With little resources to withstand such a disaster, the administration decided that the issue of rations was therefore to be continued, but they became an additional charge against the deposit money. When that had been exhausted, it was a liability for future repayment. By Christmas Day that year, the circumstances of many were desperate and prospects for the future grim.

Undaunted by these hardships and their considerably reduced circumstances, the settlers sought what work they could find. The Bathurst Residency, long delayed in its completion by the number of unfortunate disputes that had arisen, was still an avenue for employment. William Mallett, a mason with Osler’s party joined with Thomas Marham of Bethany, James’ party’s location, and together they contracted on 5 November 1821, for slating and plastering work on the Residency to the value of £16. 10. 0d.

Lots had continued to be sold at Bathurst and houses built on them, but again, as a year earlier, ‘rust’ began to appear in the wheat and by the end of the year it was apparent to all that the wheat crop had once again failed. This was now a major calamity. Though rations were continued, they were reduced to half portions. Despite what the settlers had previously received, and even for those in dire need who had no money or hope of ever redeeming what they already owed, a parsiminous administration ruled they were only to get half a pound of rice per adult per week. Meagre indeed, but to ameliorate their difficulties, the stringent pass laws restricting settlers to their locations were relaxed and many now went in search of work, not only in Albany, but further afield if they could afford to get themselves there.

Lord Charles Somerset had by now returned to the Cape from his bride hunting furlough in England, and once again took up the reins of office as Governor.

He was furious to find the number of rather illogical decisions taken by Sir Rufane were actually detrimental to the scheme as he had originally envisaged it. He thus immediately set about reversing them. Bathurst was demoted from its pre-eminent position, which consequently caused another sharp depression when the Magistracy was summarily removed to Graham’s Town and the many settlers who had invested their small capital in establishing business premises in order that they might better serve the community, now faced ruin and impoverishment as it was quite evident the town of Bathurst would stagnate. It did and many then returned their attention to trading. Fairs were permitted at Fort Willshire and to these came the native tribesmen from beyond the Colony’s borders. James Weeks was one of the Cornish settlers who took to offering the more conventional manufactures. He and others traded tobacco and cloth in exchange for hides and skins, ivory, cut wood and simple items of use that could either be sold again in Graham’s Town or taken down to Algoa Bay and bartered there for the farming implements in such short supply. But the air of depression continued, it was no good having the basis for an exchange of goods if the majority the inhabitants, both settler and tribesmen, were so impoverished that goods and hard cash were virtually an unknown commodity amongst them. Osler left his location in April 1822 to return with his wife and five younger children to Cornwall. What remained of Osler’s party slowly broke up. Headed by John Dale, it began to disintegrate further. Osler’s daughter, Susannah and her husband decided to make their home at Simonstown where they were to be joined by her brother, Stephen Sawle Osler, who had elected not to return to Cornwall. By the beginning of 1824 William Mallett had moved away to Uitenhage and matrimony was to call Joseph Richards to a date in Graham’s Town where on 23 September that year, he was married to Sarah Attwell, the seventeen year old daughter of Richard Attwell of Crause’s party. Grace Weeks had died and the end of the year saw Charles Pearse returning to England to rejoin his wife with and family who had been unable to embark with him.

The small party of Cornish settlers, comprising only eleven men and their families at the outset, was already diminished in number by nearly half, and the few that did remain on Pendennis were to become so insignificant numerically that from then on their story melds with that of the settlement itself, conversely reflecting their great adaptability and absorption into the new country.

Source:
Dictionary of South Africa Biography Vol 5.
Cornish Immigrants to South Africa by Graham Dickason.
History of South African Rugby Football (1875 – 1932) by Ivor Difford

Further reading and resources:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bathonia/OslerBathFrancisConnections.htm

Osler Library – http://www.mcgill.ca/osler-library/

Acknowledgements: Michael Bath

Mr. SIMPSON ISAAC BHENGU is the grandson of Mepo, Chief of the Ngcolusi Tribe, situated in the Krantzkop District, Natal. He was born at Entumeni and educated at Entumeni Mission School and at Durban. Was first employed in 1915 in the office of Mr. Kentridge and in 1917 he was employed as foreman in the firm of Messrs. Thesen & Co., Ltd. In 1922 he joined the firm of Messrs. A. H. Todd. Is now private secretary to Solomon Ka Dinizulu. In 1918 was secretary of the Durban Branch of the Natal Native Congress. Was also officer of the Football Association. Had control of the Durban night schools for ten years.

Mr. SIMPSON ISAAC BHENGU is the grandson of Mepo, Chief of the Ngcolusi Tribe, situated in the Krantzkop District, Natal. He was born at Entumeni and educated at Entumeni Mission School and at Durban. Was first employed in 1915 in the office of Mr. Kentridge and in 1917 he was employed as foreman in the firm of Messrs. Thesen & Co., Ltd. In 1922 he joined the firm of Messrs. A. H. Todd. Is now private secretary to Solomon Ka Dinizulu. In 1918 was secretary of the Durban Branch of the Natal Native Congress. Was also officer of the Football Association. Had control of the Durban night schools for ten years.

Rev. JUMA RICHARDSON ALBERT ANKHOMA was born at Irehaye, Bandawe, Nyasaland. In 1891 the family moved to Dwambazi, near River Dwasulo. His father, Kassele Ankhoma, who was a warrior in the Atonga section of the tribe, married Chief Kaluluma’s sister. During the time of Dr. Henderson in Nyasaland, Rev. Ankhoma was a boy  attending school at the Training Institution at Bandawe where he spent three years. From 1901 he took part in the building of churches. In 1909 he went to Johannesburg and in 1912 became a minister of the Apostolic Faith Church of which he is now the overseer. In 1918 he was chairman of the Nyasaland National Congress.

King Oba Alaiyeuwa Ademola II. is the natural ruler of the Egbas in Nigeria in West Africa. These people are well known for their home industries, cocoa growing and other valuable commodities. They are very industrious. King Ademola has great power, wisdom and a keen sense of justice. He, like many other African Kings, fought hard to retain the liberty and independence of his subjects. When the world war broke out black men from all corners of Africa and other parts of the world, including the Egbas and Yurubas, were invited by the Great Powers to assist in fighting the enemy and thus make the world safe for democracy, and for the protection of small nations. Africans answered the call by the thousands and died by the hundreds on the battlefields and the seas. The war is over; the enemy is beaten, but the promise was never fulfilled-the Egbas suffered the same fate as their brothers in other parts of Africa-they lost their independence, at precisely the same time (1914) as their sons were dying in Flanders and other war zones to make the world free.

Treaties made by European Powers with the West Africans, like those made with South Africans, were not honoured. The only difference between the lot of the Africans in the West and those in the South, is that the Africans in the West have not as yet been restricted in the same degree as those in the South from acquiring land.

This glaring injustice; this breach of faith is allowed, no doubt, because the natives are helpless, and because they are helpless they must be a child race, who must be treated, without consent, as somebody else thinks fit whether right or wrong. Indeed, others contend that even our mental capacity is inferior to that of the European, yet the facts are:-When Alexander the Great was adding victory upon victory, and sweeping through Babylon, Cabul, Chaeronia and Gaza, and learning the rudiments of government at the feet of Aristotle the philosopher; when the western world was only beginning to find its feet and commencing to mould a civilisation for the first time, Ethiopia was in its glory, and had reached such perfection in its civilisation that its culture flourished and dominated the world four hundred and fifty years before. The question is, is Ethiopia or Africa of .to-day mentally inferior than the Ethopia of yesterday? Is it not rather just the same old story of-Empires come, and Empires go. At any rate the Egbas of Nigeria, like other races, have proved themselves on the battlefields of Europe; and with other tribes of Africa they have distinguished themselves in the leading universities of Europe and graduated in arts and sciences with honours. The question of inferiority of the Africans therefore is to be doubted.

PRINCE GWAYI TYAMZASHE was ! born at Blinkwater in the district of Fort Beaufort on the 22nd of January, 1844. He was the eldest son of Tyam. zashe; Tyamzashe, the son of Mejana, son of Oya, of the Rudulu clan, cornmonly known as the Mangwevu. Gwayi as a boy saw all the horrors of the early Kaffir Wars, and was with his mother, Nontsi, during the terrible Nongqause cattle-killing episode, while his father Tyamzashe was a head councillor at the King’s Court. At that time Sandile was the Paramount Chief of the Xosa Tribe.

After the great armed protest of the Xosas, under Sandile and his brother Anta, Gwayi and his parents became detached from the main fighting body and eventually fell into the hands of the missionaries at Dr. Love’s mission station-now known as Lovedale. The late Mr. Goven was then in charge of the mission and he soon induced the raw native fugitives to be converted. Govan actually went so far as to pay those natives who attended infant classes. Gwayi Tyamzashe liked these classes. He was followed by many other natives. The signs of progress moved quickly. Messrs. Smith and James Stewart came to Lovedale, and Gwayi and his friends soon found themselves on the highway to civilisation and education. At all times Lovedale was open to all classes of pupils, and Gwayi found himself rubbing shoulders with European pupils, amongst whom were William Henry Solomon (late Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa), his brother, Richard Solomon, Schreiner, Grimmer and others.

Soon Gwayi qualified as a teacher and taught for some years at Gqumahashe, a village just across the Tyumie River. Just at that time Tiyo Soga was reading for theology in Scotland. This caused Gwayi to leave teaching and return to Lovedale for theology. Before doing so, however, he went in for a University examination in which Latin, Greek and Hebrew were essential subjects. This examination was above the ordinary matriculation. It was a red-letter day at Lovedale when Gwayi Tyamzashe passed this examination; flags were hoisted and the day was proclaimed a exam holiday.

Gwayi completed his Theological Course in 1874 and was immediately called to the Diamond Fields. In 1884 Gwayi and his family, consisting of his wife and three children, James, Henry and Catherine, left Kimberley for the wild north-Zoutpansberg. His journey to that part of the country was a heart-breaking one; the story of which would fill a volume. Leaving Kimberley with two ox-wagons, several milch cows and a pair of horses, he slowly made his way north. There were no roads to speak of; the country was unexploed as yet; the drifts across the rivers were mere sluits and no bridges existed anywhere; the country was still wild, and, worst of all, the Dutchmen, who occupied the Transvaal, were hostile towards the black races. When Gwayi and his caravan arrived on the Witwatersrand-as Johannesburg was then called-he was arrested for having no ” pass.” He was handcuffed behind his back and hurried off to Pretoria in front of four fiery horses of the “Zarps” (Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek Poliese). His wife, however, hurried over to Pretoria and personally interviewed Oom Paul (President Paul Kruger) whereupon Gwayi was not only released, but also given a free pass to his destination.

At Zoutpansberg Gwayi Tyamzashe opened a number of mission stations which exist to this day. He lived at Zoutpansberg for six years, and on being called back to Kimberley, he returned to the Diamond Fields. It was, however, a different Gwayi that arrived at Kimberley. He was physically a mere shadow of the former Gwayi, owing to a relentless attack of asthma which he contracted in the damp and marshy country of the Zoutpansberg. He lingered for six years in Kimberley and died on the 25th October, 1896. Prior to his death he had a serious case against the European Church Union which culminated in victory for him in the Supreme Court at Capetown.

In European history, Tshaka, King of the Zulus, is described as a cruel king. His name is sometimes written ” Chaka.” He is the king who founded the Zulu nation. Before the organisation of the Africans in Natal, Zulus were not known as a race, but were common people.  Tshaka’s qualifications were that he was a warrior of great ability; a very good fighter and as such won the favour of Chief Dingiswayo, of Mtetwa, who had more influence than any other chief. Although Tshaka did not belong to the tribe of Dingiswayo, he lived with his mother’s people, the Mhlongos, who were under Chief Dingiswayo. When Tshaka’s father, Senzangakona, died, Tshaka, who was not the rightful heir, was helped by Dingiswayo to defeat his brother. Tshaka’s impies were victorious and he became the successor to his father. Tshaka taught his warriors the stategies of war; organised strong regiments and when Chief Dingiswayo died Tshaka brought his impies to fight Dingiswayo’s tribe which he conquered. As a result of his victory he became very ambitious, looked about him and resolved to form a great empire. He did not hesitate to subdue the tribes that were around him. His warriors fought right and left, until the word ” Tshaka ” made everybody tremble. He was the first king to rule from Pongolo to the Cape. The tribes that did not want to come under Tshaka’s rule fled. The Fingoes went south where they met the Xosas, and for eighteen years Tshaka was King and Emperor of Natal and Zululand. It was one of Tshaka’s laws to his regiments that no young men and women of a hostile tribe should be killed at war. His instructions were that they should be captured alive, brought to Zululand and be made naturalised Zulus. These young naturalised Zulus were used as soldiers to fight any tribe Tshaka wished to defeat, and finally he succeeded in building a great nation. He had absolute discipline in the land. He was King, judge and administrator, also a philosopher, a poet and a musician.

When the European settlers arrived in Natal in 1823 they found Tshaka reigning. He did not illtreat them, but extended to them every hospitality. He requested .the foreigners to teach his people their language so that they could be understood. The Europeans had come to trade, fight and conquer, and it must have occurred to Tshaka that they were strong and clever since they had conquered the waves of the ocean and landed in Africa. A number of men were selected to be sent to Europe to be taught, but for reasons unknown to Tshaka, these men were never sent to Europe but were kept at the Cape where they did not learn much.

Tshaka’s reign came to an end in 1828, when he was murdered by his brothers who instructed his chief induna, Mbopa, to stab him. They had not forgotten that Tshaka was not the rightful King. Though fatally stabbed, Tshaka had the opportunity, before he died, to inform his brothers and murderer that they would never rule over the Zulus, but that the white men would rule them. Tshaka’s brothers were not as friendly to the invaders as he was, and, it seems, were also ignorant of Tshaka’s dealings with them, for it was clear that they would have killed the white nien had they known of the friendship that existed between Tshaka and these white settlers. Tshaka was a thinker–on one occasion he killed a beast and painted the floor of a hut with its blood. This he did without being seen by anybody, and then summoned all the witch doctors in the land to a great feast at his kraal. When the doctors were assembled he took them one by one to the hut with the blood on its floor, and asked them the cause of the blood. It is said many so-called doctors failed in this test.

Tshaka was a very busy man, being his own Field-Marshal, Minister of War, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister, Administrator, Political Agent, and King. He was also engaged in research work. This is indeed a big task for any man, even under the most favourable circumstances. That Tshaka, like William the Conqueror, was a great man nobody can doubt, and to state that he was a cruel King is to pay a man who broke virgin ground and founded a nation the poorest compliment. Had there been no Tshaka there might never have been a proud Zulu nation. In Tshaka’s day there was no need to have an army of detectives and a force of police. Every man and woman had perfect respect for law and order. Tshaka was well built, tall and indeed a fine specimen of a man. Strict as he was, hundreds of civilised Zulus to this day swear by Tshaka. Whatever may be said, the Zulus are indeed a fine people, well developed physically, good natured, full of humour, and as brave as. lions.

Rev. NEHEMIAH TILE, of the Tembu Tribe, was born in Tembuland and educated at Boloto. Went to work at Queenstown. Became a member of the Wesleyan Church and was baptized by Rev. Dugmore, a missionary of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He soon became a lay preacher and ultimately an evangelist. Was sent to Pondoland in the year 1870. He succeeded in building up congregations and soon became a personal friend of the Paramount Chief Mhlontlo and Chief Lehane of the Bas.utos. His congregations increased.

In 1873 he built a church at Cwecwe, Pondoland. Was partly responsible for the establishing of the Umgwali School, now an important educational institution in the Cape. On the recommendation of some ministers, Nehemiah Tile was sent to Healdtown Institution where he took the Theological Course. After completing his studies he was licensed as a minister • and sent to Qokolweni. As a minister Nehemiah Tile was a success. A powerful preacher, a devoted servant of the Church, a friend of his people. His work prospered and his people had great admiration for him. The fuss his people made over him did not fail to increase his enemies. Soon Rev. Chubbs, a brother minister of the same church, accused Rev. Tile of (a) taking part in political matters, (b) of stirring up a feeling of hostility against magistrates in Tembuland, (c) of addressing a public meeting on a Sabbath day, (d) of refusing to inform him (Rev. Chubbs) of his activities,, (e) of donating an ox at the circumcision of Dalinyebo, heir to the Paramount Chieftaincy (this is a national custom). Rev. Tile was tried by the Wesleyan Methodist Church ministers at a meeting summoned for that purpose. Letters were produced, but the name or names of the writers were concealed. Rev. Nehemiah Tile insisted that he be given the names of the writers. A misunderstanding arose, Rev. Nehemiah Tile tendered his resignation, and’ Ieft the meeting. This was in 1884.

After a consultation with. Paramount Chief Ngangelizwe and his chief councillors, it was decided that a National Church be established with Nehemiah Tile as head. The whole Tembu Tribe was soon summoned and informed of the Tembu Church that was to be established. It was not long before a Church was erected at the Royal Kraal, and thereafter the work progressed. Chief Ngangelizwe himself became a regular attendant at the new church, later he was converted by Nehemiah Tile to the Christian Faith. Strange as it may seem, yet it is a fact that Nehemiah Tile and all his followers were looked down upon by all or most of their kith and kin who were still members of the European-controlled Church. Indeed they were even refused admission to churches at Cwecwe. Even this behaviour failed to daunt the spirits of Tile and his band of followers.

It was Nehemiah Tile’s wish that his ministers should be trained. in accordance with the Church of England priesthood. Before he died, however, he ordained J. Gqamani, C. Kula, and Mkize as ministe-°. On his death-bed he appointed Rev. J. Gqamani as his successor. Prior to his death he was visited by two European missionaries who tried to persuade him to advise his followers to join their Church. Needless to say this was rejected. Nehemiah Tile had established the Tembu Church; he was near the end of his life which he had dedicated to the salvation of his people. He now exhorted them not to turn back, but to look forward and upward, lifting ever higher the Banner of the Tembu Church which knew no difference between men, but believed that they were the same in the face of God, with equal rights and privileges. Nehemiah Tile died in 1885.

Present at his death-bed were the Paramount Chief and natural ruler of the Tembu Tribe, Dalindyebo, son of Ngangelizwe, Councillor Mqwetyane, his wife and children, and. his successor, Rev. Gqamani. A great man had fallen asleep. He: was mourned by the whole Tembu Tribe, and indeed other tribes among whom he had laboured during his lifetime.

Mr. ABRAM SOWAZI was born at Tarkastad, Cape Province. Served the Wesleyan Methodist Church as Preacher and Circuit Steward for 36 years. In 1912, through some misunderstanding, he seceded, and with over two thousand followers, he joined the African Methodist Church, a purely African organisation. Was chief councillor of Zazela, Chief of the Amazizi Tribe. Died on the 29th October, 1913, at the age of 73 years, after giving all his children a sound education.