"Ah! What a beautiful place! It is too good for him. We shall see to it that he loses it (farm)": the experience of Fr Julius uMkomazi Mbhele (1879-1956)

Abstract

The paper examines the experience of the fourth indigenous Catholic priest in South Africa – Julius uMkomazi Mbhele. To begin with, the two theoretical frameworks by James C Scott and the Comaroffs are introduced, then a brief background to his life is outlined. The article then examines the farm which Fr Mbhele bought near Ncala mission, in Ixopo. The “farm” caused some conflicts with his superiors – the conflicts are looked at in the light of the conceptual tools. The article concludes by stating that although the authorities in the church, who were highly influenced by the church’s structure and the colonial background, tried to impose their power on Fr Mbhele in most cases Mbhele resisted.