Nguni diaspora and their wanderlust: Ngonis and Ndebeles yearning for a ‘homeland’ that never was

By Opinion | Published Apr 25, 2024

Siyabonga HadebeIn his article “Ngoni Praise Poetry and the Nguni Diaspora”, Ohio State University’s Lupenga Mphande asks a very good question: What is the nature of the interplay between the history of Nguni migration and the literary expression of the reality and the socio-historical contexts that led to the construction of myths from historical realities? He also adds that “apart from wanderlust and the sense of adventure, it is partly the aspect of loss and nostalgia that defines diaspora.