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Thabang Maje #1
Ancient Rites
Thabang Maje, retired schoolteacher and part-time private eye, is contacted by Regional Education Director J. B. M. Motau to solve the case of a missing schoolteacher, Mamorena Marumo. There are two complicating firstly, Thabang was in love with the elusive and bewitching Mamo when they were both teenagers; and, secondly, to complete his task, he’ll have to enrolll as an under-cover primary-school teacher in the far-flung village of Marakong-a-Badimo, near Mafikeng.
It doesn’t take long before he is affected by the strange atmosphere of the the villagers are secretive, there are kinship ties he cannot fathom and bonds of loyalty that stretch far back into the mists of time. Rumors of serial murders of prostitutes on the Botswana highway complicate his task, but it is not until he hears the history of the village from an old, old man that he realizes how far out of his depth he really is.
But there is still his ex-lover to find, and a mysterious child might just provide the answer. And then there is that mesmerizing drumming coming from far away in the mountains . . .
It doesn’t take long before he is affected by the strange atmosphere of the the villagers are secretive, there are kinship ties he cannot fathom and bonds of loyalty that stretch far back into the mists of time. Rumors of serial murders of prostitutes on the Botswana highway complicate his task, but it is not until he hears the history of the village from an old, old man that he realizes how far out of his depth he really is.
But there is still his ex-lover to find, and a mysterious child might just provide the answer. And then there is that mesmerizing drumming coming from far away in the mountains . . .
- GenresAfrica
171 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2011
14 people want to read
About the author
Diale Tlholwe
4 booksDiale Tlholwe was born in 1961 in Meyerton and went to primary school in Alexandra Township and Mofolo, Soweto. He began his law studies at the University of Fort Hare in 1980 but did not return after one of the mass expulsions at the University. He took up teaching and earned a diploma in journalism through the Argus Journalism Cadet School. Later Thlolwe became a client and local government liaison officer for a consultancy company. His first novel, Ancient Rites, also featuring PI Thabang Maje, was published by Kwela Books in 2008. Tlholwe was awarded the 2010 South African Literary Award (SALA) for a First-time Published Author for Ancient Rites.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 25, 2015
Ancient Rites is an absolute gem. I discovered it just the other day at Bargain Books. When I saw the book, I remembered I had read a review on it ages ago (probably around 2008 when it was published) and had put it on my TBR list but had never come across it in a book shop. It is said to be a detective novel which it certainly is not. It seems if a novel has a character that is a detective and a murder is committed then, lo and behold, it’s a detective novel. The writers chosen to comment on the book in the flyleaf are crime novelists such as Deon Meyer, Margie Orford and Mike Nicol. Perhaps the idea is that, as crime novels sell well, this is a good way to market the book. This is quite misleading as Ancient Rites is more than this; it’s about relationships and their undercurrents, it’s about the hybridisation of cultures, it’s about vocation and healing, and how to find meaning in our mixed-up world. One could even argue that it is a feminist novel as it subverts the usual male domination one expects to find in a community such as this.
Thabang Maje, the main protagonist, is a burnt out disillusioned teacher who ‘prematurely retired from teaching’ and works for private investigators chasing debt and the like. He is asked to go to Marakong near Mafikeng to investigate the disappearance of a teacher, Mamo. This teacher happens to be someone he knew and loved at university. He is introduced to the primary school and the community as a temporary replacement for the missing educator, his undercover guise. He first meets one of his pupils, Jan-Jan Mothibi, a boy with the ‘delicate features of the Khoesan’ and recognises in him ‘the look of a people who sensed that when humanity finally gathered around the last fire, they may be absent, their tongues long stilled and their last prayers heard’. This sentence cut me to the quick with its evocation of last days couched in lyrical language. There are many examples of this sort of writing that jolt the reader into deep recognition of his meaning. Yet this is counterpointed by extremely funny descriptions of other people and situations.
He then is introduced to the other two educators. The drawing of these characters is marvellous; Tlholwe does not simply describe the characters but in a few words manages to contextualise them so the reader almost immediately knows and can visualise the characters; men with their pretensions, their idiosyncrasies and their conceits laid bare; these ‘three African men standing in the cold in a barren school yard on the edge of the new South Africa, trying to look dignified.” His dry, sarcastic wit that describes their actions is both amusing and apt but there is an underlying affection and knowingness in his mockery.
It seems as if Maje does not investigate so much as he is investigated. The Molefe family, to which Mamo belongs, draws him in and he learns a little of the dynamics between two small villages where rumour and superstition have been fuelled to create tension that leads to tragedy. Furthermore, as well as Mamo being missing, prostitutes have been murdered. Maje visits the nearest town, Bullsdrift and consults with the police officer, a woman who makes him question his prejudices towards policewoman, a woman who he recognises is “helplessly watching her community slide towards dissolution”. The female characters in this novel are very strong, though not without flaws, while most of the male characters are insecure in one way or another beneath their blustering masks.
