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Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 12:40 pm

Greetings:

Could anyone please provide me with insight as to the historical accuracy and factual or fictional nature of the following book:

Cowley, Cecil. Kwa Zulu: Queen Mkabi's Story. Cape Town: C. Struik, 1966.

Thank you very much.

Regards,
Harold Raugh

Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 10:47 pm

Harold

That's something I've often wondered myself! My copy is minus the dustjacket so I don't have the advantage of any explanatory publisher's blurb. I remember making a few enquiries many years ago to ascertain this very point, but can't remember many details.

In some ways, Champion's foreword is more of a hindrance than a help! However, if one reads the acknowledgements - which I'm sure you have - and sees that he has leaned on Bryant, Lugg & Bourquin, for example, then I think this work is simply an attempt to write the Zulu story (and particularly that of its monarchy) as an "inside account" through the character of Mkabi as she would (and no doubt could) have told it. I think he chose the historic individual who was there "from beginning to end" and therefore must have seen the lot, as it were. Writing in his own words, he has laid out his story as if coming from Mkabi. That's how I see it, anyway, and I, too, would like to hear what others think. (There are various spellings of her name, of course, provided I've identified the right one in the Zulu genealogy).

So I'd go for fiction - with a reasonably plausible background!

Incidentally, I don't know of any author who has used it or relied on it, but Brian Roberts does include the work in the bibliography of his The Zulu Kings (1974).

Peter

Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:46 am

Dear Peter,

Thank you very much for your insightful and informative comments on Cowley's Queen Mkabi's Story.

All the best,
Harold

Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 6:36 pm

Harold

I haven't read this one but I found this interesting footnote to "Interpreting Women's Lives: Feminist Theory and Personal Narratives, Joy Webster Barbre, 1989 [Strange how far afield one can go in researching the A-ZW!] -

"3. Cecil Cowley, Kwa Zulu: Queen Mkabi's Story (Cape Town, 1966). The reconstruction adopts the perspective of the Great Wife of Shaka's father, who lived on until the second part of the nineteenth century. This device draws on royal women's traditions and allows for a critical attitude toward Shaka, the illegitimate child, childless, despotic, and brilliant founder of the Zulu empire. Cowley's dedication to his royal patron reveals an important bias in his sources, although he used a variety of archives as well." [The royal patron being Princess Magogo, a grand-daughter of King Cetshawayo.]

The book is cited as a source in a 1986 article that appeared in "Social Science Information entitled "Political Conflict, Role Differentiation and State Formation..."

It is also cited in "Terrific Majesty The Powers of Shaka Zulu and the Limits of Historical Invention" by Carolyn Hamilton, 1998.

Another cite is, oddly enough, found in "Gender in Pre-Hispanic America" by Cecilia Klein and Jeffrey Quitter, 2001.

As well as in "The Constructed Past" by Peter Stone and Phillipe Planet, 1999. (An archaeological book that includes it under the chapter on the archaeological work done at oNdini by the late Robert J.C. Rawlinson. It also includes a reference to an unpublished manuscript by S.B. Bourquin entitled "The first six months of the Zulu War of 1879", 1963. I'd love to know if that last one includes anything more than his "The Zulu War of 1879" published in 1971.)

Strangely enough a talking book version was also available at the Harley Davidson Store!

I happened across this rather intriguing short story entitled "Private Poole and the Princess". Must be fiction but it gives Harry as attesting to 2/24 at Brecon in 1875 as 25B/586 and his mate as being Enoch Worthington, 1/24, 25B/589 (the Princess being Mkabi) -

http://cheetahschoice.50webs.com/poole.html

All-in-all Cowley's work appears to be taken more as history than fiction, at least in the biography sense!

Peter

I believe this is the blurb from the dust jacket - "The story, told by Queen Mkabi to Major Cecil Cowley, illustrates the life of Zulu girls, their love affairs, form of betrothal, marriage, conditions, social customs, the battles of Bantu races, the battlefield of Ulundi, etc. The foreword is by A. W. G. Champion."

Best

Michael

[By the way, I'll offer this link that includes a fairly extensive bibliography of late nineteenth century works on SA in the unlikely event that there may be something there of use to your work. (A long page but further down are A-ZW related items!)] -

http://www.icon.co.za/~dup42/buk3.htm

Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 5:39 pm

Dear Michael,

Thank you very much for your information on Cowley's book on Queen Mkabi. I appreciate receiving the information from the other sources as well.

I am grateful also for the SA bibliography link, which I will screen carefully in the quest for more AZW sources!

Thank you very much.

All the best,
Harold

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 7:41 pm

Michael

Many thanks from me, too, for the link to Clarke's bookshop. It's a very well known shop but I can't remember if it is among the various catalogues I receive from or about RSA. I do have most of the AZW material listed but there are also a number of other mouth-watering titles with prices lower than I had expected.

Peter

Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:45 pm

Harold and Peter

Happy to be of any assistance of course. After ordering from Clarke's they send quarterly updates of their catalogue, they used to send the entire catalogue revisions as an e-mail attachment (hundreds of meg but nice to peruse off-line!), now a simple link appears. They are surely a pleasure to do buisness with.

I have also come across the 1895 edition of the "Catalogue of the Library of the Royal Colonial Institute" that is a true treasure-trove in that it also includes limited run pamphlets and sourced articles from periodicals. I realize that there is a problem with overseas viewing of the Google Book search engine due to different country's copyright laws but I'll include the link in the event that a bibliography will come through that. -

http://books.google.com/books?I'd=6KkPqyKVaMUC&pg=PA277&dq=zulu+war+1879&lr=&as_brr=1#PPA275,M1

Hope it works for you.

Best

Michael

Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 1:02 pm

Dear Michael,

Thank you for the information on the Clarke's catalogues, and especially for the reference to the Royal Colonial Institute library catalogue. I will request a copy of the latter via interlibrary loan, and hope it will yield some worthwhile information.

Many thanks,
Harold