The Special Collections Book of the Week this week is:

The Dead Will Arise: Nongqawuse and the Great Xhosa Cattle-Killing Movement of 1856 - 7 by J.B Peires.

In 1856 the Xhosa people, acting on the prophecies of a young girl, Nongqawuse, slaughtered their cattle and ceased to plant crops in the belief that these deeds would lead to the resurrection of their ancestors and an era of idyllic prosperity. These bizarre actions caused tens of thousands of people to starve to death. The devastation that followed tore the Xhosa nation apart. The survivors became a source of cheap labour for the Cape colonists.

The extraordinary events have never been satisfactorily explained. The dead will arise is the first full length of study of this crucial episode in South African history.

Catalogue Access: https://UnivofPretoria.on.worldcat.org/oclc/18779413

This book is available at Special Collections, housed on level 5 of the Merensky 2 LIbrary, and is part of our Africana Collection.

The Special Collections unit of the Department of Library Services plays a stewardship role in the acquisition and preservation of the Library's rare and valuable information resources, making them accessible to students, staff and researchers, as well as safeguarding them for future generations.