BOOK REVIEW: Motsepe takes reader deep into Mapungubwe story

Title: Mapungubwe Relics

Author: Nthele Motsepe

Publisher: Mange Publishing

Reviewer: Tumo Mokone

In its opening chapter, the book gives a tantalising impression of how life was in the precolonial settlement of Mapungubwe, according to the author's research and imagination.

Historical fiction is a popular form of literature and I was immediately hooked as Motsepe sets out on his adventure of how life could have been in the legendary settlement. Chapter 1's title “From the Twelfth Century to the Fourteenth Century” is tantalising enough that the author is taking the reader deep into the story of Mapungubwe.

“The sun was up, and its searing heat was undeniable. Hordes of heavily armed were already in the royal kraal... Earlier that day, as the first lights of the day were breaking through the thick grey mist of dawn bathed the vast expanse of Mapungubwe Hill..." With such words and a lot more colourful language, Motsepe manages to grab the reader and drive their mind wild with anticipation and imagination.

The whole episode of how the gathering at the royal kraal was for the announcement of shocking news about the kidnap of the king the night before by a horde of white traders from overseas is not a historical event but serves to set the tone for the author's real mission, which is to decry white men's role in the decline of African civilisations.

According to Motsepe's narrative, the white traders killed the king on their way to their ship docked at a bay on the Atlantic Ocean.

The search party found the king's body in the bushveld, with its head severed off and taken away like some sort of a trophy. From there the book proceeds to paint a picture of the collapse of Southern African indigenous societies through the intrusion of white people, using the slaying of the revered king of Mapungubwe and later the arrival of Dutch traders by three ships in 1652.

The author uses the interference of whites and restless spirits of past royals to show the disintegration of Mapungubwe and the other kingdoms in the region, leading to wayward behaviour and stagnation after the people were robbed of their lands by the whites.

For this point the author uses the settlement of Mmakaunyane, which was founded after the people left Mapungubwe. It is a restless community with dodgy as well as colourful characters such as Hitler, and the haunting tavern at the top of the hill. In large parts of the book, and the use of strong language, the anger of Motsepe against "colonial warmongers" cannot be disguised.

The anger is not misplaced though because the issues raised in the book are relevant, their varying levels of sensitivity and not discussing them doesn't make them lighter or vanish.

The author concedes, however, that there are good white people with whom a better SA can be built. He demonstrates this with Hitler's choice to marry Marikie Kruger, the twin sister of Piet – a drunk who was lynched by a mob.

"This would usher in a new era where people of different races would prosper equally..." Though it can be a difficult read in some parts, Mapungubwe Relics is an important entry into local literature.

It talks to issues of history and culture in a way our people are losing touch with, especially the younger generation.