James Shadrack Mkhulunyelwa Matsebula (1918 - 1993) was a Swazi linguist, writer and historian best known for the A History of Swaziland editions.Eldredge EA. Interviewees from the James Stuart Collection of Oral Traditions. In: Kingdoms and Chiefdoms of Southeastern Africa: Oral Traditions and History, 1400–1830. Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora. Boydell & Brewer; (2015). p.p.339 He worked as King Sobhuza II's private secretary. Dorothy C. Woodson (1991). The J. S. M. Matsebula Collection at the University of Swaziland, History in Africa, Vol. 18 (1991), pp. 381-397, Cambridge University Press
Matsebula served for many years as a close adviser, private secretary and chief counsellor to King Sobhuza II.
He authored several editions of A History of Swaziland, which became one of the most widely used historical works on the Kingdom of Eswatini, and helped establish orthography for Siswati literature. In 1952, Matsebula published Izakhiwo zamaSwazi ("The Origins of the Swazi"), an early historical work examining Swazi origins and social structures.
He was a great-grandson of Gcina Matsebula, the first headman of Embhuleni royal village. Matsebula, JSM (1988). Page 46
In 1989, Matsebula donated a substantial collection of work to the library of the University of Eswatini, termed the J.S.M. Matsebula Collection, which includes Matsebula’s papers and manuscripts as well as official correspondence from the mid-19th century.
Works
Matsebula, J.S.M. (1952). Izakhiwo ZamaSwazi. Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel Matsebula, J.S.M. (1972). A History of Swaziland. 1st edition. Longman Penguin Southern Africa: Cape Town. Matsebula, J.S.M. (1976). A History of Swaziland. 2rd edition. Longman Penguin Southern Africa: Cape Town. Matsebula, J.S.M. (1988). A History of Swaziland. 3rd edition. Longman Penguin Southern Africa: Cape Town. J.S.M. Matsebula Collection (1989)
References