The gripping tale of the beginnings of a small, brave, Christian nation born of both extremes of the spectrum: conflict, turmoil, and tragedy as well as love, dedication, and adventure - this exciting historical account of the history of South Africa (from earliest times to the end of the 2nd Anglo-Boer War at the dawn of the 20th Century) is woven as a rich tapestry into the form of a novel.

Dutch, English, French Huguenot, German, Indian, Irish, Khoi, Malay, Portuguese, Scots, Xhosa, Zulu, and other peoples struggle with and against each other in this factual account, which depicts the events as they happened, as well as the beliefs in the hearts and the thoughts in the minds of those people during those times - yet while this moving saga reveals how and why things were done as they were, it does so without condemning or condoning behaviour. The reader is free to draw their own conclusions and do their own moralizing.

Deeply researched, the Scottish-Irish-descended South African-born author travelled over 15,500 miles [25,000 km.] across South Africa to every historical site mentioned in the narrative, in his first-hand investigative research. You will learn, laugh, and cry - but more importantly, understand the actual events which transpired in this controversial, southern-most African nation, without the bias of the media or the pressured slant of special-interest groups.

Apart from being so highly entertaining that you will find it hard to put this book down, the historically accurate presentation will allow the non-South African reader to understand South Africa as well as it can possibly be understood by an outsider. Further, modern nations may possibly learn some lessons and avoid similar pitfalls which may threaten their domestic tranquillity. Read "Bulala" and think again!

 

Copies signed by the Author are now available.

 

By billy on basson September 12, 2015
We need to know all of this!

 

By Antoinette on September 22, 2014
Well written and detailed. A lesson in history.

 

By Paul Harrisonon December 15, 2013
History is written by the victors. South Africa's new history is always written
post-Apartheid, as if the country suddenly sprouted up with a fully fledged,
racist, oppressive system without any context.
This book provides some of the context that shaped the country and its
peoples. It provides vast amounts of the background to the rise of Apartheid
and shows how the white settler's views were shaped with regard to the black
settlers they encountered. The eventual political result was Apartheid, which
no matter how unjust, was based on a history of savagery and betrayal.
I did not care for the italics in almost every paragraph, and thought that
sometimes the preface's statement that no judgement was made throughout
the book, only the facts stated, fell short in a number of places, but on the
whole an excellent "alternative" history of a country most know only because
of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela.
At times I also thought that the deeply Christian background of the author
detracted from the story as alternative beliefs amongst the blacks were almost
derided. But, I suppose as much as South Africa's current "leaders" skew
history with their beliefs, so it is useful seeing the forging of a culture
through the eyes of the belief system that was so central to the people.
 

 

Euphoric, Glowing and wanting more !
By Preston Maggard on September 20, 2013
I've finally finished this amazing book "Bulala". It opens one's eyes to what
our American media refuses to reveal. This book did everything a book
should do. I've chuckled over "Rock Spiders", learned about the True
Pioneers of South Africa, was left shocked over atrocities, and felt the
adventurous Spirit along the way.
When the eyes are enlightened, the words of truth are sweet to its soul. This
book brings out the Anglo Saxon "Boer" inside each of us. I definitely will be
singing it's praises to friends along the way. One hell of a good read and I
wish to thank the author Cuan Elgin for his tremendous work on this subject.
So, "Buy a Donkey" !! That's "Baie Dankie" (Thank You) in Suid South
Afrikaans ! 5 Stars !!

The actual facts about SA
By richard kolkoski on July 15, 2013
This book tells the actual story of the Boer people of SA, which is hard to
find elsewhere. It si nice to hear the other side of the story.

