16. THE FAMOUS FIRSTS John Henderson Soga .... was the second son of Tiyo and Janet Soga. He was born on 10 February 1860 with a lame leg and in 1863 his mother took him to Scotland to be treated for paralysis, returning to South Africa the following year, 1864. He walked with a limp all his life. John, studied at the Glasgow University and the United Presbyterian Church Divinity Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland. He became the FIRST XHOSA HISTORIAN. Upon his arrival in South Africa, he was ordained as a missionary and established a mission at Mbonda, near Mount Frere, before succeeding his brother as a missionary at Miller Mission, Elliotdale. He was a gifted writer and translator. He completed the Xhosa translation of the second half of Bunyans Pilgrims Progress (1829), which had been begun by his father. He furthermore translated the Prayer Book into Xhosa and like his father, composed music. His compositions include light instrumental music and hymns. The latter were published by Lovedale in the Xhosa hymn book, Incwadi Yama-culo Ase-Rhabe. Hymns 1. Abafela eNkosini 2. Iziyolo zelilizwe 3. Kunge cebo Lakho, Yesu 4. Ku-Thixo ongu-Yise 5. Lindani, no-ndele ixesha lom-Yeni 6. Sakungena kulenkudla 7. Yesu, tob amehlo akho He also published two historical works on the Xhosas and their customs, The South-Eastern Bantu (1930) and The Ama-Xhosa: Life and Customs (1931). Soga retired from his post as a missionary in 1936. He spent the last years of his life in Southampton, England. It was in that city that he, his wife and their youngest son William died in March 1941 (World War 2) during a German air-raid. Next: Allan Kirkland Soga
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 03:58:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015