What do you think?
Rate this book
Chasing the Tails of my Father's Cattle
“He reached down, softly laid a hand on the swaddling and said, ‘Here’s Shumikazi, Miseka.’ In that moment of sacred oneness, he beheld the dead-lips, bent down to her ear, and whispered, ‘Miseka … here is Shumikazi.”
This is the story of Shumikazi, the only surviving child of Jojo and Miseka. She grows up in a small village in the remote Eastern Cape during the days of white rule – from the outside, an apparently unremarkable life. And yet Shumi is marked for extraordinary things from the moment of her birth.
Wry, tragic, funny, scathing, with a Greek chorus of villagers’ voices, this rich new novel from one of South Africa’s most beloved storytellers underscores the dignity of those often rendered invisible – poor, rural women, their families and communities. These marginal characters crackle with life and verve as they step into the centre of the national narrative in Magona’s skilled hands. A powerful meditation on the vulnerability of rural women, it is also a series of overlapping love stories – above all, the love a father has for his daughter.
“Chasing the Tails of My Father’s Cattle is not like anything else I have seen. Such a little story, about such little, invisible people. Such a huge story, about such timeless, recognisable people. It has the feel of a Greek tragedy, complete with clucking chorus, but with more optimism. And what an extraordinary tale of the vast majority of women’s lives in this country. What a powerful, non-preachy meditation on the vulnerability of rural women in traditional cultures.” – Helen Moffett
This is the story of Shumikazi, the only surviving child of Jojo and Miseka. She grows up in a small village in the remote Eastern Cape during the days of white rule – from the outside, an apparently unremarkable life. And yet Shumi is marked for extraordinary things from the moment of her birth.
Wry, tragic, funny, scathing, with a Greek chorus of villagers’ voices, this rich new novel from one of South Africa’s most beloved storytellers underscores the dignity of those often rendered invisible – poor, rural women, their families and communities. These marginal characters crackle with life and verve as they step into the centre of the national narrative in Magona’s skilled hands. A powerful meditation on the vulnerability of rural women, it is also a series of overlapping love stories – above all, the love a father has for his daughter.
“Chasing the Tails of My Father’s Cattle is not like anything else I have seen. Such a little story, about such little, invisible people. Such a huge story, about such timeless, recognisable people. It has the feel of a Greek tragedy, complete with clucking chorus, but with more optimism. And what an extraordinary tale of the vast majority of women’s lives in this country. What a powerful, non-preachy meditation on the vulnerability of rural women in traditional cultures.” – Helen Moffett
- GenresSouth Africa
307 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2015
About the author
Sindiwe Magona
61 books91 followersSindiwe Magona is a South African writer.
Magona is a native of the former Transkei region. She grew up in Bouvlei near Cape Town, where she worked as a domestic and completed her secondary education by correspondence. Magona later graduated from the University of South Africa and earned her Masters of Science in Organisational Social Work from Columbia University.
She starred as Singisa in the isiXhosa classic drama Ityala Lamawele.
She worked in various capacities for the United Nations for over 20 years, retiring in 2003.
In the 2013 computer-animated adventure comedy film Khumba she was the voice actor for the character Gemsbok Healer.
She is Writer-in-Residence at the University of the Western Cape and has been a visiting Professor working at Georgia State University.
Magona is a native of the former Transkei region. She grew up in Bouvlei near Cape Town, where she worked as a domestic and completed her secondary education by correspondence. Magona later graduated from the University of South Africa and earned her Masters of Science in Organisational Social Work from Columbia University.
She starred as Singisa in the isiXhosa classic drama Ityala Lamawele.
She worked in various capacities for the United Nations for over 20 years, retiring in 2003.
In the 2013 computer-animated adventure comedy film Khumba she was the voice actor for the character Gemsbok Healer.
She is Writer-in-Residence at the University of the Western Cape and has been a visiting Professor working at Georgia State University.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 11, 2023
Chasing the Tails of my Father's Cattle is a sad read. It is mainly a story of a single father (Jojo), who went against custom and tradition, to better raise and build a good future for his girl child. To me, he was a feminist and person with vision. However, things did not go as he wished, and part of the reason is due to what his daughter (Shumikazi/Nokufa), did when her life circumstances changed. I learned a lot about our African ways, within the context of the Xhosa nation, and enjoyed the plot of this novel a lot, and the values it is trying to promote, mainly being the concept of Ubuntu. However, the book starts with a prologue but has no epilogue at the end, which I somehow found every strange. Overall, I highly recommend this book, especially for those who are interested in the Xhosa language and its customs, which are very similar to most African one's.