 

A most important book
By Bruce Brislinon December 1, 2012
`Bulala' by Cuan Elgin is a book I would not have missed for anything.
Imagine a novel about the dawn of European settlement in South Africa - not
written about exceptionally talented `heroes,' but about ordinary people;
those real people one can relate to who have weaknesses as well as strength.
The book brings to vibrant life the struggles of the Trek Boer despite the
chasm of time that has elapsed since that first crack of a stock-whip heralded
their departure on the journey north and away from British rule.
It is a magnificent piece of work and in my mind, it should be essential
reading for anyone studying South African history - not because it is a book
on history but because it takes you down to the minutiae in the very lives of
the early settlers and straightens out the deliberate lies that have become
entrenched as truths in order to vilify the Afrikaners, the white tribe of Africa.
It mentions the big events too, of course; but is written from the grass roots
and not from or by the people who made the policies of the time. This is
instead the story of the consumers of the politics and racial prejudices of the
time. It floodlights the lies perpetrated by the British in their handling of the
colonists - and the native people, and presents reasons, not excuses for the
rise of apartheid. It makes the reader aware of how the Afrikaner was made
the whipping boy to suffer for the errors and mistakes the British made; and
even more, it exposes the hidden agendas of the British and their
consummate duplicity; a duplicity that exists to the present day and which
should be remembered by all in dealing with them.
`Bulala' makes me angry and ashamed of the small British component in my
makeup. Read it. Nothing in you life relating to Southern Africa will ever be
the same again; not now that Britain and the rest of the world have had their
way and allowed a new and deeper darkness to descend upon that already
writhing, pitiful thing; the thing they have proudly created and call the `New
Africa.'

Great Read!
By Amazon Customer on August 15, 2011
I must first admit that I haven't finished reading Bulala yet, but I am
thoroughly enjoying it so far. Cuan Elgin did a great job providing extensive
historic information, and interweaving it with a fictional component (based
on fact) to give one a good sense of what life was like in those early days in
South Africa. I would recommend Bulala to anyone who has an interest in
South Africa's history since the Portuguese first discovered the southern tip of
Africa. Great read!

A Brilliant Read
By Greg Mon July 14, 2010
Thoroughly enjoyable! Cuan has managed to paint a vivid picture of the trials
and tribulations of the 'voortrekkers'. His research into SA history is thorough
and accurate, and he has inter-woven a gripping story into factual events of
the past. This book leaves one with a feeling of 'proud to be South African'.
His description of daily life, and the events which our forefathers lived
through, is truely awe-inspiring. A must read for all South Africans, now
unfortunately, scattered throughout the world. Cuan must be commended for
his courage in telling the TRUE story of South Africa - not this false
'politically correct' version we read about today.
Amazon Editorial Review by Ilana Mercer; author of 'Into the Cannibal’s Pot:
Lessons for America from Post-Apartheid South Africa':
Cuan Elgin is a rare breed: a born-and-bred South African man; an Englishspeaking Afrikaner, a Caucasian African, married to a tenth generation
descendant of hardy Trek-Boer pioneers; the dour indefatigable people whom
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle described as “one of the most rugged, virile,
unconquerable races ever seen upon earth.” Except that Cuan’s “Bulala” is
never dour. Uneven, maybe―like the events it describes. Infuriating perhaps
too―in part because it pulsates with conspiracy and pooh-poohs politically
correct conventions. Nevertheless, Cuan writes with a great heart; his
“Bulala” throbs with a passion for the South-Africa landscape and people. In
the true tradition of the African storyteller, he lives and breathes Africa.
And―also in the true tradition of the same storyteller―his voice is raw and
real. Men and authentic Boer women will delight in the actionpacked,
intertwined story of Boer, Briton and Bantu. (The man knows his firearms!)
Decades of emasculation―legal and cultural―have created a hunger among
modern men for heroic, historic narrative, fiction and non-fiction.
The story of the South African settlers is every bit as epic as that of the
American settlers. Despite their comparable foibles and frailties, the last
haven’t been blackened by historians as much as the first.

Also Available:

Return to the Covenant - the continuation of the story begun in Bulala

Combo of both of Cuan Elgin's books: