[1] The story is set in the time of the historical King Hintsa kaKhawuta (1789–1835), and concerns a dispute between the fictional twins Wele and Babini over their deceased father’s estate.
Various people give testimony, key among them Khulile, an inyanga (a wise, old sage) and thus a vital source of oral tradition, and the midwives who helped at the twins' birth.
Khulile notes that the reason the first-born is usually given priority and made his father's successor is that he has more experience than his younger brothers, but that in the case of twins this argument does not really stand.
[6] Mqhayi certainly lamented the passing away of Xhosa traditions with colonialism, and wrote in the introduction to Ityala lamawele that "Intetho nemikhwa yesiXhosa iya itshona ngokutshona ngenxa yeLizwi nokhanyo olukhoyo, oluze nezizwe zaseNtshonalanga", translated by Abner Nyamende as "The language and mode of life of the Xhosa people are gradually disappearing because of the Gospel and the new civilization, which came with the nations from the West".
[9] Despite Mqhayi's great fame in traditional Xhosa culture (Nelson Mandela recalls that hearing him perform was one of the highlights of his youth),[10] his work is not readily available.