Ntsikana : the story of an African convert: with an appendix ''Ibali lika Ntsikana'' in the native language

From the Preface: This volume presents a critically compiled and historically grounded narrative of Ntsikana, widely regarded as one of the earliest African Christian converts and hymn composers among the amaXhosa. Prepared originally in 1878–79 and revised for publication in 1914, the work represents the first sustained attempt to render Ntsikana’s life and religious influence into a coherent English narrative. The account is based on a triangulation of sources, including oral testimony from elders who personally knew Ntsikana or his family, family memory preserved through the author’s grandparents, early missionary periodicals, and archival documents. Central among the written sources are articles published in Isigidimi Samaxosa (1875–1888) and the rediscovered 1845 issues of Ikwezi, the earliest Kafir–English missionary periodical, printed at the Chumie Mission Press.

The volume also preserves four hymns attributed to Ntsikana, transmitted through oral tradition and here recorded with both words and melodies, underscoring his role in the indigenisation of Christian worship in southern Africa. Supplementary appendices include contemporaneous writings by Ntsikana’s close companions—later known as Charles Henry (Matshaya) and Robert Balfour (Noyi)—as well as extracts from Charles Brownlee’s authoritative nineteenth-century reflections on Xhosa society. Together, these materials situate Ntsikana within the broader historical context of early missionary encounter, African religious agency, and the beginnings of Christianity among the amaXhosa. The work argues for the essential reliability of the narrative, noting that subsequent references and critiques have largely confirmed, rather than contradicted, its central claims.