He is best known for his ostensibly biographical, but largely fictional, narrative chaka 1925. Thomas mofolo prize for outstanding sesotho fiction. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The journalist this week reflects on the life of a literary giant whose works were translated in many languages. The book is something of a tragedy though, similar to macbeth, in which mofolo questioned the traditional role of the hero. Geko publishing announced the establishment of the inaugural thomas mofolo prize to honour outstanding sesotho fiction writers from the continent and abroad.
In particular thomas arbousset, eugene casalis and constant gosselin from the paris evangelical missionary society. Basutoland in 1876, was the greatest of the african authors in the early part of the 20th century. Thomas mokopu mofolo, the first important writer from what is now lesotho, who created the first westernstyle novels in the southern sotho language. The library at the national university of lesotho is named in his honour. It is still read today and has been translated into a.
Chaka by thomas mofolo meet your next favorite book. Aug 26, 2015 in this early example of lesothos literature, written in sesotho in 1910, published in 1925, and translated to english in 1931, mofolo weaves a fantastical tale, based loosely on the life of the great zulu king chaka or shaka, who lived from 1787 to 1828. It is certainly more legendstory that historically accurate portrait, but mofolos novel is built on the reallife foundations of chaka s life, rule, and death. This was his third novel, written in the sesotho language. Chaka is the most famous novel by the writer thomas mofolo of lesotho. Chaka by thomas mofolo is the first of many works of literature that take shaka, the great zulu leader as its subject. As this chaka by thomas mofolo scdp, it ends stirring innate one of the favored book chaka by thomas mofolo scdp collections that we have. Events in history at the time the novel takes placethe novel in focus source for. Chaka is a genuine masterpiece that represents one of the earliest major contributions of black africa to the corpus of modern world literature.
Published in 1925 in sotho and in 1931 in english, chaka was one of the first significant novels written by an african native to receive widespread attention and readership in europe and in the. E loketse babadi ba ditoropong, metseng le mapolasing. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Read chaka, by thomas mofolo online on bookmate written in sesotho in 1909 and first translated in 1931, thomas mofolos classic south african novel has formed the foundation of all modern interpr. Kunene concludes in his thomas mofolo and the emergence of written sesotho prose 1989.
Thomas mokopu mofolo 22 december 1876 8 september 1948 is considered to be the greatest basotho author he wrote mostly in the sesotho language, but his most popular book, chaka, has been translated into english and other languages. One of the first novels in a south african language was chaka, written in sotho by thomas mofolo in the early years of the twentieth century. Written in sesotho in 1909 and first translated in 1931, thomas mofolos classic south african novel has formed the foundation of all modern interpretations of the shaka legend. After graduating in 1898 with a teachers certificate from the missionary training college at morija in basutoland, mofolo worked at the sesuto book. Some missionaries were of the view that his celebration of african culture would drive africans back to satan. Puo e sebedisitsweng mona ke e mathemalodi empa e totobatsang ka moo batjha ba kajeno. We also provide free zulusesotho dictionary, free zulu spelling checker and free zulu typing keyboard.
The book is a fictional account of the heroic zulu king shaka, and is set in a more traditional nonchristian society, in contrast to the time and environment he wrote it in. Kunene, begins with the future zulu kings birth followed by the unwarranted taunts and abuse he receives during childhood and adolescence. Sotho written literature was established in the nineteenth century by converts to christianity. Mar 22, 2016 this event underlined an important point. Thomas mokopu mofolo 22 december 1876 8 september 1948 is considered to be the greatest basotho author. The prize accepts manuscripts from all over the world for fiction written in all sesotho dialects and orthographies. Reanimating the works of thomas mofolo by engaging with. As things now stand, mofolos purpose in writing this book must of necessity, forever remain a matter of conjecture, like the great mysteries of chakas life which are beyond the peoples understanding. Mofolos chaka is the first of many works of literature featuring shaka zulu as its subject. Daniel kunene is in no doubt that mofolos book on chaka is decisively influenced.
Kwela books presents a new edition of chaka, thomas mofolos mythic retelling of the rise and fall of shaka. The original sotho manuscript was first submitted in 1910 to the morija sesuto book depot supported by the paris evangelical missionary society. Mofolos next and most successful novel, chaka, was published in 1925. The geko mofolo prize is intended to reignite interest and efforts in the reading and writing of. Chaka is his most famous contribution as it is the biography of shaka the founder of the zulu kingdom. A modern tragedy and the first of its kind to mythologise the life of the zulu warrior king. Educated in protestant mission schools, mofolo worked as a teacher in the mission school system and regarded his writings as an instrument for the propagation of the christian faith among the sothospeaking people. Chaka kindle edition by mofolo, thomas, kunene, daniel p. Written in sotho, it is a mythic retelling of the story of the rise and fall of the zulu emperorking shaka.
