Boer War Diary: An African at Mafeking

by Sol T. Comaroff John L. (edito Plaatje, John L. Comaroff (editor)

“Sol Plaatje’s Mafeking Diary is a document of enduring importance and fascination. The product of a young black South African court interpreter, just turned 23 years old when he started writing, it opens an entirely new vista on the famous Siege of Mafeking. By shedding light on the part played by the African population of the town, Plaatje explodes the myth, maintained by belligerents, and long perpetuated by both historians and the popular imagination, this this was a white man’s affair. One of the great epics of British imperial history, and perhaps the best remembered episode of the Anglo-Boer war of 1899–1902, is presented from a wholly novel perspective.

“At the same time, the diary provides an intriguing insight into the character of a young man who was to play a key role in South African political and literary history during the first three decades of this century. It reveals much of the perceptions and motives that shaped his own attitudes and intellectual development and, indeed, those of an early generation of African leaders who sought to build a society which did not determine the place of its citizens by the colour of their skin. The diary therefore illuminates the origins of a struggle which continues to this day.”

— John L. Comaroff (ed.) in his preface

Genres: Africa, History

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a diary of Sol T. Plaatje, a black man who lived through the Boer War working for the English and later became an important leader.

It provides an important viewpoint that is scare for the Boer War - the voice of a black man. It also has a lot of action and interesting stories. So many decapitations and other bleedy things.

But, omg is it a boring slog. I fell asleep I don't know how many times and took days to get through the mere 150ish pages. How do you make the horror of a seige with starvation, mass bloodshed, and human connections boring? Mostly you try to act like everything is as normal as possible and write in basic objective language to keep your sanity while trying to survive. So, that's what the never-intended reader gets.

It's also a bit of a difficult read since the author uses many different languages in the telling and the editor includes the explanations at the end in a flurry of additional end notes. Simply putting the translations on the same page would have been such an improvement, and perhaps translated much of the missing humor the editor promised.

The author does distinguish among the multiple native groups involved in the war. However, he maintains his distance in life and in the diary. These groups are obviously separate from him in his mind and "the blacks" are most often referred to as a group to which he doesn't belong. This also reflects reality - because of his position with the British, he has food, albeit much reduced, while these other groups literally drop dead from starvation while petitioning him for more rations. These instances are always unfortunate, but always separate from him and, until the very end of the diary, the actions of the English. This is not to say that he doesn't experience the harsh conditions of shelling and disappearing food supplies. He does eventually succumb to eating horse, and the diary ends weeks before the worst of the seige. But I was expecting this to be much less the lens of the colonizer.

[Bill38silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those fascinated by the so called "last gentleman's war "(the Boer War) this book is based on the diary of a black budding intellectual working as a law court translator on the British side in Mafeking. The immediacy of Plaatje's daily entries offer a personal record of what it was like to be besieged and suffer shell fire each day (except on Sundays when the Sabbath would be observed by both sides).

The Boers, having trapped the townspeople within Mafeking for several months, in effect tied up their own forces that would have been of greater use elsewhere, resorting to largely ineffective random artillery fire and occasional sorties against a well fortified series of defences. Ultimately, only increasing disease and starvation represented the most dangerous threat to the British and the natives within the town : Mafeking was ultimately but slowly relieved by the superior numbers of British reinforcements arriving in South Africa.

There is plenty of interesting material in the daily diary entries. The excellent notes provided by the anthropological author are detailed, sometimes overdone, with translations of native and Dutch words, identification of initials, people or place names and placing the diary entries of life ( and death) in Mafeking in their historic context. A memorable read of the largely forgotten Boer War through the pen and typewriter of a man destined to be a force to be reckoned with in African politics.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply moving snapshot of the Boer-Anglo-African war from an African interpreter who lived through the Mafeking siege. In this work Plaatje does not rail against the treatment of blacks, though his brief comments about their plight are often disturbing. He does give modern readers an idea of what it is like to live in a war zone, under constant bombardment, while hope for an end to the siege constantly retreats. Plaatje, in later life, becomes much more vocal about the evolving plight of the blacks in South Africa. He was a founding member of what became the ANC. Highly educated, his voice is one that deserves to be heard.

[Lawulani Gaba · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is for anybody interested in South African history and politics.
Sol Plaatje's diary shows us the lived experience of a black person during Apartheid.