John Gama
John Gama | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1841-1842 |
| Died | unknown Eswatini |
| Occupation | Oral historical informant |
| Known for | An authoritative elder interviewed and providing foundational information on Swazi royal genealogy and precolonial history |
| Notable work | Oral testimony informing Swazi king lists recorded by Theophilus Shepstone Jr, James Stuart Archive, Allister Miller |
| Relatives | Jim Gama (great-great grandson) |
John Gama was a 19th-century Swazi oral informant explicitly cited as the source and compiler of the list of Eswatini Kings that was later published by Theophilus Shepstone Jr, James Stuart and Allister Miller in the documentation of the History of Eswatini.
Gama was consulted over a particular period of time when Shepstone was enquiring about the history and royal genealogies of Eswatini in the late 19th century.
In a letter dated 1898, Shepstone wrote to Stuart, stating that he believed Gama’s information to be accurate and added that in the consultation period Gama obtained information from other elders and long-term residents of Swaziland.