Read
July 20, 2016My interview with the author: bit.ly/29U6x99
– That for the heart to sing, it must put away all that taints it: those punishments meted out by a life lived, the grievances, the indignities, in all their manifestations, that are our lot. –
–There are times when only the vast ocean of timelessness can wash away sorrow, when its unceasing agitation, ageless roar and blinding blueness are the sole slave for a wounded spirit. –
– A child is a child is a child, no matter the gender. –
– Women are encouraged, if not coerced, to follow the rules society has set for them. –
– Husbands returning from mines wanted, expected docile wives, docile as the youthful maidens they had married and soon left. But a wife left husbandless soon gets used to do things her way, getting on with the business of getting on. –
– That for the heart to sing, it must put away all that taints it: those punishments meted out by a life lived, the grievances, the indignities, in all their manifestations, that are our lot. –
–There are times when only the vast ocean of timelessness can wash away sorrow, when its unceasing agitation, ageless roar and blinding blueness are the sole slave for a wounded spirit. –
– A child is a child is a child, no matter the gender. –
– Women are encouraged, if not coerced, to follow the rules society has set for them. –
– Husbands returning from mines wanted, expected docile wives, docile as the youthful maidens they had married and soon left. But a wife left husbandless soon gets used to do things her way, getting on with the business of getting on. –
January 3, 2022
Starting my year out with a 4 and I really hope it's 4s all year round.
Okay, this book has a sweet spot and it's maybe cause the language used (I think it's Xhosa) is somewhat similar to my mother tongue. So, when some words were written in the vernacular, I would read them and my brain would translate it to what I knew because it was that similar.
Besides that language this book also made me cry. You might not think it but it had its soft spots. Especially when Sivuka, Jojo's heard boy came to No'orenji and brought sheep for her. Or when the whole village came together and helped build back want was once a greet homestead.
I honestly loved reading it and the author is a great story teller as each chapter had me hooked. Yet a lot was unclear as it was written with a certain understanding that was assumed the reader would have. Maybe it is because it was written for a South African reader but I made due with the knowledge I had.
Okay, this book has a sweet spot and it's maybe cause the language used (I think it's Xhosa) is somewhat similar to my mother tongue. So, when some words were written in the vernacular, I would read them and my brain would translate it to what I knew because it was that similar.
Besides that language this book also made me cry. You might not think it but it had its soft spots. Especially when Sivuka, Jojo's heard boy came to No'orenji and brought sheep for her. Or when the whole village came together and helped build back want was once a greet homestead.
I honestly loved reading it and the author is a great story teller as each chapter had me hooked. Yet a lot was unclear as it was written with a certain understanding that was assumed the reader would have. Maybe it is because it was written for a South African reader but I made due with the knowledge I had.
January 12, 2016
I couldn't put this book down. A beautifully put together tale of loss, courage and resilience. An affirming story of the strength and power of women to thrive in the most unfavourable conditions made worse by backward traditions bent on holding women back and keeping them downtrodden. I held back the one star for the niggling proofreading errors and nothing else.
July 21, 2016
I loved this book. Simultaneously celebrates and critiques traditional customs especially the effect of this on women. It is set in rural Eastern Cape in the earlier part of the 20th Century. We are lucky that Sindiwe Magona wrote this book as, although fiction, it provides a record of a way of life that is dying out .
August 12, 2019
Unique in my reading, a splendid multi-generational story of life in a Xhosa village. With quite large amounts of Xhosa interpolated in a way that makes the whole work like poetry.
Moving and gripping with strong characters, and, I suppose, some of the real background to the public history of 20th century South Africa.
Moving and gripping with strong characters, and, I suppose, some of the real background to the public history of 20th century South Africa.
May 7, 2016
A novel of great importance for the understanding of the plight of Xhosa women in the twentieth century. A beautiful tale of a father's love for his daughter. A brave woman's journey, written by one of South Africa's bravest storytellers.
July 28, 2020
The title threw me off, the first three or so years I had this book, but what a book!
So much grief and loss, betrayal and bitterness, the reality of life really not owing anyone favours — no matter how much you keep reading hoping someone will catch a break.
But also, so much love and sweetness in the relationships Shumi shared with her father, her grandmother, and her husband. And, of course, her ever-present guide.
What a refreshing story, for a father to want to free his daughter from the ties of patriarchy in a time when that’s all everyone knew!
This is also such a great lesson in the WHYs of the traditions and the culture we carry. Author Sindiwe Magona has really explained that part well, giving so much important context to the time.
So much grief and loss, betrayal and bitterness, the reality of life really not owing anyone favours — no matter how much you keep reading hoping someone will catch a break.
But also, so much love and sweetness in the relationships Shumi shared with her father, her grandmother, and her husband. And, of course, her ever-present guide.
What a refreshing story, for a father to want to free his daughter from the ties of patriarchy in a time when that’s all everyone knew!
This is also such a great lesson in the WHYs of the traditions and the culture we carry. Author Sindiwe Magona has really explained that part well, giving so much important context to the time.
November 22, 2019
I wanted to give this book 4 stars, that was while I had read a good bit of it, and had forgiven some of the things I found to diminish my enjoyment. I am not a fan of long chapters, but I can tolerate a mixture of long and short chapters. This book has long chapters and sometimes feels long-winded and anthropological. It is also annoying to have to read the same thing twice because of the translation of isiXhosa phrases. It's a saga of note, starts off slow but towards the end time moves fast, almost like it needed to be wrapped up quickly because it had taken so long to pick up pace and show direction.
Enjoy reading it.
Enjoy reading it.
