South African hymnody

South African Hymnody. Though the first mission station in South Africa was begun by the Moravians in 1737, it was not until 1800 that a variety of mission societies and denominations pursued the evangelization of this region in earnest. By the end of the 19th century, JJ provided information of the remarkable developments in hymnody in South Africa (referred to as ‘Kafirland’ or ‘Kaffaria’) in the ‘Foreign Missions’ entry. The article noted that Untsikana (Ntsikana Gaga*), generally thought to be the first Xhosa Christian convert, composed one of the earliest truly indigenous African hymns. It noted that Ntsikana ‘composed in pure Kafir rhythm the remarkable hymn, ‘Ulo-Tixo mkulu...