Maje’s investigation becomes an exploration of the people and their various circumstances; his thoughts on everything he sees are a social commentary illuminating the effects of modernity on society. He learns much about himself too, progressing from spending a lot of time “excavating fragments of a bitter-sweet past” to a mental state where he could see his future more positively. It is this that puts the novel into a category other than crime fiction. For some reason, I am reminded of Bessie Head’s, Mara. Perhaps this is due to the setting being close to Botswana and the people being Batswana with a sprinkling of Khoesan. The writing is rich and lyrical with creative, unusual metaphors. It is these aspects that transport me to a different world. I feel a part of it. This is what I love about reading when the writing is good.
Thabang Maje, the main protagonist, is a burnt out disillusioned teacher who ‘prematurely retired from teaching’ and works for private investigators chasing debt and the like. He is asked to go to Marakong near Mafikeng to investigate the disappearance of a teacher, Mamo. This teacher happens to be someone he knew and loved at university. He is introduced to the primary school and the community as a temporary replacement for the missing educator, his undercover guise. He first meets one of his pupils, Jan-Jan Mothibi, a boy with the ‘delicate features of the Khoesan’ and recognises in him ‘the look of a people who sensed that when humanity finally gathered around the last fire, they may be absent, their tongues long stilled and their last prayers heard’. This sentence cut me to the quick with its evocation of last days couched in lyrical language. There are many examples of this sort of writing that jolt the reader into deep recognition of his meaning. Yet this is counterpointed by extremely funny descriptions of other people and situations.
He then is introduced to the other two educators. The drawing of these characters is marvellous; Tlholwe does not simply describe the characters but in a few words manages to contextualise them so the reader almost immediately knows and can visualise the characters; men with their pretensions, their idiosyncrasies and their conceits laid bare; these ‘three African men standing in the cold in a barren school yard on the edge of the new South Africa, trying to look dignified.” His dry, sarcastic wit that describes their actions is both amusing and apt but there is an underlying affection and knowingness in his mockery.
It seems as if Maje does not investigate so much as he is investigated. The Molefe family, to which Mamo belongs, draws him in and he learns a little of the dynamics between two small villages where rumour and superstition have been fuelled to create tension that leads to tragedy. Furthermore, as well as Mamo being missing, prostitutes have been murdered. Maje visits the nearest town, Bullsdrift and consults with the police officer, a woman who makes him question his prejudices towards policewoman, a woman who he recognises is “helplessly watching her community slide towards dissolution”. The female characters in this novel are very strong, though not without flaws, while most of the male characters are insecure in one way or another beneath their blustering masks.
Maje’s investigation becomes an exploration of the people and their various circumstances; his thoughts on everything he sees are a social commentary illuminating the effects of modernity on society. He learns much about himself too, progressing from spending a lot of time “excavating fragments of a bitter-sweet past” to a mental state where he could see his future more positively. It is this that puts the novel into a category other than crime fiction. For some reason, I am reminded of Bessie Head’s, Mara. Perhaps this is due to the setting being close to Botswana and the people being Batswana with a sprinkling of Khoesan. The writing is rich and lyrical with creative, unusual metaphors. It is these aspects that transport me to a different world. I feel a part of it. This is what I love about reading when the writing is good.
May 1, 2025
An excellent, fast-paced mystery with a unique setting and characters.
A private investigator from Johannesburg is hired to look into the disappearance of a school teacher and old acquaintance from a small village near Mafikeng. With the help of the ambitious but bullish Regional Educational Director, Thabang Maje gets a substitute teaching position at the school where the missing Mamorena Marumo taught. Upon his arrival, he meets a strange cast of characters, including the awkward school principal, two odd school teachers, and the mysterious Molefe clan who live in the village of Marakong-a-Badimo.
Marumo's disappearance turns out to be stranger than what Maje could ever have anticipated, and he soon finds himself in over his head.
This is Diale Tlholwe's first novel, and it's a masterpiece. His writing sucks you in and makes you feel like you're there in rural North West, watching the drama unfold. The characters are well developed, and each occupy a perfect niche in the story. The story explores themes of love, loss of tradition, and the opportunities and struggles of a newly freed people.
This is a uniquely South African story, but readers from other countries will also enjoy it because it's that good!
A private investigator from Johannesburg is hired to look into the disappearance of a school teacher and old acquaintance from a small village near Mafikeng. With the help of the ambitious but bullish Regional Educational Director, Thabang Maje gets a substitute teaching position at the school where the missing Mamorena Marumo taught. Upon his arrival, he meets a strange cast of characters, including the awkward school principal, two odd school teachers, and the mysterious Molefe clan who live in the village of Marakong-a-Badimo.
Marumo's disappearance turns out to be stranger than what Maje could ever have anticipated, and he soon finds himself in over his head.
This is Diale Tlholwe's first novel, and it's a masterpiece. His writing sucks you in and makes you feel like you're there in rural North West, watching the drama unfold. The characters are well developed, and each occupy a perfect niche in the story. The story explores themes of love, loss of tradition, and the opportunities and struggles of a newly freed people.
This is a uniquely South African story, but readers from other countries will also enjoy it because it's that good!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews