MATHENE MAHANKE'S MAJOR WORK

"SESOTHO NOVEL DEDICATED TO TEACHERS"

By Flaxman Qoopane


Mathene Mahanke, former lecturer at the university has published his first Sesotho novel, Tutudu Ha E Patwe (You can’t bring a good man down) that pays tribute to the real teacher.

Mahanke explained: “NKAHEMA Publishing & Consulting cc in Bloemfontein: recently published my novel in Sesotho. I am excited about giving birth to my first novel, I am motivated to work hard and publish another book in future. The novel is about a teacher who does everything right, to transform a dysfunctional school. He is trying to bring change at the school, there is a resistance mainly from other teachers, and they influence the community against him.

“He is even trapped by the use of a young woman (girl) as to make him guilty of statutory rape. He sees through the trap and beat them. He ultimately succeeds to have everybody behind him”.

According to Mathene, he published a novel that portrays a teacher in a dignified light, in the hope of restoring dignity to the profession.

In 1994, Mathene published a book of short stories in Sesotho titled MOTSOTUWA (something exceptionally beautiful), that won the Thomas Mofolo Literary Prize.

Asked why Mahanke writes in Sesotho, he said: “My mother tongue is my comfort zone, because I don’t struggle to find expressions, as result what I want to write does not become a struggle, it comes naturally."

According to the novelist: “Language and culture are inseparable, you have a ready-made pool from which draw. Our life experiences they relate with our languages, so it is very easy to explain or define a situation in your own language than using another language. On daily basis, you update and accumulate your vocabulary that is dictated in which language you are expressing yourself”.

Mahanke was a lecturer in Sesotho language and literature at the University of the North, (now Limpopo), Qwa-Qwa Campus in 1982-1997. He was a proofreader for various publishing houses between 1982-1999. In 2005, he was appointed member of collaboration team (Sesotho) for Science Terminology by the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) (national). In 2006, he served as the curator of Sesotho Literary Museum. In 2008 Mahanke was appointed Deputy Director & Head of the Language Service in the Free State province. He is a member and advisor’s of Moaba Sesotho Writer’s Association in the country