The Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe is a powerful symbol representing one of Mapungubwe South Africa most physically powerful animals, the rhinoceros and one of South Africa's most enduring symbols of wealth, gold.

Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe

The famous South African city of Mapungubwe is pronounced as mah-poon-goob-weh. The graves of Mapungubwe royalty were buried in the upright seated position which is associated with royalty usually buried with a variety of gold and copper items, exotic glass beads, and other prestigious objects. These finds provide evidence not only of the early smelting of gold in southern Africa but of the extensive wealth and social differentiation of the people of Mapungubwe.

The remains of Mapungubwe graves were uncovered in 1932 by inexperienced amateur and experienced archeologists from the University of Pretoria. South African art would not be complete without a discussion of the small, small enough to sit in the palm of your hand, Mapungubwe golden rhinoceros, crocodile, ox and cat uncovered from these graves. 

The most famous graveyard golden statue is the tiny golden rhinoceros is made from wood covered in a thin layer of pure gold recovered in 1934 from a royal grave at the site of Mapungubwe in northern South Africa. 

Its creation in the 13th century is a reflection of the wealth of the state of Mapungubwe, southern Africa's earliest known kingdom. The gravesite was rediscovered in 1932 and excavated by the University of Pretoria, yielding gold jewelry including anklets, bracelets, necklaces, beads and animal figurines recovered from three elite burials.

Mapungubwe lies in the far north of South Africa bordering present-day Botswana and Zimbabwe and was the biggest kingdom on the subcontinent until its demise at the end of the 13th century. Mapungubwe had a sophisticated state and economic system, which included agriculture, mining and advanced artisanship, and traded gold and ivory with Asia and Egypt.

Mapungubwe's position in southern Africa also enabled it to control trade, through the East African ports to India and China, and throughout southern Africa. The main business area of Mapungubwe covered an area of 2.5 the size of Hong Kong with three major capitals of Schroda, Leopard’s Kopje, and Mapungubwe hill. Mapungubwe developed into the leading business center and the largest indigenous kingdom in Southern Africa.

Mapungubwe is largely known because of its control of the gold trade with the coastal Swahili settlement at Kilwa Kisiwani almost 2,000 miles away to the north-east in what is today Tanzania.

Considered by some as the capital of southern Africa’s first state, Mapungubwe may have reached a population of 5,000. The city grew in part because of its access to the Limpopo River, which connected the region through trade to the ports of Kilwa and other sites along the Indian Ocean.

The economy of Mapungubwe was based on cattle herding, agriculture, hunting and gathering, as well as long-distance international trade. The Golden Rhinoceros of Mapungubwe is a powerful symbol representing one of Mapungubwe most physically powerful animals, the rhinoceros and one of South Africa's most enduring symbols of power, gold.

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Did You Know?
Every single answer is Spain

A quick-fire quiz that quietly dismantles the myth that Spain was a minor player in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

One flag. Countless chains.

First European nation to import enslaved Africans directly to the Americas?

Spain – 1501, Hispaniola (modern Dominican Republic/Haiti). The very first documented cargo arrived on the caravel Santa María under orders from the Spanish Crown.

Who created the asiento de negros – the royal monopoly that turned human beings into a state-licensed commodity?

Spain – 1518. For centuries the Spanish Crown auctioned the exclusive right to supply slaves to its colonies (and often to other nations’ colonies too).

Which European power dominated the slave trade in the 1500s and early 1600s?

Spain – Between 1500 and 1640 roughly 450,000 Africans were carried under the Spanish flag or asiento contracts – more than any other nation in that period.

Which coast of Africa did Spanish ships raid most heavily in the 1500s?

Upper Guinea – Senegambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and the Cape Verde islands (then a Portuguese colony but heavily used by Spanish traders). Later they shifted to the Angola/Congo region (Loango, Luanda, Benguela) once Portugal became part of the Spanish Crown (1580–1640).

