Sol Plaatje
Encyclopedia
Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje (9 October 1876 – 19 June 1932) was a South Africa
n intellectual, journalist, linguist, politician, translator, and writer. The Sol Plaatje Local Municipality
, which includes the city of Kimberley
, was named after him.
(now Free State Province, South Africa
). He received a mission-education at Pniel. When he outpaced fellow learners he was given additional private tuition by a missionary, Ernst Westphal, and his wife. In February 1892, aged 15, he became a pupil-teacher, a post he held for two years.
(ANC). As a member of an SANNC deputation he would travel to England to protest the 1913 Native Land Act, and later to Canada
and the United States where he met Marcus Garvey
and W. E. B. Du Bois.
While he grew up speaking the Tswana language
, Plaatje would become a polyglot
. Fluent in at least seven languages, he worked as a court interpreter during the Siege of Mafikeng
, and translated works of William Shakespeare
into Tswana. His talent for language would lead to a career in journalism and writing. He was editor and part-owner of Koranta ea Becoana (Bechuana Gazette) in Mafikeng
, and in Kimberley Tsala ea Becoana (Bechuana Friend) and Tsala ea Batho (The Friend of the People). Plaatje was the first black South African to write a novel in English - Mhudi. Plaatje wrote the novel in 1919, but it was only published in 1930. In 1928 the Zulu writer R.R.R. Dhlomo published an English-language novel, entitled 'An African Tragedy', at the missionary Lovedale Press, in Alice. This makes Dhlomo's novel the first published black South African novel in English, even though Plaatje's 'Mhudi' had been written first. He also wrote Native Life in South Africa, which Neil Parsons describes as "one of the most remarkable books on Africa by one of the continent's most remarkable writers"; and Boer War Diary that was first published 40 years after his death.
at Pimville, Johannesburg
on 19 June 1932 and was buried in Kimberley.
including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
and Winston Churchill
. Plaatje appears on the 1.30 Rand
stamp together with Johanna Brandt
and the Anglo-Boer War Medal.
The Sol Plaatje Municipality in South Africa's Northern Cape Province is named in his honour. In 1998, with several of his descendants present, an honorary doctorate was posthumously conferred on Plaatje by the University of the North-West.
In Kimberley, the house at 32 Angel Street, where Plaatje spent his last years, was declared a National Monument in 1992 (as was his grave in West End Cemetery, in 1997), when it became the Sol Plaatje Museum and Library
, run by the Sol Plaatje Educational Trust, with donor funding.
A statue featuring Plaatje, seated and writing at a desk, was unveiled in Kimberley by South African President Jacob Zuma
on 9 January 2010, the 98th anniversary of the founding of the African National Congress
. By sculptor Johan Moolman, it was erected at the Civic Centre, formerly the Malay Camp, and situated approximately where Plaatje had his printing press in 1910-13.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n intellectual, journalist, linguist, politician, translator, and writer. The Sol Plaatje Local Municipality
Sol Plaatje Local Municipality
The Sol Plaatje Local Municipality is a local municipality in the Frances Baard District Municipality district of the Northern Cape province, South Africa. It includes the diamond mining city of Kimberley.- Reference :...
, which includes the city of Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
, was named after him.
Early life
Plaatje was born near Boshof, Orange Free StateOrange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
(now Free State Province, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
). He received a mission-education at Pniel. When he outpaced fellow learners he was given additional private tuition by a missionary, Ernst Westphal, and his wife. In February 1892, aged 15, he became a pupil-teacher, a post he held for two years.
Career
As an activist and politician he spent much of his life in the struggle for the enfranchisement and liberation of African people. He was a founder member and first General Secretary of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), which would later become the African National CongressAfrican National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC). As a member of an SANNC deputation he would travel to England to protest the 1913 Native Land Act, and later to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States where he met Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
and W. E. B. Du Bois.
While he grew up speaking the Tswana language
Tswana language
Tswana or Setswana is a language spoken in Southern Africa by about 4.5 million people. It is a Bantu language belonging to the Niger–Congo language family within the Sotho languages branch of Zone S , and is closely related to the Northern- and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalagadi...
, Plaatje would become a polyglot
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
. Fluent in at least seven languages, he worked as a court interpreter during the Siege of Mafikeng
Siege of Mafeking
The Siege of Mafeking was the most famous British action in the Second Boer War. It took place at the town of Mafeking in South Africa over a period of 217 days, from October 1899 to May 1900, and turned Robert Baden-Powell, who went on to found the Scouting Movement, into a national hero...
, and translated works of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
into Tswana. His talent for language would lead to a career in journalism and writing. He was editor and part-owner of Koranta ea Becoana (Bechuana Gazette) in Mafikeng
Mafikeng
Mahikeng – formerly legally, but still commonly known as Mafikeng – is the capital city of the North-West Province of South Africa. It is best known internationally for the Siege of Mafeking, the most famous engagement of the Second Boer War.Located on South Africa's border with Botswana, it is ...
, and in Kimberley Tsala ea Becoana (Bechuana Friend) and Tsala ea Batho (The Friend of the People). Plaatje was the first black South African to write a novel in English - Mhudi. Plaatje wrote the novel in 1919, but it was only published in 1930. In 1928 the Zulu writer R.R.R. Dhlomo published an English-language novel, entitled 'An African Tragedy', at the missionary Lovedale Press, in Alice. This makes Dhlomo's novel the first published black South African novel in English, even though Plaatje's 'Mhudi' had been written first. He also wrote Native Life in South Africa, which Neil Parsons describes as "one of the most remarkable books on Africa by one of the continent's most remarkable writers"; and Boer War Diary that was first published 40 years after his death.
Personal life
Plaatje was a committed Christian, and organized a fellowship group called the Christian Brotherhood at Kimberley. He was married to Elizabeth Lilith M’belle, a union that would produce five children: Frederick, Halley, Richard, Violet and Olive. He died of pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at Pimville, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
on 19 June 1932 and was buried in Kimberley.
Legacy
In 2000, the South African Post office created a series of stamps about the writers of the Boer WarBoer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. Plaatje appears on the 1.30 Rand
South African rand
The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...
stamp together with Johanna Brandt
Johanna Brandt
Johanna Brandt was a South African propagandist of Afrikaner nationalism, spy during the Boer War, prophet and writer on controversial health subjects.- Biography :...
and the Anglo-Boer War Medal.
The Sol Plaatje Municipality in South Africa's Northern Cape Province is named in his honour. In 1998, with several of his descendants present, an honorary doctorate was posthumously conferred on Plaatje by the University of the North-West.
In Kimberley, the house at 32 Angel Street, where Plaatje spent his last years, was declared a National Monument in 1992 (as was his grave in West End Cemetery, in 1997), when it became the Sol Plaatje Museum and Library
Sol Plaatje Museum
The Sol Plaatje Museum and Library is in Kimberley, Northern Cape, in a house where Solomon T. Plaatje lived during his last years, in Malay Camp, No 32 Angel Street. It was here that Plaatje wrote Mhudi....
, run by the Sol Plaatje Educational Trust, with donor funding.
A statue featuring Plaatje, seated and writing at a desk, was unveiled in Kimberley by South African President Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....
on 9 January 2010, the 98th anniversary of the founding of the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
. By sculptor Johan Moolman, it was erected at the Civic Centre, formerly the Malay Camp, and situated approximately where Plaatje had his printing press in 1910-13.
Original writing
- Boer War Diary, (circa 1900)
- The Essential Interpreter, an essay (circa 1909)
- Mhudi, historical novel (1913)
- *Native Life in South Africa, a protest against African dispossession (1914)
- Sechuana Proverbs with Literal Translations and their European Equivalents (1916)
- A Sechuana Reader in International Phonetic Orthography (1916)
- Bantu Folk-Tales and Poems
Translations of Shakespeare
- Dikhontsho tsa bo-Juliuse Kesara - Julius CaesarJulius Caesar (play)The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
- Diphosho-phosho - Comedy of ErrorsComedy Of ErrorsComedy Of Errors was a Glasgow-based progressive rock band formed in January 1984. Their first recording was a demo called "Ever be the Prize", and was recorded at a studio in Blanefield in 1985, and followed by a mini album in 1986....
Selected bibliography
- Chrisman, L. (2002). British Imperialism and South African Resistance in Haggard, Schreiner and Plaatje. Oxford: Clarendon.
- De Villiers, GE. (2000). Servant of Africa. The life and times of Sol T Plaatje. Pretoria: Stimela.
- Midgley, P. (1997). Sol Plaatje, An Introduction. Grahamstown: NELM.
- Pampallis, J. (1992). Sol Plaatje. Cape Town: Maskew Miller Longman.
- Willan, B. (Ed).(1996): Sol Plaatje: Selected Writings. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.