History of the Abambo by the Rev. John Ayliff. 1912.

History of the Abambo, Generally Known as Fingos (1912), by the Rev. John Ayliff and the Rev. Joseph Whiteside, is a cornerstone—and deeply contested—work of South African historiography.  

Here is what makes this specific volume historically fascinating:

 The "Mfecane" Debate & Colonial Mythology: This book is one of the primary foundational texts for the traditional colonial narrative of the Mfecane (the "crushing" or widespread upheaval in early 19th-century southern Africa). In the late 20th century, historian Julian Cobbing famously sparked the "Mfecane Controversy" by arguing that the conventional story of the amaMfengu (Fingos)—portrayed here as destitute, starving refugees fleeing King Shaka’s Zulu armies only to be "emancipated" by Rev. John Ayliff in 1835—was largely a colonial fabrication. Revisionist historians argued that Ayliff and British officials constructed this narrative to justify seizing Xhosa land and to mask the fact that many "Fingos" were actually captured and pressed into forced colonial labor.

 A Posthumous Collaboration Across 50 Years: John Ayliff died in 1862, fifty years before this book was published. As Joseph Whiteside ("J. W.") notes in the preface, Ayliff's daughter, Miss S. A. Ayliff, handed over an unpublished manuscript dictated by her father half a century earlier. Whiteside compiled Chapters IV through VII directly from Ayliff's 1860s notes and wrote the surrounding chapters himself to create a unified history.  

 Pioneering Black Intellectual Contributions: Tucked into the preface is an acknowledgment of I. Bud M'Belle (Isaiah Budlwana M'Belle), who served as the Organising Secretary for the "Fingo History Fund" and provided "many helpful suggestions". Bud M'Belle was one of South Africa's most prominent early Black intellectuals, a court interpreter in Kimberley, a prolific writer, and the brother-in-law of Sol Plaatje (co-founder of the SANNC/ANC). Another contributor mentioned, Richard Tainton Kawa, went on to write Ibali lamaMfengu (1929), one of the most important early histories written in isiXhosa.  

 A Rare Transkei Imprint: Unlike most South African books of the era that were printed in London, Cape Town, or Lovedale, this first edition was printed locally on a small newspaper press—the "Gazette" in Butterworth, Fingoland (Transkei)—making surviving copies in good condition scarce pieces of Eastern Cape printing history.

130mm x 195mm

Rebound; retaining half title page and 101 pages of text; some foxing; thumbing and minor tears.

R2,250