Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo
Encyclopedia
Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo (1903, Siyamu/Pietermaritzburg (Natal) – 1956, Durban) is one of the major founding figures of South African literature and perhaps the first prolific African creative writer in English
. His elder brother was the famous artist R.R.R. Dhlomo, and the great Zulu composer, R.T. Caluza, is a near relative. His father, Ezra, was a friend of Bambatha, who led the Bambatha rebellion
. Dhlomo himself held many jobs during his short life, but always regarded his literary production as his major achievement:
. He was very active in social affairs during the 1920s, which resulted in several articles published by him in newspapers such as Ilanga Lase Natal and Bantu World.
. In 1935 he finally left the teaching profession to join the staff of Bantu World. During this time of the 1920s and 1930s the black population in the area strove to emancipate themselves with the help of influential white liberals against the conservative white majority who held all political power. Herbert Dhlomo soon became one of the major figures of the new black elite. The catchphrase of the time was "progressive" and The African Yearly Register of the time described Dhlomo as "a young man of fine personality, very progressive in his ideas", which at this time meant that he was open towards the achievements of Western modernity.
etc. Examples of this kind in Dhlomo’s writing are The Girl who killed to Save and Ntsikana, which are in the line of Progressivist ideas and justify white policy. Native Africans were supposed to be the junior partners of the whites in politics and literature, a relationship that was supposed to develop eventually into racial equality
. The literature they produced was meant for a mission press, and its aim was to keep the political situation quiet rather than to ameliorate it for the blacks. The language of these early writings also reveals the heavy influence of British Victorian
and Romantic
anthology pieces, which manifests itself in a pompous style, elitism and overawed-ness in the face of British models. The black writer of the time was simply supposed to show his or her cleverness by emulating the great white tradition.
Cetshwayo is a very good example of the difficulties of Dhlomo’s style. The play, apart from what critics have called "subromantic diction", has long novelistic passages that make it difficult as a text for reading and nearly unplayable on the stage. A short passage from Cetshwayo illustrates the turning away from missionary (Christian) thought: in the scene, one tribal warrior has just slain a rival in a duel as a Christian convert comes along the path. The ensuing dialogue pits tribal against missionary ideas of order and illuminates Dhlomo’s radicalisation and his bitter break with the Missionary environment that formed him.
What Dhlomo otherwise attempted to produce was a "literary drama" based on the grand themes of the deeds of past heroes, rather than stage vehicles for immediate political agitation on the stage. This kind of drama Dhlomo wrote rested on the belief that "the tragedy of a Job, an Oedipus, a Hamlet, a Joan, a Shaka, a Nongqause, is the tragedy of all countries, all times, all races". He thus prefigured many later African writers in the 20th century, such as Wole Soyinka
, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Chinua Achebe
and many others, whose bi-cultural education and background made them see the parallels between the basic mythical structures that underlie most cultures.
and Nationalism
when it talks about the exploitation of black workers and understands itself as a "fight with greater confidence to become a citizen of the country of our birth", respectively.
, who established a literary tradition for the more recent generation(s) to build on.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. His elder brother was the famous artist R.R.R. Dhlomo, and the great Zulu composer, R.T. Caluza, is a near relative. His father, Ezra, was a friend of Bambatha, who led the Bambatha rebellion
Bambatha Rebellion
The Bambatha Uprising was a Zulu revolt against British rule and taxation in Natal, South Africa, in 1906. The revolt was led by Bambatha kaMancinza The Bambatha Uprising was a Zulu revolt against British rule and taxation in Natal, South Africa, in 1906. The revolt was led by Bambatha kaMancinza...
. Dhlomo himself held many jobs during his short life, but always regarded his literary production as his major achievement:
"My creative life is the greatest thing I can give to my people, to Africa. I am determined to die writing and writing and writing. And no one … can stop, fight or destroy that. It is the soul, the heart and, the spirit. It will endure and speak truth even if I perish…I have chosen the path to serve my people by means of literature, and nothing will deflect me from this course."
Early years
In his youth, Dhlomo received a training as a teacher and subsequently taught for some years in JohannesburgJohannesburg
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...
. He was very active in social affairs during the 1920s, which resulted in several articles published by him in newspapers such as Ilanga Lase Natal and Bantu World.
Politics
At the time he also became active for a body called the Bantu Dramatic Society and the ANCAfrican 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...
. In 1935 he finally left the teaching profession to join the staff of Bantu World. During this time of the 1920s and 1930s the black population in the area strove to emancipate themselves with the help of influential white liberals against the conservative white majority who held all political power. Herbert Dhlomo soon became one of the major figures of the new black elite. The catchphrase of the time was "progressive" and The African Yearly Register of the time described Dhlomo as "a young man of fine personality, very progressive in his ideas", which at this time meant that he was open towards the achievements of Western modernity.