Name some infamous Spanish slave ships whose logs still survive

• Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (1568) – carried 400 captives from Cape Verde to Cartagena
• San Juan Bautista (1615) – left Angola with 370, arrived Veracruz with 147 dead
• Nuestra Señora del Rosario (1640s) – multiple voyages documented in Seville’s Archivo General de Indias
• La Amistad (1839) – technically Cuban-Spanish registry when the revolt happened

Yes – thousands of original Spanish ship manifests, passenger lists, and notarial contracts survive in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville and are being digitised.

Who kept slavery legal in its colonies the longest in the Americas?

Spain – Cuba (until 1886) and Puerto Rico (until 1873) abolished slavery after Brazil and decades after Britain, France, and the United States.

Which single colony received the most enslaved Africans under Spanish rule?

Cuba – Over 1 million Africans were forcibly brought to Cuba between 1511 and 1886 – more than to the entire United States.

So why do we never hear Spain when we talk about the slave trade?

Spain's relative silence in slave trade conversations reflects a complicated truth:the language of colonization became the language of the colonized. Millions of Afro-Latinos now speak the same tongue that once organized their ancestors' enslavement, while carrying surnames that trace back to those transactions. This living paradox doesn't diminish Spain's role—it asks us to confront the uncomfortable ways history continues to breathe in our present.

Oké Osimiri na-echeta aha ọ bụla ụgbọ mmiri bu.
The ocean remembers every name the ships carried.

When we speak of Spain's role in the slave trade, we refer to the Spanish Crown and its state machinery—the monarchy, government, and financiers who authorized and profited from the system. While geographically part of Europe, Spain's history is uniquely shaped by its 800-year period of Islamic Moorish rule from North Africa, making its culture a profound blend of European, African, and Middle Eastern influences.

This very hybridity creates a complex paradox: a nation often historically seen as Europe's 'other' due to its African connections became a primary architect of the transatlantic system that enslaved Africans, a history now echoed in the Spanish language and surnames carried by millions of Afro-Latinos today.

In this story, a Dog, Hawk, Eagle, and Rat embark on a journey together, promising not to abandon or fight each other. However, they encounter delays as each animal wants to wait for a specific food source or desire to be fulfilled. When they reach a forest, the Dog's constant wetting of her nose annoys the others, and they abandon her. The Dog becomes angry and chases after the Rat. This story highlights the importance of keeping promises and the dangers of letting impatience and anger control our actions.

One day a Dog, Hawk, Eagle, and Rat planned to take a trip together, but before starting they promised not to abandon and fight each other in any matter that comes up during the journey.

They had not gone very far when Eagle saw a bunch of unripe palm-nuts, and said "When these palm-nuts are ripe, and I have eaten them, then we will proceed on our way."

They waited many days until the palm-nuts ripened and were eaten by the Eagle, then they started again.

A little while later, the Hawk caught sight of a large land covered with tall grass, canes, and stunted trees, and said "When this land is burnt, and I have eaten the locusts, then we will go."

So they waited while the land was burnt, and Hawk ate her locusts from the burning grass, they were ready to start again.

But when Rat saw the land was burnt, she said "We remain here until the grass and canes have grown again, so that I may eat the young canes, for remember we agreed not to oppose or fight each other on this journey."

They waited there for six months until the canes grew again, and Rat had eaten the young stalks.

Once more they started on their travels, and on reaching a large forest Dog said "Now I will dry my nose."

Her companions answered "All right, while your nose dries we will look for firewood."

The Rat and Hawk collected the firewood, and the Eagle lit a huge fire.

The Dog put her nose near the fire, but every time it dried she made it wet again by licking it. They remained in the forest for a long time, but the Dog's nose never became dry.

Her friends became annoyed, and Hawk and Eagle flew away, leaving the Rat and the Dog alone.

At last the patience of the Rat was exhausted, and she, too, ran away but the Dog chased her to kill her out of anger, and this is the reason why Dog hates Eagle, Hawk and Rat.

They broke their promise not to abandon and fight each other in any matter that comes up during the journey, however they would not wait until the Dog's nose was dry.

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Who sits in a well to observe the sky does not see very much - Inner Being African Proverb

The energetic force of the inner self uses hurts, pains and betrayals to the inner child as food to grow and form a healthy adult character. Inner self is the true internal identity tuned into the emotional and spiritual essential nature of one's self able to forge a whole healthy being from damaged parts. 

