when the first slave was brought to the cape
he looked at the awesome mountain
which roots us to an eternal beauty
hundreds of years later, and affirmed
i am as free and as tall as this mountain
this mountain is more chained than i am
i will climb to the top one day
and call the adhaan before dawn
my voice will carry across the seas
to my loved ones in a land
i may never see again
and they will know that i
and the treasures i carry within me
are safe and always will be
for as long as beauty
and this mountain survive
I quote one of the finest poems on Cape slaves by South African poet Shabbir Banoobhai. These lines aptly capture the resilience, strength and desire for freedom in enslaved people.
This is what Ashraf Kagee tries to achieve in his recent novel, Song of the Slave Girl .
The novel explores how resilience and freedom work together to become human in a society where slaves have no voices. The question is what is the possibility of envisioning a slaves life in old times?
Can one grab senses, emotions through episodes from the archive? It is not difficult for a writer to do so, especially since writers suffering from apartheid brutality can easily tap into archives and construct the imagined past.
Slave narratives were always captivating because of their accounts standing for history as well. In South African literature, there are some astonishing novels based on slavery: Andre Brink's Philida and A Chain Of Voices and Rayda Jacob's Slave Book can be cited as the most engaging historical novels of Cape Slaves.
Recently, a brilliant novel based on slavery emerged in West Africa - Yoruba Boy Running by Nigerian novelist Biyi Bandele.
These novels not only recount historical events but also explore the psychological depths of the characters, making the past accessible and immersive. Slave narratives are part of our history, a silenced part of our history, a history we never get to know through official state records or archives.
Song of the Slave Girl hardly qualifies to be a historical novel it shifts away from historical details, focusing on feelings. It is definitely a psychological novel. As a professor of psychology, Ashraf Kagee dives into feelings, emotions and personal interactions in a remote past. For Capetonians, I believe this is not a distant past but an uncomfortably close present, which has been invisibilised.
Since the whole city is built on the shoulders of slaves, it is a haunting daily reminder. Every inch of the city is marked by slave labour. I believe this novel is a tribute to the ancestors who had been rendered voiceless, those whose stories remain untold.
The novel invites readers to feel the spiritual being of slaves and relate to their experiences that resonate with the present day.
It is a story of love and faith. The novel follows a young boy, Meraj's ambitious journey through love and loss in a gripping tale. Though the title indicates the slave girl, Meraj's lover, the novel is centered on the tragic story of Meraj.
It is a coming of age story.
At his early age, he becomes curious about the world and passionate about knowing. He is fortunate to be allowed by his master to attend church classes, learning how to read, count and write. He manages to read a classic novel, Robinson Crusoe after classes. He keeps reading it over and over.
Through reading he simply embodies a sense of rebellion and freedom, which infuriates his actions later on.
Being a smart, hard worker and honest man on a farm is the only goal in his life, in which he succeeds very well.
Until the moment he bumps into Djameela who works on a farm nearby, he doesn't know his life will be subjected to his affection years after when he sees her again.
He becomes infatuated with her and hopes to see her again. After they get a chance to meet, they become attracted to each other. When his feelings become irresistible after years, since there is no friendship allowed, the only way to be united is a marriage.
In this case, Meraj needs to get permission from his master to get married. The same applies to Djameela. Since slaves are properties of the masters, the news of Djameela being sold to another farm drives Meraj to madness.
He is overwhelmed by his strong feelings towards her. Day by day, he becomes a different man, unrecognisable to those around him and ceases to eat anything despite his mother's care.
He fades into a tiny boy, until he can't even talk and he is left a madman who wanders around seeking his lost lover.
He couldn't overcome his melancholy and consequently couldn't attend to his duties to his master. Later when his master insults him in public, Meraj simply throttles him with