Literary career
This Progressivism was part of Dhlomo’s earlier writing and centred on Western-style education, "civilisation", moderation, anti-tribalismTribalism
The social structure of a tribe can vary greatly from case to case, but, due to the small size of tribes, it is always a relatively simple role structure, with few significant social distinctions between individuals....
etc. Examples of this kind in Dhlomo’s writing are The Girl who killed to Save and Ntsikana, which are in the line of Progressivist ideas and justify white policy. Native Africans were supposed to be the junior partners of the whites in politics and literature, a relationship that was supposed to develop eventually into racial equality
Racial equality
Racial equality means different things in different contexts. It mostly deals with an equal regard to all races.It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races....
. The literature they produced was meant for a mission press, and its aim was to keep the political situation quiet rather than to ameliorate it for the blacks. The language of these early writings also reveals the heavy influence of British Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
anthology pieces, which manifests itself in a pompous style, elitism and overawed-ness in the face of British models. The black writer of the time was simply supposed to show his or her cleverness by emulating the great white tradition.
Final years
Having worked as a librarian from 1937 to 1941, he finally became assistant editor of Ilanga Lase Natal in 1943, a position which he held until his death.Literary style
He increasingly dedicated his life to writing and gradually shifted his position away from progressivism, which seemed not to progress very much, to slightly more radical political viewpoints. A certain bitterness in Dhlomo’s writing sets in with the play Cetshwayo in 1936, which was probably due to a resentment of the social control exercised by the white liberals whose ‘support’ was increasingly seen as suppression or at least impediment of real social progress.Cetshwayo is a very good example of the difficulties of Dhlomo’s style. The play, apart from what critics have called "subromantic diction", has long novelistic passages that make it difficult as a text for reading and nearly unplayable on the stage. A short passage from Cetshwayo illustrates the turning away from missionary (Christian) thought: in the scene, one tribal warrior has just slain a rival in a duel as a Christian convert comes along the path. The ensuing dialogue pits tribal against missionary ideas of order and illuminates Dhlomo’s radicalisation and his bitter break with the Missionary environment that formed him.
Convert: What have you done?
Warrior: Stop that! I don’t like it! When a person asks about what he knows and sees, he sees and knows what he does not ask. He is a liar and a fraud, a spy.
Convert: I am sorry, brother. I do not fight.
Warrior: I know. Christians do not fight. It is not Christian. They cheat, ruin, feign, find fault and drag people down.
Convert: Surely you are mistaken…
Warrior: Christian, hold your tongue! Don’t interrupt me! Look after yourself. You are nearer death than you think!
Convert: You w-won’t k-kill me, b-brother!
Warrior: We kill Christians! A Christian is only good dead! Living, he is either useful and honest or not Christian. (…)
What Dhlomo otherwise attempted to produce was a "literary drama" based on the grand themes of the deeds of past heroes, rather than stage vehicles for immediate political agitation on the stage. This kind of drama Dhlomo wrote rested on the belief that "the tragedy of a Job, an Oedipus, a Hamlet, a Joan, a Shaka, a Nongqause, is the tragedy of all countries, all times, all races". He thus prefigured many later African writers in the 20th century, such as Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, where he was recognised as a man "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence", and became the first African in Africa and...
, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe
Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe popularly known as Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic...
and many others, whose bi-cultural education and background made them see the parallels between the basic mythical structures that underlie most cultures.
Poetry
Dhlomo also wrote poems – mostly published by his brother R.R.R. Dhlomo – like Fired – Lines on an African Intellectual being sacked by White Liberals for his independent ideas. Dhlomo’s personal grievance coincided with a general trend, strengthened by the nationalistic ideas held by the ANC of the time. The general trend from tutelage to protest, to resistance against political oppression of blacks has its roots in that era and continues to the very day. One of Dhlomo’s patriotic and protest poems is On Munro Bridge, Johannesburg, from which the following section was taken to represent Dhlomo’s concerns at the time:
(…) Jersusalem can boast no better sight,
For here the veld with glorious scenes is dight.
O sweet miniature Edens of the north!
O glorious homes! Is gold but all your worth?
Shall Belial rule forever in your towers,
Polluting all this beauty, all your hours?
How can you rest content so near the hells
Of poverty where Moloch fiercely dwells;
Where children die of hunger and neglect.
While city Fathers boast suburbs select;
Where minds diseased and dead to Love make gains
Through drunkards, widows, waifs and worker’s pains (…)
Contemporary writings
During his last years, Dhlomo wrote almost exclusively on contemporary matters, which he sought to render in a dynamic and lively form. The past now informed his writing only where it was supposed to be usable for social comment and action. This work of the 1940s actually exhibits streaks of both MarxismMarxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and Nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
when it talks about the exploitation of black workers and understands itself as a "fight with greater confidence to become a citizen of the country of our birth", respectively.
Legacy
As Dhlomo died after a long illness in 1956, his literary oeuvre was already considerable: dozens of plays and short stories, and over one hundred poems complement his regular editorial and political work. Nearly half of his known work, however, has been lost, due to writer's relatively long obscurity amongst other African writers better known today. Dhlomo was nevertheless a key figure among the early generation of writers, including Plaatje and MofoloThomas Mofolo
Thomas Mokopu Mofolo is considered to be the greatest Basotho author. He wrote mostly in the Sesotho language, but his most popular book, Chaka, has been translated into English and other languages....
, who established a literary tradition for the more recent generation(s) to build on.