S.E.K. Mqhayi – Voice

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To hear Nelson Mandela quoting this poem, please click here.

S.E.K. Mqhayi served as a senior councillor to Chief Silimela kaMakinana of the Ndlambe in the 1930s, but Isilimela is also the name of the Pleiades constellation that amaXhosa use to count the number of manhood years. The appearance of the constellation Isilimela in mid-winter marks both the period of traditional circumcision as well as the beginning of the cosmological year for amaXhosa. In this poem Mqhayi plays on the double meaning of the constellation name and the subject of this poem (Opland 1977: 46).

The poem consists of two parts and begins by recounting events that have taken place in history of amaXhosa, the people of Phalo, since the time of Chief Makinana, the father of Silimela. The narrative includes military engagements Chief Makinana participated in with notable bravery, including conflicts of the Ninth Frontier War, and less well known events Mqhayi refers to, but where the allusions are obscure. Woven into his account, Mqhayi mentions prominent figures from Makinana’s era in the late 1800s. By naming famous missionaries, prominent chiefs and magistrates who worked in the region during Silimela’s father’s time, Mqhayi seeks to emphasise the renown of Makinana that is a credit to his son (Opland 1977: 50).

The second part of the poem similarly praises Silimela in an indirect fashion, this time by humorously comparing attributes of various constellations to groups of people. For example, in a slighting reference to the First World War and the South African War, Mqhayi invites the Germans, Boers, and the English to take the morning star for they are “greedy” and are always “warring” against other people (Opland 1977: 50). Isilimela. The Pleiades, which are highly regarded among amaXhosa, are given to the “house of Phalo”. Jeff Opland argues that “[t]he point of the apportioning of the stars is  that the Xhosas revere isilimela, the Pleiades, and through the pun Mqhayi succeeds in praising his chief’s eminence, stature, and importance. It is allusive and indirect, but nonetheless effective for that.” (Opland 1977: 50).

The second audio clip is another praise poem, in this case honouring Chief Archie Sandile of the Ngqika. Using his izikhahlelo (accession name) Velile, Mqhayi provides a portrait of this prominent leader of amaXhosa in the early twentieth century. Chief Velile is placed in his genealogical context, the events he participated in are described and certain physical characteristics such as his stout build and half-closed eye are alluded to (Opland 1977: 32; 36). Like Silimela, this poem takes the form of a eulogy in which Mqhayi recounts the tensions and significant episodes surrounding Velile, and includes prominent figures and other important houses of the Xhosa polity. Jeff Opland has made an in-depth analysis of these two poems in the following article: Opland, J., & Mqhayi, S. E. K. (1977). Two unpublished poems by SEK Mqhayi. Research in African Literatures, 8(1), 27-53.