Inner Being African Proverbs.

Who knows the truth is not equal to those who live it.

Though the left hand conquers the right no advantage is gained.

When fingers start scratching the thumb follows along.

When a large vessel has opened a way it is easy for a small one to follow.

What the ear hears is not like what the eye sees.

The light of all the stars is not equal to that of the moon.

Those who know when they have enough are rich.

The inner self is connected to the undivided individual aware of the character of the irrational and rational mind, merging the two into a focused, confident, forward-looking entity.

Inner Being African Proverbs.

A fall does not hurt those who fly low.

Those who reap maize sow maize and beans who sow beans.

There is no elbow that bends outwards.

Those nearest the fire are soonest warmed.

Who sits in a well to observe the sky does not see very much.

The loftiest towers rise from the ground.

One foot cannot stand on two boats.

The deepest aspects of human nature if the inner self is not embraced, cared for and meaningful time spent with causes the outer public self to become messy, muddy and disorderly. African proverbs teach that if the inner self is neglected, the outer self creates a chaotic inner and outer world for the individual and the community as a whole.

Inner Being African Proverbs.

Who stands still in mud sinks in it.

When the rain stops, the garden becomes dry.

A single scrap of spoiled meat taints the whole meal.

Vice is an outward act whose payment is misery.

Those who live near water know the nature of stormy seas.

An undisciplined wind does not continue for long nor a deluge of rain outlast the day.

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Savory Tunisian lentil donuts are fried and dipped into harissa hot pepper paste.

Lentil doughnuts are popular in many African countries and are prepared in various forms as a savory or sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, and street food stalls.

Lets make fried Tunisian Lentil Doughnuts in 30 minutes serving five people. Serve as a snack with hummus or harissa hot pepper paste, the ingredients to our savory doughnuts are below and the ingredients are found in your local grocery store.

Ingredients

2 cans 15.5 ounces of lentil beans, drained

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 hot peppers of your choice, diced
1 teaspoon sea salt
Oil to shallow pan fry

 

Directions for frying and baking doughnuts.

Heat the oil for frying. Place the flour, lentils, chili, spices, salt, ground spices into a blender, and grind to a thick paste like dough. Roll dough into even sized pieces. Fry until a golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towel and serve with hummus or harissa hot sauce.

Baking doughnuts.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. Spoon the batter into the lightly greased doughnut pans, filling the wells to about 1/4" shy of the rim. Bake the doughnuts for 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and wait 5 to 7 minutes before turning them out of the pans onto a cooling rack.

Harissa hot pepper paste recipe.

Let's make Harissa hot five minute seasoning with step-by-step directions.

Ingredients
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 hot peppers of your choice, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
2-tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted
1-tablespoon coriander seeds
½-cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
A small handful of coriander leaves, chopped
1-tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions
Lightly toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant around 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Add the cooled seeds with the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Did you know?

Dawnat Aleudas Almisrii are Tunisian lentil doughnuts in the Arabic language. Savory doughnuts, also known as savory donuts, are a type of doughnut that is made with savory ingredients instead of sweet ones. 

While traditional doughnuts are typically sweet and often glazed or covered in sugar, savory doughnuts are flavored with ingredients like cheese, herbs, spices, and meats. 

Savory doughnuts can be made in a variety of styles and flavors, and they are often served as a unique appetizer or snack. Some popular types of savory doughnuts include:

Cheese and herb doughnuts
Bacon and cheddar doughnuts
Spinach and feta doughnuts
Jalapeno and cheddar doughnuts
Curry and chickpea doughnuts

Savory doughnuts are often baked or fried, and they can be served on their own or with dipping sauces like harissa. 

 
They are a fun and creative twist on traditional doughnuts and can be enjoyed as a savory snack or as part of a larger meal.

Easy rice recipes to make right now so you never have to eat or prepare a boring white rice recipe again.

1. Mozambique Coconut Beans Recipe
2. Black-Eyed Pea Casserole with Rice and Herbs
3. Rice and Beans Ghana Style
4. Fried Banana Rice Dumplings
5. Fried Rice Cakes Recipe

Russia's military presence in Africa is long and historic. The Russian Congo military deal was signed in May 2019 to allow Russia to fix aging African war machines and guns.

Russia donated weapons and sent trainers to the African country the Republic of the Congo Brazzaville to assist the government’s fight against militia groups. In the African country the Republic of the Congo Brazzaville, a military cooperation agreement was signed with Russia in May 2019 providing military specialists to service Russian-made military hardware and equipment. The government state organization the Congolese Armed Forces is out armed using aging Russian Soviet-era weapons. 

The Russian Congo military deal was signed in May 2019 after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Marxist Congolese president Denis Sassou Nguesso. Sassou Nguesso employs Private militias, which are are armed military groups that are composed of private citizens and not recognized by federal or state governments. 

Many of the Russian military trainers are labeled as unarmed advisers but are speculated to be soldiers and private contractors working for the Russian government. 

Russia donated weapons and sent trainers to the African country the Republic of the Congo Brazzaville to assist the government’s fight against militia groups. The Congolese Armed Forces has limited capabilities due to obsolescent and poorly maintained equipment and low levels of training.

The Soviet Union voted in the Security Council, July 14, 1960 authorized Secretary General Hammarskjold to organize a United Nations military force to maintain order in the newly formed Republic of the Congo. The Soviet Union furnished aircraft and military aid directly to the Congolese government.

Russia's military presence in Africa is a long historic one. The Republic of the Congo was a Marxist-Leninist country until 1990. The collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the end of the Cold War changed the dynamics of Russians in Congo Africa. From 1964 to 1990 the country was a one-party state ruled according to Marxist-Leninist principles.

In 1997, a two-year civil war that ended in 1999 saw former Marxist President Denis Sassou Nguesso come back into power.  For 13 years, from 1979 to 1992, Denis Sassou-Nguesso was president of the Republic of Congo and ran it as a single-party Marxist state with the backing of the Soviet Union and Cuba.

During the 1993-94 civil war, Sassou-Nguesso's Cobra militia and Guy Brice Parfait's Ninjas were allied against Pascal Lissouba's Cocoyes in a conflict in which some 2,000 people were killed and tens of thousands displaced before an agreement was signed in December 1994 to end hostilities. 

Sassou-Nguesso was re-elected in 2009 and 2016 and after nearly four decades in power, Denis Sassou-Nguesso was re elected after his rival dies of covid-19 in 2021. He is Africa’s third-longest-serving president, behind the presidents of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

Congo's political parties have developed private armed militias, the militia groups were created to serve as the private armies of the political leaders of popular Congolese Labour Party and other Political parties and leaders. 

Private militias are armed military groups that are composed of private citizens and not recognized by federal or state governments. Since the government is unstable private armed militias are used by protecting life and private property of the delegates.

The African Union and 47 African Heads of State participated in the Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum in the Southern Russian city of Sochi on October 23 and 24, 2019 under the theme Russia and Africa: Forging Economic Ties, Creating Joint Projects. 

During the meeting two Memoranda of Understanding were signed regarding African-Russian cooperation to include learning and promotion of the Russian Languages and mass media and use of information and communication technologies.

Four did you know facts about the Republic of the Congo.

 

1. Around 42% of the population of the Republic of the Congo is under the age of 14, the median age is 19. 

2. The Republic of the Congo is about twice the size of Florida.

3. About 68% of the 5.4 million Congolese people live in the south and southwest of the country in the capital city of Brazzaville, 2nd largest city of Pointe-Noire and the 3rd largest city of Dolisie. 

4. Republic of the Congo former names are French Congo, Middle Congo, People's Republic of the Congo, and Congo Brazzaville.

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🌍 Part of the African Diaspora & Back to Africa Movement Collection.

The Flying Dutchman legend was born in South Africa. 

Fear of Dutch sea captains, Cape of Good Hope deadly currents and weather,  seamen superstitions help to spread the fear of the flying Dutchman.

Before Spongebob Squarepants met the Flying Dutchman, in South Africa in 1689 on the Cape of Good Hope the legend of the Flying Dutchman began. 

The Flying Dutchman is a legendary ghost ship that is said to be cursed to sail the seas forever without ever being able to make port.  

