Gcina Mhlophe, extraordinary storyteller
Eric Khorombi
Vusi Malindi
English
First paragraphs

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This storybook is about Nokugcina Mhlophe.
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She was born in 1958, in KwaZulu-Natal. She was raised by her grandmother.
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Her grandmother used to tell her stories in isiZulu. She told Gcina many stories from a very early age.
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Gcina’s grandmother told her stories in such a way that she could see the pictures in her mind.
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Gcina would listen carefully while her grandmother told a story.
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When Gcina was ten years old, her mother took her to live in the Eastern Cape.
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Gcina grew up with very little entertainment and no television. She grew to love reading books.
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She started to write stories and poetry in isiXhosa.
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At the same time, she was busy with her schoolwork and helped at a church.
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One day, a church minister invited her to join him and his wife at their home.
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The next morning after breakfast, the minister asked Gcina to go with him to a meeting in a nearby village.
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The meeting was at the chief’s place.
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The meeting was about the cattle being allowed to go into the mealie fields.
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While she was there, she saw a man in a bright traditional dress.
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The man was an imbongi. An imbongi is a traditional praise poet and singer who performs at African ceremonies.
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Gcina was impressed by the way the imbongi used his skill and the language. She was introduced to the chief and the imbongi.
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When the imbongi shook her hand, she felt like a poet.
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Gcina decided to become a praise poet.
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By 1979, Gcina moved to Johannesburg, where she worked as a domestic worker. She looked after four naughty children!
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One day, she decided to keep them quiet by telling them a story.
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The story was about Nanabuhlele, the big monster of many colours that lives in water.
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She didn’t know if the children would like her African tales, but soon they were shouting, “Tell us another story!”
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She decided to follow a career of writing stories.
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She wanted to encourage children’s interest in the stories of their grandmothers.
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She started to write children’s books, plays, and many stories and poems.
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One of her first stories was, ‘My Dear Madam.’
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This story is about her life as a domestic worker.
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Another important story from this time is ‘Love Child’, about Gcina’s life.
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Gcina wanted to protect the art of storytelling. With this goal in mind, she started the Zanendaba Institute.
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Zanendaba is an isiZulu word meaning ‘come with the news’ or ‘tell me a story.’
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The Zanendaba Institute trains people who are interested in storytelling and writing.
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Gcina started the Nozincwadi Mother of Books Campaign in 2001.
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Gcina encourages reading by telling stories and writing children’s books.
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She started visiting rural areas in South Africa to share the importance of reading. She also gave books to each school she visited, for their library.
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Gcina acted the lead role in an award-winning play, called ‘Have you seen Zandile?’
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The play is about a little girl who lives with her grandmother in Durban, and then Zandile’s mother takes her to rural Eastern Cape.
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Gcina wrote this play based on her experiences.
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This is what Nokugcina Mhlophe said about her career:
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“I tell stories in order to wake up stories in other people, because I truly believe that every living being has got a story to tell.”
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Do you have any story to tell us?
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——Questions


  1. Who is Gcina Mhlophe?
  2. What made Gcina want to become a poet?
  3. What made Gcina start writing stories?
  4. Find a story written by Gcina and read it out loud.
  5. Write a story about anything that happened in your life.
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——This storybook was created and written in Tshivenḓa, as part of the Zenex Ulwazi Lwethu reading materials project in 2021.


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    Attribution CC BY
    Your attribution should include the following:
    Title: Gcina Mhlophe, extraordinary storyteller
    Author/s: Eric Khorombi
    Translator/s: Eric Khorombi
    Illustrator/s: Vusi Malindi
    Assurer/s: African Storybook
    Language: English

    © Zenex Foundation - Saide 2024

    CC BY includes the following elements:
     BY   – Credit must be given to the creator