The Middle Generations

Twin and Qukezwa sit with their young son, Heitsi, “hoping the sun would turn red, and other suns would emerge from behind the mountains” (153), signs that the resurrection was beginning. But the sun continues to rise “as it had risen in the days of their forefathers” (153). When they hear a war cry, the small family races back to the village. The Man Who Named Ten Rivers has sent a ship full of British sailors, and the HMS Geyser is now entering the mouth of the Gxarha River. AmaXhosa soldiers station themselves along the banks, and Qukezwa marshals the women to bring up the rear and produce “the sharp undulating wails that every umXhosa woman produced so well” (155). As a Khoikhoi woman, Qukezwa has never mastered the art of ululation.

The battle is averted when a group of British sailors nearly drown when they try to disembark the ship. The ship ends up retreating, and the victory over the British Navy emboldens the Believers commitment to the prophesies and cattle-killing.

Alternatively, Twin-Twin becomes convinced that the cattle-killing prophesies were master-minded by The Man Who Named Ten Rivers in an effort to divide the amaXhosa people and steal their land.