'Izwe la li nge namteto': Reading Discourses on Authority Over Land in the James Stuart Archive

Evidence recorded by Natal colonial official James Stuart in conversations with a number of African interlocutors in the early twentieth century suggests that authority over land in the Zulu kingdom (1810s-1879) was not necessarily clearly defined and was subject to contestation. Among Stuart's interlocutors the nature of this authority was taken up in complex and inconsistent discourses. The ambiguities in these discourses contrast sharply with the bald statements about authority over land in 'Zulu' society made by colonial administrators like Stuart and by early twentieth-century ethnographers. This paper will briefly assess the evidence in Stuart's records while making the point that, to understand its implications, researchers need to examine the specific contexts in which Stuart and his interlocutors conversed, and the nature of the agendas which they brought to their discussions.