Enoch Sontonga
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Enoch Mankayi Sontonga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1873 |
| Died | 18 April 1905 (aged 32) |
| Occupations | Music composer, Teacher, Choirmaster, Poet |
Enoch Mankayi Sontonga (c. 1873 – 18 April 1905) was a South African composer, who is best known for writing the Xhosa hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" ("God Bless Africa"), which, in abbreviated version, has been sung as the first half of the national anthem of South Africa since 1994. Previously, it had been the official anthem of the African National Congress since 1925. This song was first adopted by Tanganyika as the national anthem, as a translated Swahili version, in 1961 following independence from Great Britain. In 1964, Zambia also adopted it as its national anthem, followed by Botswana and Zimbabwe (who translated into Shona, "Ishe Komborera Afrika") from 1980 until 1994. South Africa adopted it as its national anthem in 1994.
Sontonga, a Xhosa, was born in the city of Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape Colony. He trained as a teacher at the Lovedale Institution and subsequently worked as a teacher and choirmaster at the Methodist Mission school in Nancefield, near Johannesburg for eight years.[1]
Career
The first verse and chorus of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was composed in 1897 and it was originally intended to be a school anthem.[1] Some sources say he wrote the tune the same year.[2] It was first sung in public in 1899 at the ordination of Reverend Mboweni, who was the first Tsonga Methodist minister.[1] Later, the Xhosa poet Samuel Mqhayi wrote a further seven verses.
Sontonga died on 18 April 1905 of gastroenteritis and a perforated appendix, a common cause of death at the time due to unsafe drinking water.[2]
Personal life
Sontonga married Diana Mgqibisa, the daughter of a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and they had a son. Mgqibisa died in 1939.[1]
