By ‘Maleruo Leponesa and Sinalo Tshaka
Africa month in 2025 is celebrated with a launch of a book that speaks all African languages; a book that speaks to all Africans. The launch of the book: Inyathi Ibuzwa Kwabaphambili: Theorising South African Women’s Intellectual Legacies, was held at Rhodes University’s General Lecture Theatre on the 8th May. This special ceremony was further graced by the presence of the university’s Vice Chancellor, professor Sizwe Mabhizela, amongst other dignitaries. The opening remarks were delivered by the VC who expressed his gratitude for being part of the ceremony. He further highlighted his journey with the book, which made him feel part of it.
Furthermore, the presence of the editors: profs. Babalwa Magoqwana, Siphokazi Magadla and the chapter contributor Dr Nomathamsanqa Tisani created a lively mood of the book as they gave a background to the book thus painting a vivid picture, with clear references to some pages of the book. Listening to the actual testimony of Dr Tisani, the intended message of the book was by large, conveyed. She also highlighted that the book speaks for Africans as there are African words which do lose their actual meaning in the hands of translation works. “When I speak about “Makhulu” in my mind I do not have a picture of a grandmother because in my African language “Makhulu is not just an old woman but I speak about the woman who carries the history of the entire family,” emphasized Dr Tisani. The facilitator Prof Lynda Gichanda Spencer and discussant Sinalo Jako made the presentation to flow easily.
According to the authors,”This book seeks to create a systematic, eclectic, historical picture of the present and past women intellectuals, activists, artists, and cultural custodians. Using the concept of ‘ukufukama’ (incubate) we connect intergenerational knowledge transfer of our elders to the current struggles faced by the younger generation of women. We bring together different authors who engage the biographical and intellectual contributions of different African women and their imagination of the democratic South Africa. Writing about the various feminist intellectual traditions between the 19th and 21st centuries, this book systematically pulls together oral and creative texts to recover the memories of Nosuthu Jotelo, Sarah Baartman, Nontsizi Mgqwetho, Phyllis Ntantala, Brigalia Bam, Umntwana uMagogo, Miriam Makeba, Sibongile Khumalo, Lebo Mathosa, Thandiswa Mazwai, Celeste Ntuli, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Neo Mathabe among the lives and works covered here. This range of voices shows that intellectual work is varied and has the ability to sit alongside each other. It importantly shows that scholarship emerges through community and conversation, which is to say feminist histories are created and recreated through conversations that care about women’s voices, stories, and being in the world. Ultimately, we think of the women featured in this book as forming a lineage, a tradition of black women’s’ survival wisdom, which facilitated change and enduring, radical transformation that demands theorization and celebration.”
Finally, Dr. Bulelwa Nosilela who is the head of the school of Languages and Literature delivered the closing remarks and she explained the meaning behind the title of the book as it is written in isiXhosa language. “ figuratively it means, the road or directions are requested from those who have travelled before, as they have a better experience,” she said. The book was already available for sales on the same day, Van schaik book store was represented.