The sea is its own kingdom full of supernatural beings, The Flying Dutchman legend was told and retold in South Africa and supernatural appearances are never explained away.

The Flying Dutchman

In Dutch, a West Germanic language, Der Fliegende Hollander translates to The Flying Dutchman. In the 1600’s, the Netherlands, England, Portugal, and Spain were four colonial superpowers vying for the riches of African trade routes, spices, slaves, gold and minerals. The Dutch from the Netherlands were especially known for their fighting tempermente. 

The competition between sea captains to make money from Africa’s trade routes, spices, slaves, and gold was intense. 

Beginning in the late 15th century until the 17th century, around 1595 to 1830, the Dutch shipped an estimated 500 million enslaved Africans from The Dutch Slave Coast, Slavenkust the present-day African country of Ghana.

The spices we take for granted today as we scroll though the grocery store were once scarce and extremely valuable.

The Dutch control over the clove, pepper and nutmeg spice trade though The Dutch East India Company broke the stranglehold on the spice trade. 

English, Portuguese and Spanish spice traders were terrified of the Dutch sea captains. 

For example, in 1601 a fleet of five Dutch ships drove away a fleet of thirty Portuguese ships from a long established Portuguese trading route. 

The South African Dutch Sea Captain The Flying Dutchman Legend Begins.

Superstitions are powerful among people who sail the seven seas. The sea is its own kingdom full of supernatural beings. The Portuguese called the African Cape of Good Hope the Cape of Torment. 

Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias was the first to successfully reach the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488 and named it the Cape of Good Hope.

Many ships attempted to sail the trading route but failed and died in the attempt. Meeting place of two violent currents, savage winds, warring storms, dramatic rock formations, and ships disappearing without a trace have made the Cape of Good Hope one of the world's largest ship graveyards to the present day.

In May 1822, there were 18 ships destroyed by storms or lost without a trace and attributed to the legendary Flying Dutchman. 

Coupled with the fear of Dutch sea captains, the treacherous weather conditions of the Cape of Good Hope and the superstitious nature of seamen, The Flying Dutchman legend persists. 

As legend has it the Dutch thought themselves superior to all seaman and instead of waiting for an infamous Cape of Good Hope storm to pass, a Dutch sea captain made a statement in a tavern putting his sailing skills above any storm mother nature and God would throw at him stating ”I will be successful in this trip despite what God brings to me, I will land this trip in the name of God or the devil, whichever one gets me there!” 

The Flying Dutchman

The captain therefore set sail into the Cape of Good Hope but his ship was never seen again. His ship is said to be the ghost ship The Flying Dutchman doomed to sail the seas forever never to make port because he defied God. 

The Flying Dutchman is a reminder to all seafarers that they must respect nature. Everything on the ocean is small and you do not place yourself above God as the Flying Dutchman did in 1689, you should always fear and respect the sea. Any seafarer who sets eyes on the Flying Dutchman ship is an ominous omen of their pending death. 

Royal Navy officer Captain Frederick Marryat is quoted as saying “Seamen, since the beginning of time, have been a race unto themselves, having their own mode of life, customs and beliefs. 

They believe in lucky and unlucky days, signs, clouds, birds, and breezes... Above all they believe in an Evil Spirit of the sea, who delights to bring harm to mariners, send adverse winds and waves, and drag them down into the depths of the ocean. 

This Spirit, they say, can change a gentle breeze to a terrific gale in an instant. He can cause vessels to sink that have no leak. He can set strange lights ahead and thus lure a crew to dangerous reefs.”

Cape of Good Hope South Africa

 Flying Dutchman Can't Catch Me Game

Popular Flying Dutchman game that requires no supplies and only imagination. It's suitable for elementary-age kids.

Objective: Be the last player standing without getting caught by the Flying Dutchman.

Instructions:

Designate one player as the Flying Dutchman.

All other players will scatter and spread out in the designated play area.

The Flying Dutchman's goal is to tag or catch the other players.

Once a player is caught by the Flying Dutchman, they join forces and become crew members of the Flying Dutchman.

The Flying Dutchman and the crew members should hold hands to form a line or chain.

