"I am not from America. I am an African from the amaMpondomise clan. My totem is the brown mole snake, Majola. I believe in him not fo you, not for your fellow villagers but for myself."

This is an account of how one prophecy- or not by Nongqawuse split one nation into two. The supposed prophecy One half believed the prophecy, the other believed she was a porn sent by the brits and lied about how she got the message to manipulate her people into bowing to the coloniser.
 
It shows how the xhosa people lived before, during and after the so called British civilisation ever hit the shores of the coast. It also exposes just how the coast was colonised and it's people deceived. An account of how times have changed and the evolution of the people from both sides of the prophecy or lie- believers and non believers. 

Another thing that stood out for me is how Camagu's South African-ness was questioned given he was in exile, and didnt participate in the struggle to bring SA to its democracy. How he struggled to get a job because he wasnt part of some supposed elite networking group, the fate we still suffer to this day. 

Also how desperate Xoliswa Ximiya to lose who she was as a black Xhosa woman to fit the narrative of black people outside her culture she met briefly in her "travels". Her judgement for people who held on to their tradition and cultural norms bothered me, alot!!!

The book was witty, educational and allowed me to tap into some part of history without being too intense, did not expect the ending at all... At the same time provoked my thought process on the systems in place post-apartheid and if they are really to help everyone or a certain group, alot for me to unpack.