Abstract This article situates RT Kawa’s Ibali lamaMfengu (1929) as a canonical text of South African historiography, and mfecane historiography in particular. In Ibali lamaMfengu, Kawa attempts to give an account of the origins of amaMfengu clans, who were Mfecane refugees, as well as their political situation, when they were incorporated into the Gcaleka kingdom of King Hintsa in the 1820s and 1830s. Kawa’s work is significant in clarifying key disputes on the origins of amaMfengu although is not comprehensive in detailing their early life amongst amaXhosa. Although a key text, its analysis was not only excluded, but rejected by ‘‘mainstream’’ South African historians in the 1980s and 1990s. This omission resulted in dominant scholarly versions of the Mfecane dismissing the validity of the interpretations and analyses of African writers, in effect, rendering Mfecane historiography a ‘‘white-only’’ debate. I demonstrate in this article that Kawa’s work is in fact, a valid and persuasive history of amaMfengu, and is largely accurate on the basis of their origins, their life under chief Hintsa, and the reasons for their exodus from amaXhosa, that led to their loyalty pledge to the British in 1835.

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寻找本土异见：RT Kawa 的 Mfecane Historiography in Ibali lamaMfengu (1929)

摘要 本文将 RT Kawa 的 Ibali lamaMfengu (1929) 作为南非史学，尤其是 mfecane 史学的经典文本。在 Ibali lamaMfengu 中，Kawa 试图说明 amaMfengu 部落的起源，他们是 Mfecane 难民，以及他们在 1820 年代和 1830 年代并入 Hintsa 国王的 Gcaleka 王国时的政治局势。Kawa 的工作在澄清关于 amaMfengu 起源的关键争议方面具有重要意义，尽管在详细描述他们在 amaXhosa 中的早期生活方面并不全面。虽然是关键文本，但它的分析不仅被排除在外，而且在 1980 年代和 1990 年代被南非“主流”历史学家拒绝。这种遗漏导致 Mfecane 的主流学术版本驳回了非洲作家的解释和分析的有效性，实际上，使 Mfecane 史学成为一场“仅限白人”的辩论。我在这篇文章中证明 Kawa 的作品实际上是一部关于 amaMfengu 的有效且有说服力的历史，并且根据他们的起源、他们在 Hintsa 酋长领导下的生活以及他们从 amaXhosa 出走的原因在很大程度上是准确的1835年向英国效忠。