Sibusiso Nyembezi - a short biography and bibliography of this KwaZulu-Natal author.
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Sibusiso Nyembezi
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Sibusiso Nymebezi (1919-2000) was born in Babanango
and is known as a Zulu novelist, poet, scholar, teacher
and editor.
The second of four brothers, Cyril Nyembezi attended local
primary schools, then
went to Mariannhill for high school. He received a B.A.
from the University of
South Africa in 1946, and his B.A. Honours in 1947 from
the
University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. From 1948 to
1953, Nyembezi was a
lecturer in the Department of Bantu Studies, at the
University of Witwatersrand, teaching Zulu and
Xhosa. He took an M.A. at Wits in 1954 and the next year
was
appointed to the lecturing staff at the University College
of Fort Hare, remaining
there until 1959
when he resigned in protest against the restrictive new
policies being enforced at Fort
Hare by the government. Others who resigned were Ambrose
Phahle, Ethan Mayisele,
and Selbourne Ngcobo. Out of work for a period, he took an
editorial job with
the publishers Shuter and Shooter in Pietermaritzburg,
where he stayed until he
retired.
Selected WorkFrom Zulu Proverbs (1954)
(B) UBUQILI (Cunning)
1. Iqil' elintethe zosiwa muva (He is the crafty
one whose locusts
are roasted last).
Locusts were, and still are, eaten by some people,
especially boys.
When out herding, boys run after locusts, and when they
catch them, they push a
sharp stick through the thorax until there is a whole row
of locusts. When they
have collected enough, they make fire and roast them. A
wily one will not allow
his locusts to be roasted first. The practice is that
everyone partakes of the
locusts which have been collected by the others. It is
possible, therefore, by
careful manoeuvring, to save one's locusts until the very
end, when it is
probable that the others have had enough and do not want
more.
Thus the cunning one has all his locusts to himself.
The proverb is used of a person who is keen to benefit
from and by the efforts
of others, but is reluctant to allow others to have
anything from him. He
behaves in the same way as the boy who wants the locusts
of others, but keeps
his own for himself.
2. Iqili lidliwa ngamany' amagili (A crafty person
is consumed by other
crafty people).
The English say, "Set a thief to catch a thief."
A crafty person employs cunning
to outwit other people. Because he knows the tricks of the
trade, he will be
able to catch other tricksters.
3. Amaqili kalali ndlininye (Crafty people do not
share the same
bedroom).
Crafty people live by outwitting others. They choose for
their victims the
unsuspecting who fall easy prey. A crafty person, however,
will see through the
cunning of another.
The crafty, therefore, cannot feel happy in each other's
company. BibliographyNOVELS
1950. Mntanami! Mntanami! (Later
entitled Ushicilelo lwesithathu in third printing,
1965)
1953.
Ubudoda
abukhulelwa.
1961. Inkinsela
yase Mgungundlovu.
POETRY
1963. Imisebe yelanga.
1963. Amahlunga aluhlaza.
FOLKLORE
1954. Zulu Proverbs.
1958. Izibongo zamakhosi.
1966. Inqolobane yesizwe, (with Otty Ezrom
Nxumalo).
TRANSLATION
1958. Cry, The Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, into
Zulu as Lafa elihle
kakhulu.
ZULU LANGUAGE STUDIES
1956. Uhlelo lwesiZulu.
1958. Learn Zulu.
n.d. Compact Zulu Dictionary.
For more information please visit
KZN Literary
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