December 20, 2020
Indeed no man is an island, this is a true exemplary that you get help from people who are not your family than you do from your family. Shumi entrusted her eldest father with her inheritance yr he couldn’t even provide her with a good wedding. I take it the uncle was always jealous of his younger brother’s herd. In the end it shows that when your still shining don’t forget your people, what happened to welile’s cattle in the end with the disease it’s karma . Uncles though 😭😭😭😭
January 20, 2025
Most beautifully written piece of literature I have read yet, albeit not the most interesting storyline, still very interesting regardless. The way the author breathes life into each and every character and makes them 3D regardless of scale or significance makes this a very easy to recommend read, especially those with an interest in Nguni languages as some of the dialogue and idioms are in isiXhosa—with translations obviously.
January 1, 2025
I read this book to start the new year and was shocked at how quickly I finished it. This book made me laugh at moments, but I think not one chapter passed where I didn’t cry. Shumi’s life, from start to end, is a testament of what love can help carry us through - even when all odds are against us.
June 28, 2019
Started slowly, but then I couldn't put it down. A good insight into the lives of the families of migrant labour.
February 27, 2024
Easily in my top 5 of favourite books 📚
August 5, 2016
MamSindiwe Magoma is a true storyteller, she depicts every detail so that you can see it clearly. I loved the isiXhosa depictions throughout and loved the fact that she explains the Xhosa themes to ensure you understand.
Sindiwe Magona’s Chasing the Tails of my Father’s Cattle is set in the village of Zenzele, near Mthatha in the 1930s. This novel talks about a story of love, loss, triumphs and general life challenges. A young couple Jojo and Simeka give birth to a baby girl, the only surviving child of the couple following a stream of nine miscarriages, Simeka named the child Shumikazi and then she departed. Jojo was working in Johannesburg at the mines underground but after the sad passing of the love of his life he is no longer keen and considering returning home to raise and care for his love child Shumi who is growing up being raised by his mother-in-law.
Before Miseka’s passing, Jojo was blessed with a powerful wife who worked to keep the fields cultivated and a growing herd. Following Miseka’s passing Jojo decided to leave his job at the mines to come back home and raise his daughter. He straddles the culture and the changing times, ensures his daughter gets an education, something unheard of – educating and investing in a girl child.
Jojo has two brothers who are very traditional and wield extreme power over their wives and they stay in the same homestead nearby Jojo’s house. They all lost their parent from an early age and are united in keeping raising their family as a unit.
Shumi grows up very closely watched and cared for by her grandmother but is despised by her unclu’s wives until her father fetches her for good. She develops a very close relationship with her dad and is educated at good schools until her father meets his untimely death due to silicosis. She is married away by her uncles and her dream of completing school is never realized. She moves to her marital homestead having handed over all her inheritance to her uncle to start a new life.
She loves her husband and bear children by him until his untimely death at the mines. At a very young age Shumi is widowed and her husband’s younger brother sees this an opportunity to take her as his wife, Shumi has no interest and has decided to move back home after mourning the death of her husband.
She is not prepared for what lies ahead, her home as she knew is no more, it is now dilapidated, a shadow of what her home was. She worked hard to revive her home and start from scratch. She had learned so much from her father about herding and planting, but needed support to start over. She approached her uncle for her inheritance and there was none forthcoming….hence the title.
Sindiwe Magona’s Chasing the Tails of my Father’s Cattle is set in the village of Zenzele, near Mthatha in the 1930s. This novel talks about a story of love, loss, triumphs and general life challenges. A young couple Jojo and Simeka give birth to a baby girl, the only surviving child of the couple following a stream of nine miscarriages, Simeka named the child Shumikazi and then she departed. Jojo was working in Johannesburg at the mines underground but after the sad passing of the love of his life he is no longer keen and considering returning home to raise and care for his love child Shumi who is growing up being raised by his mother-in-law.
Before Miseka’s passing, Jojo was blessed with a powerful wife who worked to keep the fields cultivated and a growing herd. Following Miseka’s passing Jojo decided to leave his job at the mines to come back home and raise his daughter. He straddles the culture and the changing times, ensures his daughter gets an education, something unheard of – educating and investing in a girl child.
Jojo has two brothers who are very traditional and wield extreme power over their wives and they stay in the same homestead nearby Jojo’s house. They all lost their parent from an early age and are united in keeping raising their family as a unit.
Shumi grows up very closely watched and cared for by her grandmother but is despised by her unclu’s wives until her father fetches her for good. She develops a very close relationship with her dad and is educated at good schools until her father meets his untimely death due to silicosis. She is married away by her uncles and her dream of completing school is never realized. She moves to her marital homestead having handed over all her inheritance to her uncle to start a new life.
She loves her husband and bear children by him until his untimely death at the mines. At a very young age Shumi is widowed and her husband’s younger brother sees this an opportunity to take her as his wife, Shumi has no interest and has decided to move back home after mourning the death of her husband.
She is not prepared for what lies ahead, her home as she knew is no more, it is now dilapidated, a shadow of what her home was. She worked hard to revive her home and start from scratch. She had learned so much from her father about herding and planting, but needed support to start over. She approached her uncle for her inheritance and there was none forthcoming….hence the title.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews