'Proprietor of Natal': Henry Francis Fynn and the Mythography of Shaka

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	'Proprietor of Natal': Henry Francis Fynn and the Mythography of Shaka
Author:	Wylie, Dan
Year:	1995
Periodical:	History in Africa
Volume:	22
Pages:	409-437
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	traditional rulers historical sources diaries (form) History and Exploration Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
About persons:	Henry Francis Fynn (1806-1861) Shaka king of Zululand (ca. 1787-1828)
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/3171924
Abstract:	Since 1950, Henry Francis Fynn's (1806-1861) so-called 'Diary' has become the paramount, and until recently largely unquestioned, source on Shaka's reign (c. 1815-1828) in Zululand, South Africa. This paper draws on recent revisionary work to offer a preliminary reassessment of 'The diary of Henry Francis Fynn' and its role in the mythography of Shaka. Internal analysis of the text of the 'diary' itself reveals problems of interpretation and authenticity still inadequately recognized. Secondly, relocating the 'diary' as a direct product of Fynn's personality and career, the outlines of which bear little resemblance to the accepted version of that career, indicate the extent to which the mythologizing of Fynn and Shaka have become inseparable. Notes, ref.