Magema Magwaza Fuze (c. 1844–1922) was the author of ''Abantu Abamnyama Lapa Bavela Ngakona'' (''The Black People and Whence They Came''), the first book in the

Zulu language Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal o ...

published by a native speaker of the language. Born near Pietermaritzburg, Colony of Natal, he was brought up from about 12 years of age by Bishop

John William Colenso John William Colenso (24 January 1814 – 20 June 1883) was a Cornish cleric and mathematician, defender of the Zulu and biblical scholar, who served as the first Bishop of Natal. He was a scholar of the Zulu language. In his role as an Angli ...

and converted to Christianity. Following his education at the mission, he trained as a printer and compositor on Colenso's press before starting his own printing business. He wrote for a number of Zulu newspapers and in 1896 travelled to the island of Saint Helena to be the secretary to

Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo (1868 – 18 October 1913, commonly misspelled Dinizulu) was the king of the Zulu nation from 20 May 1884 until his death in 1913. He succeeded his father Cetshwayo, who was the last king of the Zulus to be officially reco ...

, king of the Zulus, returning to Natal in 1898. ''Abantu Abamnyama'' was published in 1922 and in an English translation in 1979. It has been described as one of the principal sources of Zulu history.

Early life

Magema Magwaza Fuze was born near present day

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

in Zululand around 1840 to Magwaza, son of Matomela, son of Thoko. The amaFuze were a sub-clan of the amaNgcobo. Nothing is known of his mother. His birth name was Manawami but he was given the nickname Skelemu, possibly derived from the Afrikans word ''skelm'' for rascal or trickster. He told his parents that he would not be raised at home but would work for an important white man. Fuze was raised from the age of about 12 by John William Colenso, the first Bishop of Natal. His year of birth was estimated by Colenso on the basis that Fuze was about 12 years old when he first met him. Colenso converted him to Christianity and baptised him in 1859, giving him the Zulu name Magema. Colenso never gave his converts English or Biblical names. He was educated at the Ekukhanyeni ("place of enlightenment") mission station.Fuze, Magema Magwaza Papers.
Campbell Collections, University of KwaZulu-Natal. Retrieved 2 August 2018.

Career

In the 1850s, Fuze trained as a printing compositor on Bishop Colenso's printing press. He was writing in Zulu from a young age and chose to write only in that language. His first piece was an essay describing the daily activities at Ekukhanyeni. Another early piece was an account of day to day dialogue in Zulu, ''Amazwi Abantu'' (''The People's Voices''). He first appeared in print in J. W. Colenso's, ''Three Native Accounts'' (1860) telling his experience of Colenso's visit to

King Mpande Mpande kaSenzangakhona (1798–18 October 1872) was monarch of the Zulu Kingdom from 1840 to 1872. He was a half-brother of Sigujana, Shaka and Dingane, who preceded him as Zulu kings. He came to power after he had overthrown Dingane in 1840. ...

in 1859. He printed Bibles using the press at Ekukhanyeni during Colenso's trips to England and eventually set up his own printing business in Pietermaritzburg His account of his solo visit to Zululand in 1877 was published in ''MacMillan's Magazine'' in 1878 as "A Visit to King Ketshwayo". He also wrote letters to and articles for newspapers such as ''

Ilanga lase Natal ''Ilanga lase Natal'' (''The Natal Sun'' or ''Sun of Natal'') is a Zulu language newspaper, published in KwaZulu-Natal. It was the first ever newspaper to be published in the language. It was co-founded in 1903 by John Langalibalele Dube.

'' and '' Ipepo Lo Hlanga''. In 1896 he travelled to the island of

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

to be the secretary to

, king of the Zulus, who was in exile on the island after leading a rebellion. While on the island he entered into a correspondence with

Alice Werner Alice Werner (26 June 1859 - 9 June 1935) was a writer, poet and teacher of the Bantu languages.- Alice Werner

of the

School of Oriental Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

. He returned to

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

with Dinuzulu on the SS ''Umbilo'', early in 1898. Some time after 1900 Fuze wrote ''Abantu Abamnyama Lapa Bavela Ngakona'' at the request of the readers of his journalism, but it was not immediately published due to lack of money. It was published privately in 1922, making Fuze the first native Zulu-speaker to publish a book in the language. It was reviewed by Alice Werner in the ''

Journal of the African Society ''African Affairs'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published quarterly by Oxford University Press on behalf of the London-based Royal African Society. The journal covers any Africa-related topic: political, social, economic, environmental an ...

'', one of the few reviews given to it at the time, but not until 1931. It was published in English in 1979 by the

University of Natal Press The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

in the Killie Campbell Africana Library as ''The Black People and Whence They Came: A Zulu View'' in a translation by

Harry Camp Lugg Harry Camp Lugg (9 May 1882 - November 1978) was Chief Commissioner for Native Affairs in Natal, South Africa. Early life and family Harry Camp Lugg was born on 9 May 1882. Career Lugg was Chief Commissioner for Native Affairs in Natal, South Afr ...

edited by professor

Trevor Cope Anthony Trevor Cope was professor of Zulu at the University of Natal. He edited Harry Camp Lugg's translation of Magema Magwaza Fuze Magema Magwaza Fuze (c. 1844–1922) was the author of ''Abantu Abamnyama Lapa Bavela Ngakona'' (''The Black P ...

. Hlonipha Mokoena of the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

describes the book as significant not just for its use of the Zulu language and its historical content which makes it one of the principal sources of Zulu history, but as an example of the work of one of the group of mission-educated converts to Christianity known in South Africa as the ''amakhowla'' (believers) who marked the transition from an

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...

to a literate culture.

Death and legacy

Fuze died in 1922."Fuze, Magema"
by Hlonipha Mokoena in A selection of his papers is held in the Campbell Collections of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. In 2011, he was the subject of a biography, ''Magema Fuze: The Making of a Kholwa Intellectual'', by Hlonipha Mokoena published by the University of KwaZulu-Natal Press."Book Reviews Hlonipha Mokoena. ''Magema Fuze: The Making of a Kholwa Intellectual''. Moss Mashamaite, ''The Second Coming: The Life and Times of Pixley ka Isaka Seme, The Founder of the ANC''
T. J. Tallie & Scott Couper, '' Journal of Natal and Zulu History'', Vol. 30 (2012), No. 1, pp. 101–106.

Selected publications

"Indaba Ka'Magema"

"Magema's Story"
in John William Colenso, ''Three Native Accounts of the Visit of the Bishop of Natal in September and October, 1859, to Umpande, King of the Zulus &c''. 1860. pp. 1–13 & pp. 107–121. * "A Visit to King Ketshwayo", ''

MacMillan's Magazine ''Macmillan's Magazine'' was a monthly British magazine from 1859 to 1907 published by Alexander Macmillan (publisher), Alexander Macmillan. The magazine was a literary magazine, literary periodical that published fiction and non-fiction works fr ...

'', 1878. * ''Abantu Abamnyama Lapa Bavela Ngakona''. Privately published, 1922. * ''The Black People and Whence They Came''. Translated by Harry Camp Lugg and edited by Anthony Trevor Cope. University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg, 1979. (Killie Campbell Africana library. Translation series, No. 1)

Early life

Career

Death and legacy

Selected publications

References

Further reading