A Prophet of the People offers a compelling exploration of the life and legacy of Isaiah Shembe, the founder of the Nazaretha Church in the mid-1910s. This work significantly contributes to the historiography of African religious movements by contextualizing the emergence and influence of African white-garment churches in twentieth-century South Africa. The author employs a “history from below” methodology, portraying Shembe not as a distant religious icon but as an ordinary African man who rose to prominence despite systemic oppression and limited formal education under successive racist regimes (xxiii). Unlike traditional studies that focus on colonial missionary efforts and mainline denominations such as the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Dutch Reformed Churches, this book shifts the lens to indigenous religious innovation.
The book consists of eight well-written chapters, with all the titles denoting the genesis of Shembe’s journey up to Chapter Eight when he finally became “A Celebrity in South Africa.” The introduction and the first three chapters trace the rise of a black man whose journey coincided with challenges influenced by South Africa’s industrial revolution. While the South African economy was progressing, the industrial period brought misery to black communities. African grievances—including increased demand for underpaid African labor, segregation, and racial discrimination—led to the establishment of the apartheid government in 1948, thirteen years after Shembe’s death. The period was a catalyst for Shembe’s religious reign as people found solace in his preaching and healing practices. The second chapter not only traces Shembe’s earliest evangelism but probes a salient debate on the role of the Church in redefining social structures. There is an ideological contestation whether it is religion that shapes society, or the society that shapes religion. Chapter Three further extends this debate by identifying massive attacks on African Christianity (38). Extremism towards African Christianity gave Shembe’s journey historical gravity as a prophet who managed to surmount oppressive religious systems.
The fourth chapter acknowledges Shembe as a prophet who cared for the marginalized rural communities. Nazaretha popularity among Ndwendwe people depicts the congregants’ “Hero Worship nature” following praise hymns written in admiration of Shembe’s endurance to suffering and loneliness while remaining committed to serving both God and people. Apart from evangelism and healing power, Shembe appears to be an iconic “savior” who saved people from witchcraft curses. While the chapter is interesting, the origins, definition, and different kinds of witchcraft practices in African communities remain shrouded. How Shembe accuses a woman of bewitching a chief is quite thought-provoking. The chapter tends to silence voices of the outcasts. There is no record of the woman defending herself or evidence of possessing witchcraft powers (64). Perhaps what is clear is how the story underpins Shembe’s attempts to find favor from rural chiefs who later granted him land. His success in acquiring land is further explained in Chapter Five. The chapter dwells on the support offered by chiefs in the face of growing oppressive systems such as the 1913 Native Land Act, which made it difficult for black people to acquire land and private property.
In addition to healing and evangelism, the book identifies Shembe’s role in shaping ideas of African Christian marriages through women’s socialization groups and sex education (99). His rise includes women’s role as important history players; hence, the book proffers a balanced gender analysis. Young girls and women were encouraged to camp at Ekuphakameni (place of spiritual uplift) where they would be taught Christian morals. This is undoubtedly attributed to how South African Christian marriages in the twentieth century had begun to be a symbol of social status. However, Jarvis does a commendable job in capturing the emotions and feelings of these women’s families. Emotions and anger were expressed as some feared that Shembe might lure women using “Malay Magic” and love charms (96).
However, in the face of growing criticism and challenges, Chapters Seven and Eight maintain Shembe’s success story. His formidable reputation made him appear in the British newspaper, the Illustrated London News, in 1930. By the time Shembe appeared in Illustrated London News, his congregants were estimated around 32,000. Upon his death in 1935, Shembe’s church had made a resounding impact on South African politics and social life. His story does not only end with the gospel of salvation but the convening of Christianity and Black resistance that challenged segregation and African marginalization by redefining social, political, and economic structures. The Church continues to influence contemporary South African politics with several politicians visiting the shrine for prayers. The author captures an interesting story of Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the church and asking the congregants to pray for the African National Congress Party (ANC) in 2017, months before he became president in 2018 (xiv).
A Call of the Prophet certainly makes an invaluable contribution to the African history discourse by employing a history from below methodology. It is a significant contribution not only to religion politics but to social and economic historians who seek to understand how religion redefines social and economic patterns. The use of oral narratives, archival records, pictures, and African-language newspapers such as Ilanga lase Natal, gave Jarvis’s work historical significance. Despite overlooking literature on African witchcraft, the book is a great contribution to politics of African Christianity, family histories, and religious historiographies.