Mofolo is not only the father of literature in his native sesotho language, but is also widely considered to be the father of modern black south african writing. Sotho, le maele, le litsomo book of ancient customs of the basotho. Chaka is a marvel to read, it has outlived its writer and remains one of the most widely read sesotho books, translated to multiple languages french 1940, afrikaans 1974, english1981. May 21, 20 chaka is a genuine masterpiece that represents one of the earliest major contributions of black africa to the corpus of modern world literature. Geko mofolo prize for outstanding fiction in sesotho opens on 1 april every year. Chaka is a novel based on the reallife figure, also known as shaka zulu, who lived from ca. He wrote mostly in the sesotho language, but his most popular book, chaka, has been translated into english and other languages. The novel chaka was written by thomas mofolo, an author from lesotho. As with mofolos other works, chaka was first written in the sesotho language, but has now been translated into many other languages. Synopsis chaka of the zulus achieves kingship and great power at the price of his humanity.
Pdf thomas mofolos sentence design in chaka approached in. Written in sesotho in 1909 though only published in 1925, it was an instant hit and quickly became mofolos most highly. Chaka heinemann african writers series french paperback. In this early example of lesothos literature, written in sesotho in 1910, published in 1925, and translated to english in 1931, mofolo weaves a fantastical tale, based loosely on the life of the great zulu king chaka or shaka, who lived from 1787 to 1828. Translate your sentences and websites from zulu into sesotho. It was named one of the twelve best works of african literature of the 20th century by a panel organized by ali mazrui. Mofolos novel chaka, written in sesotho, had been translated into afrikaans and numerous european languages, but the absence of translations into isizulu, isixhosa and sepedi means that large numbers of people are hampered from entering into informed dialogue on mofolos characterisation of chaka. The novel tells the fictionalized and mythical story of the rise and fall of zulu emperor chaka. The book has been translated into english on two separate occasions. Pdf thomas mofolos sentence design in chaka approached. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Mofolos third and last book, chaka 1925, became the classic on which his. The transculturation of thomas mofolos chaka wiredspace. A study of origins, ambition and the moral destruction of the human character.
Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Reanimating the works of thomas mofolo by engaging with the. Chaka is the third and final novel by basotho writer thomas mofolo. His fame is largely attributable to the last of his three published works, chaka 1925, a narrative written in sesotho and based on the life of the zulu king shaka, who lived from 1788 to 1828. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. The written form and orthography of sesotho was created with the arrival of european missionaries in lesotho in 1833.
In 1927 he bought a store in lesotho and later acquired a farm in south africa, but was evicted under the bantu. We also provide free zulu sesotho dictionary, free zulu spelling checker and free zulu typing keyboard. A modern tragedy and the first of its kind to mythologise the life of the zulu warrior king, chaka tells the tragic story of a boy shunned by his father a zulu prince born out of wedlock who, through unbridled ambition, sorcery and sheer brutality, claims his rightful place as heir to the throne. Ena ke pokello ya dipalekgutshwe tse ngotsweng ke batjha. Chaka was written in sesotho in 1909 and has formed the foundation of every subsequent telling of the shaka legend. Geko mofolo prize for fiction in sesotho contemporary and. It is certainly more legendstory that historically accurate portrait, but mofolos novel is built on the real. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. Short stories from sotho writers, including thabiso. Shakas rise and fall retold in thomas mofolos masterpiece. The geko mofolo prize is intended to reignite interest and efforts in the reading and writing of new, imaginative, outstanding and original. Buy chaka heinemann african writers series new ed by mofolo, mr thomas isbn. Notable works in terms of literature listed below include the highly acclaimed novel, chaka, written by thomas mafolo.
Mofolos fictionalized lifestory account of chaka shaka, translated from sesotho by d. Pdf thomas mofolos chaka was first published in sesotho in 1925 by the morija sesuto book depot under the auspices of the societe des. This is why you remain in the best website to look the incredible books to. I read a later translation, by daniel kunene in 1981. He wrote in sesotho for the morija missionary training college. Written in the sesotho language, his three novels are concerned with the radical effect of christian teachings on traditional african society. Chaka is the first of many works of literature that take shaka, the great zulu leader, as their subject. This was his last book, and shortly after he left his writing career to be a recruiter for mines, plantations and farms. Chaka thomas mofolo written in sesotho in 1909 and first translated in 1931, thomas mofolos classic south african novel has formed the foundation of all modern interpretations of the shaka legend. By focusing on the original sesotho text, indigenous zulu customs, african. Written in sesotho in 1909 though only published in 1925, it was an instant hit and quickly became mofolos most highly regarded work.
Short stories from sotho writers, including thabiso mofokeng. Kunene, begins with the future zulu kings birth followed by the unwarranted taunts and abuse he receives during childhood. Thomas mofolos sentence design in chaka approached in translation article pdf available in tydskrif vir letterkunde 532. This is a fictionalised biography of king shaka spelled chaka in book. Chaka is unusual amongst that african literature i have read because it is both written in a native language sesotho and is relatively old written in 1910. Kwela books presents a new edition of chaka, thomas mofolos mythic retelling of the rise and fall of shaka chaka is the first of many works of literature that take shaka, the great zulu leader, as their subject. Kingship and prophecy in thomas mofolos chaka jstor.
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