A sangoma and trainee herbalist has drawn on his experience to pen a book that travels a magical and spiritual journey that merges the ancestral realms with contemporary realities.
Eastern Cape based-writer Unathi Magubeni’s debut novel Nwelezelanga: The Star Child has been listed by BooksLive as one of the local books to read this year.
Magubeni described the novel as a story of an ancestral spirit born through Nwelezelanga, whose task is to pass messages from beyond. He explained that the birth of Nwelezelanga was foreseen by the wise ones and hidden in abstract tales of the tribes.
“Forces of black magic and the underworld had clandestine intentions to interfere with her divine destiny.
“Nwelezelanga is born a child with albinism hence her name – the one with golden hair.
“The midwife deems Nwelezelanga a curse and tries to persuade the mother to get rid of the child,” he said. “The biological mother finally succumbs to the midwife’s persuasion and they throw the infant into a river. Nwelezelanga is rescued by another woman who had been praying for rain to nourish her crops.”
He said the entire novel explores how the forces of light and dark unravel to determine her destiny.
Magubeni, whose previous work includes a collection of poetry called Food for Thought, published in 2003, and an as-yet unpublished manuscript titled Shades of Black, has no formal training in literature and merely writes from the heart.
“It’s a gift. It was in Cape Town when I was studying that a love for the art of creative writing was ignited. Writing came naturally to me as a form of expression. I would write to loved ones back home in East London and express my innermost,” said Magubeni, who cites Sello K Duiker, Paulo Coelho, Ben Okri and Kahlil Gibran as inspirations.
He was introduced to the poetry scene in his second year in Cape Town. “I felt so at home among the poets and misfits, and that is when I went on to write Food for Thought.” The book is still available in the national libraries.
Magubeni said Nwelezelanga took a year to write but he struggled to find a publisher. “I kept the hope alive, and out of the blue one morning, the head of BlackBird Books, an imprint of Jacana, asked if the manuscript was available.”
The novel will be published next month and will be available at Bargain Books. “We will do launches at the Steve Biko Centre, Fort Hare University, Anne Bryant Gallery and the Eastern Cape Book Festival in Port Elizabeth.”
Promoting his debut novel will be the focus for this year but he is writing his third manuscript, which explores relationships between culture and the cosmos.
Young EL sangoma-poet set to launch debut novel next month
Eastern Cape based-writer Unathi Magubeni’s debut novel Nwelezelanga: The Star Child has been listed by BooksLive as one of the local books to read this year.
Magubeni described the novel as a story of an ancestral spirit born through Nwelezelanga, whose task is to pass messages from beyond. He explained that the birth of Nwelezelanga was foreseen by the wise ones and hidden in abstract tales of the tribes.
“Forces of black magic and the underworld had clandestine intentions to interfere with her divine destiny.
“Nwelezelanga is born a child with albinism hence her name – the one with golden hair.
“The midwife deems Nwelezelanga a curse and tries to persuade the mother to get rid of the child,” he said. “The biological mother finally succumbs to the midwife’s persuasion and they throw the infant into a river. Nwelezelanga is rescued by another woman who had been praying for rain to nourish her crops.”
He said the entire novel explores how the forces of light and dark unravel to determine her destiny.
Magubeni, whose previous work includes a collection of poetry called Food for Thought, published in 2003, and an as-yet unpublished manuscript titled Shades of Black, has no formal training in literature and merely writes from the heart.
“It’s a gift. It was in Cape Town when I was studying that a love for the art of creative writing was ignited. Writing came naturally to me as a form of expression. I would write to loved ones back home in East London and express my innermost,” said Magubeni, who cites Sello K Duiker, Paulo Coelho, Ben Okri and Kahlil Gibran as inspirations.
He was introduced to the poetry scene in his second year in Cape Town. “I felt so at home among the poets and misfits, and that is when I went on to write Food for Thought.” The book is still available in the national libraries.
Magubeni said Nwelezelanga took a year to write but he struggled to find a publisher. “I kept the hope alive, and out of the blue one morning, the head of BlackBird Books, an imprint of Jacana, asked if the manuscript was available.”
The novel will be published next month and will be available at Bargain Books. “We will do launches at the Steve Biko Centre, Fort Hare University, Anne Bryant Gallery and the Eastern Cape Book Festival in Port Elizabeth.”
Promoting his debut novel will be the focus for this year but he is writing his third manuscript, which explores relationships between culture and the cosmos.
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