Webinar Reflects on the Lives of Nokutela and Angelina Dube

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The College of Humanities hosted a webinar titled Unsilencing Nokutela and Angelina Dube as part of a four-day event celebrating and commemorating the life of Dr John Langalibalele Dube.

Nokutela and Angelina were strong leaders in their own right as well as supporting the successes of Dr JL Dube.

The event was facilitated by Professor Simangaliso R Kumalo with guest speakers, Professor Heather Hughes of Cultural Heritage Studies at the University of Lincoln, UK and Dr Deborah Mindry, a Research Anthropologist based at the University of California Global Health Institute (UCGHI).

The late Dube’s first wife, Nokutela was born in Inanda, the place that was to shape much of her life. They married in 1894 and were the most prominent Christian family in Inanda.

‘Hers was truly an amazing life, a leader in her own right as well as supporting JL’s momentous achievements. To improve their mission work the Dubes travelled to the USA in 1895. They based themselves in Brooklyn at the Union Missionary Training Institute (UMTI) and set about acquiring further education and travelling extensively to raise funds,’ said Hughes.

According to Hughes, it was rare for Black Africans to undertake such activities in the 1890s - and rarer still for a woman like Nokutela. By all accounts, she spoke with poise and conviction, and also sang.

In 1899, the Dubes returned to South Africa and began to build an industrial school at Inanda. From the start, Nokutela played a leading role. She headed both the domestic and music departments, and under her leadership Ohlange became famous for the musicians it produced, including Reuben Caluza, as well as for her choir, the Inanda Native Singers. Nokutela was the first published African woman composer and also played a role in founding Ilanga lase Natal, the newspaper closely associated with JL Dube’s name.

Hughes said that the process of reclaiming the memory of Nokutela began in earnest in 2011. She was acknowledged in Hughes’ book, The First President: A Life of John L. Dube, Founding President of the ANC and the exact site of her burial was identified. In 2013, many of her relatives, together with the direct descendants of Angelina and John Dube, gathered to unveil a proper tombstone to reclaim her role in South African history and reinsert her memory into South African public life.

‘It is very satisfying that Nokutela’s journey to occupy a proper place in our national memory has taken such huge strides,’ she said.

Mindry noted that very little is known about Dube’s second wife, Angelina Kumalo Dube. ‘The only recording I know of in her voice is a 38-minute interview conducted on 3 March 1979 by A Manson and D Collins with R Mngomezulu as interpreter, archived in the Killie Campbell Museum in Durban.’

Mindry described Angelina as someone who brought about change in the lives of many South African women. She was an active member of the Bantu Purity League, and was involved in the founding of the Association of Bantu Parents as well as the Durban Bantu Women’s Society which focused on the economic upliftment of African women.

‘She was determined to empower African women and push the agenda for African independence. Angelina stood alongside her husband, supporting his mission and advancing the cause of her people in the face of injustice. She continued Nokutela and John Dube’s legacy and was his companion in cementing African independence and working to claim the rights of her people.’

Mindry lamented that very little has been written about Angelina’s role in organising women.

‘Angelina Dube’s name comes up as one of the African women leaders engaged in efforts to advocate for African women and their families. Again, we have little information on the exact nature of her role. We know she played a vital role in linking the political endeavours of African women and African male leadership.

‘It seems that Angelina Dube did not claim the limelight. Although she claimed that she was not political and left such matters to her husband, she was intimately involved in the politics of the day,’ added Mindry.

Words: Sinoyolo Mahlasela

Photographs: Supplied