The Flying Dutchman and the crew members can only move by hopping or taking small steps.

The Flying Dutchman and the crew members work together to catch the remaining players.

The players who have yet to be caught must try to avoid getting tagged by the Flying Dutchman and the crew members.

Players can move freely and use their imagination to dodge, hide, or outrun the Flying Dutchman and the crew members.

The game continues until all players have been caught by the Flying Dutchman and become crew members or until only one player hasn't been caught.

The last remaining player who hasn't been caught becomes the Flying Dutchman for the next round.

The Flying Dutchman is a legend in the Arts, Sports and Games.

The 1833 MS. Found in a bottle, a short story by Edgar Allan Poe printed in the Baltimore Saturday Visiter is a story about the flying dutchman legend and the supernatural horrors at sea. 

The first written account of the Flying Dutchman legend in novel form was penned in 1838 in The New Monthly Magazine under the title of The Phantom Ship by the English Captain Frederick Marryat. 

The most famous account of the Netherlands Flying Dutchman is the 1843 opera Der Fliegende Holländer, The Flying Dutchman. This famous opera is still being performed today and is credited for introducing The Flying Dutchman to mainstream audiences and keeping the supernatural story alive. 

The Flying Dutchman is a reoccurring ghostly character on the tv show SpongeBob SquarePants who is named after the ghost ship of the same name. The Flying Dutchman first appeared in the episode Scaredy Pants from Season 1.

Because of his athletic ability and speed, Shortstop, Right Fielder and First Baseman German baseball player Johannes Peter Honus Wagner was nicknamed The Flying Dutchman.  

Playing mostly for the Pittsburgh Pirates throughout his baseball career, in 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted him as one of the first five members.

The Flying Dutchman is a legendary ghost ship that is said to be cursed to sail the seas forever without ever being able to make port.  

The legend of the Flying Dutchman has been around for centuries and is believed to have originated in the 17th century in South Africa.

The Flying Dutchman has been reported by many sailors over the years, who claim to have seen the ship sailing in the distance. 

Some sailors believe that seeing the Flying Dutchman is a bad omen, as it is said to bring bad luck and misfortune. 

One of the most famous sightings of the Flying Dutchman was by Prince George of Wales (later King George V) in 1881, when he was serving as a midshipman in the British Navy.

In modern times, the name "Flying Dutchman" has been used for a variety of things, including a roller coaster at various amusement parks and a type of pizza.

The legend of the Flying Dutchman continues to capture the imaginations of people all over the world, and it remains one of the most enduring and mysterious ghost stories of all time.

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Lovedale Missionary School Legacy of Education and Social Change.

African journalism heavyweight Dr. Walter Rubusana was a Lovedale Missionary School superstar who paved the way for Nelson Mandela's political career. 

Steven Biko, one of South Africa's most significant political activists was a student at the Lovedale Missionary School along with Nelson Mandela. 

Tiyo Soga was South Africa’s first indigenous Black African to be ordained and work for the Presbyterian Church in 1857, he also attended Lovedale Missionary School.

In 1824 Scottish Presbyterian missionaries John Bennie and John Ross of the Glasgow Missionary Society founded the city of Lovedale South Africa and later in 1841 the Lovedale Missionary School. 

Lovedale Missionary School later changed names to Lovedale College, then Lovedale Public FET College in 2002. 

In 1835 British Kaffraria governed by Lieutenant General Sir Benjamin D'Urban restricted the Xhosa tribe to specifically designated areas. 

The new territory was named from British Kaffraria to the Province of Queen Adelaide however the land acquisition was never cleared with the British Colonial Office in London.

In December 1836 the land acquisition restricting the Xhosa tribe was nullified. In 1840, the Lovedale Mission school started building on land donated by Mgolombane Sandile Xhosa King of the Ngqika and Rharhabe tribes. 

Most Black schools were run by missionaries with some state aid in South Africa. Many of the educated black South Africans could only attend mission schools per the 1953 the Bantu Education Act policy of apartheid.

But before the Bantu act Mission schools were intergraded, with blacks, whites and coloreds studying in the same classrooms using religious instructions to spread Christianity and attract new converts. 

