The Man of Heaven and the Beautiful Ones of God Writings from Ibandla lamaNazaretha, a South African Church

The introduction sets Isaiah Shembe and the Nazareth Baptist Church in the context of contemporary South African religion, social history and politics and offers a new reading of the importance of place, memory and literacy in the early history of the church. The three texts in Zulu and English, from the 1920s and 1930s, open a window onto the intellectual and religious life, and the social organisation of this important African church. Marriage, adultery, healing, the priesthood, visions, the role of women, national identity are among the topics these texts engage with.