His Great Hymn and His Enduring Legacy on Black Consciousness Ntsikana’s quest for blackness was neither moulded nor fuelled by anti -white bias. His silent advocacy of black consciousness was not a reaction to the imperial enemy, who happened to be white. He did not perceive himself as black because the colonial enemy was pale. He did not project his African face because the enemy was European. His understanding of his own spiritual identity seemed to be independent of who the political adversaries were. His black African consciousness was not tailored to the political opportunism of the time but emerged spontaneously out of the depth of his African soul. It was not a binary conflict of black versus white.It would be fair to say that Ntsikana’s black consciousness was untainted by hatred towards the white race or European civilisation. His opposition was to the oppressive nature of white colonial rule, which in his view threatened to alienate his beloved African people from their African identity, their independence, and their land. His symbolic importance influenced both isiXhosa music and literature, inspired the founding of religious movements, and contributed to a wider black unity and nationalism during the early 20th century.
His Great Hymn and His Enduring Legacy on Black Consciousness Ntsikana’s quest for blackness was neither moulded nor fuelled by anti -white bias. His silent advocacy of black consciousness was not a reaction to the imperial enemy, who happened to be white. He did not perceive himself as black because the colonial enemy was pale. He did not project his African face because the enemy was European. His understanding of his own spiritual identity seemed to be independent of who the political adversaries were. His black African consciousness was not tailored to the political opportunism of the time but emerged spontaneously out of the depth of his African soul. It was not a binary conflict of black versus white.It would be fair to say that Ntsikana’s black consciousness was untainted by hatred towards the white race or European civilisation. His opposition was to the oppressive nature of white colonial rule, which in his view threatened to alienate his beloved African people from their African identity, their independence, and their land. His symbolic importance influenced both isiXhosa music and literature, inspired the founding of religious movements, and contributed to a wider black unity and nationalism during the early 20th century.
Preface – by Fr. Dave Dargie
Prologue
Chapter 1: Historical Background to the Story
Chapter 2: Ntsikana’s Spiritual Experiences in the early 19th Century
Chapter 3: Carriers of Change: Moving from Old to New
Chapter 4: Preaching and Prayers at Thwatwa
Chapter 5: Prophecies attributed to Ntsikana
Chapter 6: Joseph Williams and the Kat River Mission, 1816-1818
Chapter 7: Leadership and Teaching
Chapter 8: The Songs of Ntsikana
Chapter 9: The Great Hymn as Praise Poetry
Chapter 10: An African Expression of Christianity
Chapter 11: The Music in Ntsikana’s Songs
Chapter 12: Ntsikana’s Last Days, 1821
Chapter 13: Soga: A Leading Disciple, Patriot and Peasant Farmer
Chapter 14: Dukwana: A Son’s Struggle for Liberation
Chapter 15: The Ntsikana Tradition, late 19th Century
Chapter 16: The Founding Decades, 1880s
Chapter 17: The Growth of Black Consciousness
Chapter 18: Ntsikana as a Symbol of African Unity
Chapter 19: The St. Ntsikana Memorial Association, 1909-1980
Chapter 20: Political Upheavals
Chapter 21: The Ntsikana Memorial Church, 1911 -1950s
Chapter 22: The Ups and Downs of the NMC, 1950s-1980s
Chapter 23: Ntsikana’s Enduring Influence on Literature and Music
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Index