ABSTRACT
John Tengo Jabavu, Davidson Jabavu was also the father of Noni Jabavu. A gifted linguist, Davidson Jabavu was educated in the Eastern Cape and at the University of London, where he studied languages and music. On his return to South Africa in 1916 he taught African languages at the University of Fort Hare and also edited Imvo Zabantsundu (Black Opinion), the famous Xhosa journal founded by his father and one of the pillars of the vernacular press in Africa. Many of his poems appeared in this journal and were later collected in two collections Izithuko (Abuses) (1954) and Izidungulwana (Twigs) (1959). Davidson Jabavu traveled widely during his lifetime and his experiences were represented in three travel books in Xhosa: E Jerusalem (To Jerusalem) (1928), E Amerika (To America) (1932), and E-Indiya nase-East Afrika (To India and East Africa) (1951).
