Ityala Lamawele Part 2 Full Movie Download

[Everardo Frost]

Thenovel is often described as a defence of traditional, precolonial Xhosa law,[5] which was often disparaged by colonial authorities. The literary historian Albert Gerard argues that the book's "real value lies in the magnificent exploitation of the intricacies of the Xhosa language" and the way in which it "validates the cultural values of the Xhosa".[6] Mqhayi certainly lamented the passing away of Xhosa traditions with colonialism, and wrote in the introduction to Ityala lamawele that "Intetho nemikhwa yesiXhosa iya itshona ngokutshona ngenxa yeLizwi nokhanyo olukhoyo, oluze nezizwe zaseNtshonalanga", translated by Abner Nyamende as "The language and mode of life of the Xhosa people are gradually disappearing because of the Gospel and the new civilization, which came with the nations from the West".[7]

There have been six different editions of the novel. The first edition (1914) had just nine chapters. The second edition (1915) had twenty chapters and included far more historical information. The edition in print today is an abridged version, which has only 16 chapters. According to Jeff Peires, Mqhayi agreed to an abridged edition of his novel being published only if Lovedale Press also kept the enlarged edition, but this was ignored after his death.[8] Today only the abridged edition is in print, and copies of the enlarged edition are very scarce.[9] Despite Mqhayi's great fame in traditional Xhosa culture (Nelson Mandela recalls that hearing him perform was one of the highlights of his youth),[10] his work is not readily available. Something of this has been remedied with the 2010 publication of Abantu Besizwe, an anthology of some of Mqhayi's writings edited by scholar Jeff Opland. Abantu Besizwe also includes translations into English from parts of the abridged version of Ityala lamawele.

There are many ways in which the Xhosa traditional manner of litigation is similar to the western way. There are also ways in which it is different. This article sets out to demonstrate those similarities and differences. In all this the common factor is that both the traditional Xhosa court and the western court as we know it strive to find the truth and to make the judgement as objective as possible. It is evident that Mqhayi was inspired by a biblical text, Genesis 38:27-30 to write a story where the Xhosa custom of finger cutting creates a legal complication. This paper also sets out to illustrate the wisdom of the Xhosa people in their interpretation of the law. The whole story in Mqhayi's novel is about this court trial and it functions as a brilliant exposition of the Xhosa legal system.

S. E. K.Mqhayi's novel, Ityala lamawele ('The lawsuit of the twins'), gives us a clue to the nature and application of justice by the Xhosa people before their encounter with western culture. Educated at Lovedale, Mqhayi (1875-1945) is one of the early Xhosa Christians. Neethling and Mpolweni (2006:132) maintain that, "Unlike many others [...] [Mqhayi] never turned his back on his own culture." Many writers give different explanations of the reasons for Mqhayi to write this novelette. Soga (1930: 184) says that Mqhayi, "in his valuable treatise on The Case of the Twins (Ityala Lama Wele), gives a description of the methods and customs observed by the Courts of the Gcalekas with regard to any Fingo who was ill-treated in Hintsa's country." In this way Soga suggests that Hintsa and his people used justice to protect the Mfengu people. It is, however, not clear whether the Nzotho people were Gcaleka or Mfengu. E. D. and Marjorie Jones (2002: 37) maintain that Mqhayi's Ityala lamawele "concentrates mainly on important aspects of African tradition and custom." Thus though Mqhayi was a Christian, he hoped to demonstrate the virtues of African tradition and custom. Encyclopaedia Britannica holds that Ityala lamawele "is a defense of Xhosa law before European administration." B. W. Andrzejewski, S. Palaszewicz and W. Tyloch (1985: 600) state that Ityala lamawele was used by Mqhayi to defend "traditional Xhosa forms of justice against denigrations by South African whites."

As the title of this novelette suggests, the whole story is about the court trial of the twins. While studying the conception of the case by the Xhosa people it will be important to also focus on the universality of human legal systems. This article is actually intended to revisit western thinking which often assumes that, "What is Western becomes universal and what is Third World becomes local," to put it in the language of Ngugi wa Thiong'o (1993: 25). The article is also intended to define the Xhosa view of justice as a source of universal knowledge and, to follow Ngugi's observation, to illustrate that, "The universal is contained in the particular just as the particular is contained in the universal." (1993: 26).

