The poem by the great isiXhosa poet and imbongi S.E.K. Mqhayi, 'Umkosi Wemidaka: The Dark-Skinned Army' (1916), inspired and encouraged Africans to volunteer for the South African Native Labour Contingent (SANLC) in the First World War. Employing techniques of traditional poetry, Mqhayi's work marks the transition from oral to written literature. By the 1950s, vari...