An introduction to concepts relevant to studying Zakes Mda's "The Heart of Redness".

1. Heart of Redness:
A primer to guide your
reading
Learning Unit 2:
Theme 1 -- Place and Space in The Heart of Redness
Theme 2 -- A Literary Analysis

2. Learning Outcomes
Theme 1: Place and Space in The Heart of Redness
LO1.1
Critically discuss the
significance of place in
The Heart of Redness.
LO1.2
Evaluate the distinctions
between urban and rural
space and place within
the novel, and how
these reflect larger
cultural shifts within
South Africa.
LO1.3
Explain the historical
significance of the
Xhosa Cattle Killings of
1856–1858, both
within the context of
the novel and in South
Africa as a whole.

3. Learning Outcomes
Theme 2: The Heart of Redness: A Literary Analysis
LO2.1
Critically discuss the
relationship between
the novel’s characters
and its primary themes.
LO2.2
Analyse the meaning
and significance of the
novel’s title in relation
to the novel’s themes.
LO2.3
Discuss the use of
chronotopes* within
the novel as a thematic
framing device.
*A particular moment of time and space as represented within a work of literature.

4. A narrative
structured
around binaries
Fundamental to your
understanding of the book is to
be able to identify the following
binaries:
● Time
● Family tree
● Belief
Mda (2000)

5. Time binary:
1850s and 1990s
Some parts of the book take place
in the 1850s, others take place in
the 1990s.
Those of you who have started
reading, have you developed a
strategy for knowing which period
you are reading about?
Mda (2000)
1850s
1990s
Colonialism and Apartheid era:
Middle generations

6. Family binary:
Descendents of
Twin and Twin-Twin
Before the book begins, you see a
family tree.
The branches are binary, showing
descendants of Twin and his brother
Twin-Twin.
As you read, refer to this page to
remind yourself on which side of
the family tree a character belongs.
Mda (2000)

7. Belief binary:
Believers and
Unbelievers
Believers are Twin and his
descendents.
Unbelievers are Twin-Twin and his
descendants.
The belief in question is whether
young prophet Nongqawuse was
telling the truth. (Though belief
develops in complexity.)
Mda (2000)
Believers
Unbelievers

8. Place binary:
Rural and urban
Most characters live in the rural town
of Qolorha, but they talk about big
cities in a way that shows how they
feel about urban places.
There is a character who leaves the
rural and goes to the urban.
There is another who leaves the
urban to stay in the rural.
Rural
Urban
Photo | Heloise Hunter
Photo | Arnold Petersen
1850s
1990s

9. Breaking the
binary
Some characters are not
descendents of either brother, and
they are pressured to choose a
side between Believers and
Unbelievers.
They are not shown in this family
tree.
Mda (2000)

10. A narrative
structured
around binaries
As you read, try to assign:
● each event to a time
● each character to
○ a time
○ an ancestor (if applicable)
○ and a belief (if applicable)
Mda (2000)
Believers
Unbelievers
1850s
1990s

11. Mind map
Use your mind mapping skills to organise your understanding
of the times, characters, families, and beliefs. You can add to it
as you read.
Suggestions:
● Use colour to signify belief (red for believers, perhaps).
● Use arrows to connect people to ideas.
● Add images like scars, isikaka skirts, a horse, a snake,
seashells, and so on, which are associated with certain
characters.
● Note page numbers for quick reference.
Illustration | Dan Raubenheimer

12. Mapping Place
You may want to keep track of Place in a separate mind map.
Suggestions:
● Take note when places are described, and build up a
mental image of the place, focusing on Qolorha
specifically, and urban places in general.
● Use arrows to show characters’ movements between
places, and their attitudes to rural vs urban places.
● Note page numbers for quick reference.
Map | Slingsby Maps

13. Camagu, Xoliswa, Nongqawuse
This video by XhosaKhaya will help wrap your tongue around
the Xhosa C, X, and Q click sounds.
● Xhosa Lesson 2. How to say "click" sounds:
https://youtu.be/31zzMb3U0iY
Practice when you are alone, and try to pronounce the
words properly in class discussions.
Hear all of the names pronounced correctly in the
audiobook, available for free on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/2sABJWw9Zqo
Illustration
|
Learn
Ndebele
|
YouTube

14. Mda, Z. 2000. The Heart of
Redness. Cape Town: Oxford
University Press.