The Rhodes Cory Library launch was pleasantly disrupted on Monday when the guests of honour, the Manxiwa family of Willowvale, stopped the proceedings to hand over a cheque of R10 000. The unexpected gift came as a welcome surprise to Prof Jeff Peires, the Head of the Library. “Those who know me,” he said, “know that I am never at a loss for words. But this is something more.” The exchange is seen as a key moment in the building of a new relationship between Cory Library and one of the Eastern Cape’s most esteemed royal families.
The Cory Library celebrated its vast accumulation of genealogical records and illustrations concerning all aspects of Eastern Cape Heritage (including official documents and private papers, politics and literature, isiXhosa and English, churches and schools, colonialism and apartheid, protest and resistance, maps, photographs and genealogies) through the commemoration of a historic 1910 conversation between Sir George Cory, the founder of the Library, and Regent King Manxiwa, the ruler of the amaXhosa.
The commemoration included honoured guests such as six members of the Manxiwa family, Mrs Joan Cory Teeton, the grand-daughter of Sir George, Zolani Mkiva, Imbongi Yesizwe and Advocate Sonwabile Mancotywa, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Heritage Council.
Mancotywa delivered a thought-provoking keynote address bemoaning the fact that South Africans were often found not to be appreciative of their heritage. “Sometimes it is a matter of misunderstanding, sometimes it is a matter of ignorance but either way, it is something that can no longer fall by the wayside”, he said.
Mrs Joan Cory Teeton delivered a heart-wrenching story of how her “Grandpa George” grew up. He lost his family at an early age and struggled to get the schooling he so longed to have. With no heritage and sense of family behind him he reached out to “built bridges”, physically and emotionally, and to understand the history and heritage of the Eastern Cape.
The event commemorated the 101st anniversary of the meeting at Willowvale/Gatyana between Sir George Cory and Regent King Manxiwa. On this occasion, Regent King Manxiwa recited the history of the amaXhosa and Sir George, with the help of the translator, wrote it down.
Much valuable information on sensitive issues such as the murder of King Hintsa in 1835 was therefore saved for posterity and can still be consulted in the Library today.
Prof Russell Kaschula, the master of ceremonies, opened the commemoration by saying that we are still trying to do today, what these two honoured men tried to do 101 years ago. He concluded the event by adding that we cannot move forward without weaving the past into everything we do. We must preserve the past and learn from it.