The twins, Wele and Babini, are involved in a lengthy and bitter dispute over succession to their father's estate. What complicates the issue is that they are twins, which means that they have been born on the same day. Highlighting this point Dalthone (1974/1975: 44) comments thus:

Ntuli and Swanepoel (1993: 31) see the story as, "a classical novel based on civil justice among the Xhosa, exemplified by the dispute between male twins over who, as the elder, was entitled to their father's inheritance." On their birth their mother experiences complications, when one baby's hand comes out first. Immediately one of the midwives cuts one of the unborn baby's fingers thereby performing the custom of ingqithi (the ritual cutting of a finger). Soon the hand withdraws and the baby who is born subsequently is in possession of all his fingers. Hours later the baby with a cut finger is also born. This sparks off a dispute among the midwives. Teyase, the chief witness in court and one of the senior midwives who have assisted in the birth of the twins says (9): "Ewe, ikhe yakho ingxumbungxumbu enjalo, besithi abanye ngulo omkhulu, besithi abanye ngulowa" ("Yes, there was such a disagreement, some saying the heir is this one and others saying it is that one.")

The title of Mqhayi's book bears the essence of what the Xhosa people perceive as the mechanism of justice. The Xhosa word ityala means "a lawsuit", and the term does not distinguish in this instance between a civil case and a criminal case. This is, therefore, a neutral term that in its detachment generates the quality of balance and even-handedness. If the writer had used the term ingxabano (a dispute), it would probably imply that both twins may to some degree be at fault, but what is likely to count in favour of one of them is the weight of argument he presents in court. As the title stands, it bears the principle that both the complainant and the defendant weigh evenly on the scale of justice and none of either of them is condemned before the trial. This is in agreement with the prevailing principle in the western system of justice, namely, that everybody is equal before the law, and that a person is innocent until s/ he is proven otherwise. Thus the universality of the principle borne by the Xhosa word ityala is evident. In fact it echoes Ngugi's comment about the universal being in the particular and vice versa.

The abovementioned procedure is an indication that court business is regarded as a serious matter among the Xhosa people. In this way Solilo easily associates this Xhosa traditional court procedure with the western court proceedings and translates umSila weNgwe as the summons (uyisamani). Right from the beginning of Mqhayi's story (1) we come across a carefully worded court dialogue which represents the initiation of the complainant's affidavit:

Here Mqhayi is careful to represent the true circumstances experienced in a court case and succeeds in highlighting the technicalities of this court procedure. He cleverly refrains from analysing or attempting to explain the procedure. This, the reader ought to discover himself/herself. What is clear from this dialogue is the determination of the court official not to utter anything that will prejudice the case before it is even tried. The court official makes use of a neutral utterance in his manner of extracting the initial statement from the complainant. The utterance, 'Hambisa! (proceed), remains non-committal and almost completely detached.

The complainant's language also remains unemotional and highly technical, and, on the surface of his speech, he keeps his distance by refraining from making a direct appeal for sympathy to the court official. He uses highly technical terms like Ndimangele, undixhomile and ukholosile. Normally, the term ukukholosa means 'to rely on', but in the context of Wele's statement it probably means 'he presumes to be the heir'. It would appear that by referring to the court as his home when he says, "Ndithi ke le nto mandiyizise koweth' apha, size kuyiconjululelwa!" he is in fact appealing for sympathy, but then he quickly covers that up by including his brother in his reference to home when he says, "size kuyiconjululelwa!" ("so that it can be solved for us.") Indeed the great place is regarded as the home of all Xhosa people and the king is seen as the father of the nation. Thus the Xhosa court differs from the western court which is seen as indifferent to the citizens in its application of justice. The latter does not mount to what a person can call home. During the trial Ndlombose, one of the court councillors confirms the idea of the king's court being home to his people when he says: "Akukho sifuna ukumona kwaba bantwana; ngabethu, siyabazala - siyabazala - siyabazala"(11). ("We do not wish to deal unfairly with any of these children; they are ours, we have born them - we have born them - we have born them.") Concerning the language and culture in Mqhayi's novelette, Gerard (1993: 78) observes:

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