How did a teenage girl cause the death of 40,000 of her own people in 1856 – and why do some compare her to an African Joan of Arc or Greta Thunberg? Was she a black liberation leader, a malicious liar or the disruptor of a conservative patriarchal society?

Join Treive Nicholas on a moving physical and spiritual journey from the Wild Coast of South Africa to a highly symbolic grave in Cambridgeshire, England as he searches for the infamous teenage prophetess Nongqawuse – leader of the popular mass movement known at the Great Cattle Killing (1856–57). Fate is his constant companion, gently leading him to the rivers, woods and pastures where mercurial spirits, kings, prophets, witchdoctors and colonial leaders played out this visceral African story in the cauldron of nine wars, settler invasion and cruel natural disasters. The ripples of this almost unbelievable tragedy are still felt today.

On the grassy hills of the Eastern Cape, Treive concludes the South African leg of his pilgrimage, holding an open-air court at the grave of the revered amaXhosa ruler, King Hintsa. The verdict on his death? Bloody regicide, at the hands of Sir Harry Smith, the Hero of Aliwal and darling of Victorian society.

After recovering from four tropical diseases, and much to Treive’s great surprise, the journey does not end there. Instead, it all comes uncomfortably closer to home. Much closer.

About Treive…

He trained as a research scientist in chemistry and biology, before leading an international career in commerce. He’s travelled extensively worldwide, but has a particular interest in the Eastern Cape. Treive is the author of A Nun and the Pig. Tales from South Africa (Jonathan Ball, 2021) about his time working as a teacher to Black students in Mthatha in 1980.

In Search of Nongqawuse was researched in the field with the support and comradeship of the Border Historical Society.

Over the years he has been stalked by a jaguar in the Amazon, charged at by a rhino in Namibia and an elephant in Sri Lanka, corralled by oryx in the UAE and come eye to eye with bull sharks on the ocean floor off the coast of Mexico. But he is still here to tell the tale…www.treivenicholas.com.

The book will be available to purchase at the launch

• East London Museum
• Saturday 10th May 2025 at 2:30pm
• Organised by the Border Historical Society
• border.historical.society@gmail.com or 083 284 6173