Nontsizi Mgqwetho (
fl.
''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
1920s) was a South African poet and political commentator known for her bold and uncompromising engagement with social and political issues. Writing primarily in
isiXhosa
Xhosa ( , ), formerly spelled ''Xosa'' and also known by its local name ''isiXhosa'', is a Bantu language, indigenous to Southern Africa and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Xhosa is spoken as a first language ...
, she was one of the earliest female poets in the language, using her work to critique colonialism, racial oppression, and the shifting dynamics of black identity in early 20th-century
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
Early Life and Background
Little is known about Mgqwetho’s personal life, including her exact birth and death dates. She emerged in the 1920s as a powerful voice in the black press, particularly in ''
Umteteli wa Bantu
Umteteli wa Bantu (translated as ''The Mouthpiece of the Native People'') was a Johannesburg-based newspaper, first published on 1 May 1920. Initially printed weekly, the publication transitioned to fortnightly in 1975, until its final issues w ...
'', a Johannesburg-based multilingual weekly newspaper published between 1920 and 1955.
[Library of Congress]
Umteteli wa Bantu: The Mouthpiece of the Native People
/ref> The publication was known as ''The Mouthpiece of the Native People'' and was printed in English, isiXhosa, isiZulu
Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciatio ...
, and Sesotho
Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language.
Like all Ba ...
, providing a vital space for political discussions among black South Africans.
Umteteli wa Bantu
''Umteteli wa Bantu
Umteteli wa Bantu (translated as ''The Mouthpiece of the Native People'') was a Johannesburg-based newspaper, first published on 1 May 1920. Initially printed weekly, the publication transitioned to fortnightly in 1975, until its final issues w ...
'' (translated as ''The Mouthpiece of the Native People'') was a Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
-based weekly newspaper published between 1920 and 1955.isiZulu
Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciatio ...
, and Sesotho
Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language.
Like all Ba ...
, it served as an important platform for Black intellectual and political discourse in South Africa. The newspaper provided space for writers like Nontsizi Mgqwetho, whose poetry was regularly featured, allowing her to challenge colonial rule, advocate for Black rights, and critique political leadership.
Works
Mgqwetho’s poetry was originally published in ''Umteteli wa Bantu
Umteteli wa Bantu (translated as ''The Mouthpiece of the Native People'') was a Johannesburg-based newspaper, first published on 1 May 1920. Initially printed weekly, the publication transitioned to fortnightly in 1975, until its final issues w ...
'' between 1920 and 1929. Decades later, her work was rediscovered and compiled into a comprehensive collection:
* ''The Nation’s Bounty: The Xhosa Poetry of Nontsizi Mgqwetho'' – Edited and translated by Jeff Opland, published by Wits University
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...
Press in 2007. This compilation includes her poetry alongside scholarly analysis of her contributions to isiXhosa literature and South African political discourse.
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Duncan Brown, (2004) 'My Pen is the Tongue of a Skilful Poet: African-Christian identity and the poetry of Nontsizi Mgqwetho', ''English in Africa'' 31.1, pp. 23–58
* Athambile Masola, (2018) 'The Politics of the 1920s Black Press: Charlotte Maxeke's and Nontsizi Mgqwetho's Critique of Congress. ''International Journal of African Renaissance Studies - Multi-, Inter- and Transdisciplinarity,'' 13:2 pp 59–76, DOI: 10.1080/18186874.2018.1522933.
* Thulani Nxasana (2016). “Nontsizi Mgqwetho’s ''The Nation’s Bounty:'' A Prophetic Voice towards an African Literary Theory.’’ PhD diss., Rhodes Universit
* Athambile Masola. (2016) Asinakuthula umhlab’ubolile: the poetry of Nontsizi Mgqweth
* Isabel Hofmeyr and Ntantala-Jordan, Phyllis (2007) ''Nation's Bounty: The Xhosa Poetry of Nontsizi Mgqwetho''. NYU Press.
* Jeff Opland (2008). "OF XHOSA LITERATURE: THE CASE OF NONTSIZI MGQWETHO." ''Beyond the Language Issue: The Production, Mediation and Reception of Creative Writing in African Languages: Selected Papers from the 8th International Janheinz Jahn Symposium, Mainz 2004'' 19 (2008): 119.
* P Bikitisha, (2018) 'The poet who rouses the court and censures the king': An examination of the political praxis of Nontsizi Mgqwetho. In partial fulfillment of a BA Honours in Historical Studies. University of Cape Town.
South African poets
Xhosa-language poets
South African women writers
20th-century South African writers