This book examines the active role played by Africans in the
pre-colonial production of historical knowledge in South Africa,
focusing on perspectives of the second king of amaZulu, King Dingane. It
draws upon a wealth of oral traditions, izibongo, and the work of public
intellectuals such as Magolwane kaMkhathini Jiyane and Mshongweni to
present African perspectives of King Dingane as multifaceted, and in
some cases, constructed according to socio-political formations and
aimed at particular audiences. By bringing African perspectives to the
fore, this innovative historiography centralizes indigenous African
languages in the production of historical knowledge.