A STAR

Once upon a time a brightly shining star hurriedly traversed the skies from east to west, splitting the heavens and illuminating mother earth. No one knew from whence it came, no one knew whither it went, but it delighted with its astonishing beauty and a glory surpassing that of any other night star.

This meteoric star was Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje. Among his own Barolong people, and among the Batswana and all the black communities, among the coloureds, the Indians and the whites of South Africa, he was a person chosen by his gifts of knowledge and his calling as a language practitioner. A giant in the world of learning and letters, he was a colossal and benevolent figure. This brilliant star is no longer a child only of the Barolong, but a son of Africa.

Of such a person, one who has outshone those of his generation, people will usually want to know something about him: who he really was, where he came from, who his parents were, where he studied, how he lived, when he died, what illness he died of, who his children were, and to which faith he belonged.

These and other such questions we will attempt to answer in this book.