One of SA’s foremost historians on Xhosa history will shed new light on the origins of Christianity in Xhosaland in a talk after the Border Historical Society’s AGM later this month in KuGompo City.
Renowned Rhodes University historian, Prof Jeff Peires, will present a public lecture titled, The Road not Taken: Christianity in Xhosaland before 1820, on July 18 at 3pm, at the Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer Hall at the East London Museum.
The talk will explore newly uncovered historical material that has emerged since the publication of Peires’ landmark 1982 book, The House of Phalo: A History of the Xhosa People in the Days of Their Independence.
Peires’ talk will offer fresh insight into the earliest encounters between Christianity and the Xhosa people before the arrival of the first Glasgow missionaries.
Border Historical Society chairman William Martinson said the lecture would present a fascinating perspective on a period of history that has received relatively little attention.
“Prof Peires has been revising The House of Phalo to include a significant amount of new material that has come to light since its publication,” Martinson said.
“The presentation will focus on the updated version of Chapter Five, which examines the earliest appearance of Christianity in Xhosaland before about 1820, prior to the arrival of the first Glasgow missionaries.”
Martinson said the lecture would feature several prominent historical figures, including Ntsikana, Makhanda and Dr Johannes van der Kemp, while also highlighting the earliest surviving reference to “Gompo” in the isiXhosa language.
“These are figures who played an important role in the history of the Eastern Cape and the lecture promises to provide new perspectives on their contribution during this formative period,” he said.
Born in Cape Town, Peires studied history at the University of Cape Town before completing further studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US between 1972 and 1975.
His academic work has focused extensively on the history and historiography of the Xhosa people, earning him recognition as one of SA’s leading authorities in the field.
His seminal publication, The House of Phalo, is regarded as the first modern history of the Xhosa people and traces their political and social development from the consolidation of the Xhosa kingdom through periods of cooperation and conflict with European settlers, to the frontier wars.
The Border Historical Society’s AGM will begin at 2.30pm, with the lecture scheduled to commence at 3pm.
Martinson said members of the public were invited to attend both the meeting and the lecture.
“Everyone is welcome to attend,” he said.
“There will be an opportunity for questions after the presentation, and tea will be served afterwards.”
