S.E.K. Mqhayi: forerunner to democratic South Africa

Abstract

Samuel Edward Krune Mqhayi (1875–1945) is considered a pioneer in the development of Xhosa literature. He lived in an era when Xhosa society gradually moved from being an oral society to one in which the printed word started to make its influence felt. He very successfully bridged this divide by operating not only as animbongi but by also producing a wealth of written forms.