Lovedale Mission School Journal of Gifted Land Gifted South Africans in the fields of Journalism, Activism, and Ministry.

Lovedale Mission School of Journalism.

Lovedale Mission Press was established as a small printing press at Tyumie Mission in 1823 but the press was destroyed during the Frontier War of 1834-1835 and a second press was established in 1839, which was in turn destroyed during the War of the Axe 1846-1847. The current Lovedale Mission Press dates from 1861 to present.

Among the earliest works produced were hymn books, school reading books and other Christian literature. Reverend Dr. James Stewart became one of its most influential missionaries teaching journalism at the Christian school and theological seminary that enrolled native black and colored Africans. 

The monthly South African newspaper Isigidimi SamaXosa or The Kaffir Express founded by Scottish missionary and physician the Reverend Dr. James Stewart in Lovedale, South Africa by the Lovedale Missionary Institution Press in 1870 introduced printing and book-binding enrolling black and colored South Africans to learn the trade.

An English Kaffir Journal written in English and the Xhosa language was a very popular series. In 1888 the Kaffir Express changed its name the to Christian Express and in 1922 changed its name again to the South African Outlook Periodical published in Mowbray, a Southern suburb of Cape Town, South Africa and Lovedale, Eastern Cape South Africa.

The newspaper was very important because two early black African journalism Titians Walter Rubusana, Elijah Makiwane and John Tengo Jabavu were Stewart's protégés who started out working as translators of the bible, writers of indigenous language religious literature and printing assistants. 

Mpilo Walter Benson Rubusana was a co-founder of the Xhosa language newspaper publication, Izwi Labantu and South African Native National Congress which later became the African National Congress.was the first Black politician elected to office in colonial South Africa.

South African writers Archibald Campbell Mzolisa Jordan, Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo, and female South African writer Victoria Swartbooi were also famous graduates of Lovedale Mission school.

Lovedale College Activists.

Steve Biko was one of South Africa's most significant political activists and a leading founder of South Africa's Black Consciousness Movement and was a student at Lovedale Missionary School. His death in police detention in 1977 led to his being hailed as a martyr of the anti-Apartheid struggle.

The brutal circumstances of Biko's death caused a worldwide outcry and he became a martyr and symbol of black resistance to the oppressive Apartheid regime. As a result, the South African government banned a number of individuals (including Donald Woods) and organizations, especially those Black Consciousness groups closely associated with Biko.

The United Nations Security Council responded by finally imposing an arms embargo against South Africa. Biko's family sued the state for damages in 1979 and settled out of court for R65,000, then equivalent to $25,000.

"The basic tenet of black consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity." -Steve Biko

South African activist and politician Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki served as the second president of post-apartheid in South Africa for nine years from 1999 to 2008. His middle name Mvuyelwa is Xhosa and means he for whom the people sing. 

Mbeki’s father also studied at Lovedale College, he was a leading figure in African National Congress activities in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Mbeki began his education at Lovedale College in 1955 but when his schooling at Lovedale was interrupted by a strike in 1959, he completed his studies at home.

"Both the family circumstances of my upbringing and the fact of apartheid oppression which impacted in us as young people made it inevitable that like others of my generation, I would have to be involved not in politics, but in the liberation struggle." - Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki

In November 1870, Stewart wrote an editorial for the Kaffir Express: “Our aim is to scatter ideas in the moral wastes and desert places of human ignorance and to aid general missionary work in South Africa.”

Lovedale Mission School Black Ordained Ministers.

Tiyo Soga was a writer for the Lovedale newspaper, Indaba, he was also South Africa’s first Black minister to be ordained and work for the Presbyterian Church in 1857. Elijah Makiwane was the second ordained Black minister to work for the Presbyterian Church.

Classically trained at the Lovedale Missionary School along with his trips to Scotland, Soga was the first black South African to translate the Bible and the classic Christian parable written by John Bunyan in 1678, Pilgrim's Progress into the South African Xhosa language. 

Soga’s translation of the bible and Pilgrim's Progress to Xhosa helped to transform black Africans as they discovered Jesus Christ and entered into a right relationship with God. His translations were influential in spreading the Presbyterian Church message throughout South Africa.

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