Kingdoms of southern africa zulu nation the history files. Hordes of feature stories and photo essays have been done by international publications. The zulu are the single largest ethnic group in south africa and numbered about nine million in the. Mnguni nkosinkulu mdlani luzumana malandela kaluzumana, son of luzumana ntombela kamalandela, son of malandela. Specifically the legendary anglozulu war, and the two incredible battles. Shaka and its fall in the zulu war of 1879 new york. The history of the zulu people is rather short in comparison to other tribes in africa. We attended the conference in october 2008, and thought the questions were worthy of answering, and publishing for the benefit of all who were interested. He ruled at one of first recorded towns known as bulawayo. The same year, swaziland established its first legislative body an advisory council of elected european representatives mandated to advise the british high commissioner on nonswazi affairs. For more than a century after the european landing at capetown in the c17th, the boers had advanced unopposed into the vast interior of africa. Zulu, a nation of ngunispeaking people in kwazulunatal province, south africa.
The word zulu means sky and according to oral history, zulu was the name of the. But, as adrian greaves reveals, this was by no means the end of the story. I again reiterate that i am not an historian but merely relate stories that i had heard as a child and stories i have heard and read about during the course of my life. Zulu, in fact, was the name of the son of a sixteenth century chief who settled in the region of present day kwazulunatal on south africas east coast. Mpande then took over rulership of the zulu nation. A history of the rise of the zulu nation under shaka and its fall in the zulu war of 1879 new york. A history of the rise of the zulu nation under shaka, and its fall in the zulu war of 1879 in 1879, armed only with their spears, their rawhide shields, and their incredible courage, the zulus challenged the might of victorian england and, initially, inflicted on the british the worst defeat a modern army has. History of the zulu nation natal, kzn early history about the. When senzangakona died, dingiswayo helped shaka become chief of.
For their engaged participation in the becoming of, i dust of the zulu. I count myself fortunate to have met the author of the book shaka zulu, mr e. This is a very involved and detailed history of the 1879 zulu war. These bards or story tellers were entrusted to tell the stories verbatim as they had heard them and not alter the tale in anyway whatsoever. The zulu tribe is one of the most widely known tribes in africa, mainly because of the very vital part that it played in the continents history. Sigidi kasenzangakhona commonly knows as shaka was a great zulu king and conqueror. For many people, the zulu are the bestknown african people. The zulu, a nguni people, initially were a small chieftaincy situated near the white mfolozi. South african military history society journal the zulu.
Jul 27, 2019 shaka, founder of the zulu kingdom of southern africa, is murdered by his two halfbrothers, dingane and mhlangana, after shakas mental illness threatened to destroy the zulu tribe. Today it is estimated that there are more than 45 million south africans, and the zulu people make up about approximately 22% of this number. Zulu the zulu tribe zulu this paper focuses on the history of the culture and traditions of the zulu people. They are a branch of the southern bantu and have close ethnic, linguistic, and cultural ties with the swazi and xhosa. This assemblage of beads by the warriors represented a symbol of bravery. The build up to the war started in 1877 when sir henry frere, a. Specifically the legendary anglo zulu war, and the two incredible battles of isandlwana and rorkes drift. The washing of the spears is the definitive account of a tragic and aweinspiring story. King zulu 1949, louis armstrong, graced the pages of time magazine that year.
Polygamy is still practiced, particularly in rural kwazulunatal. History of the zulu nation natal, kzn early history about. The zulu people have a strong belief in the potency of their ancestors. The spread of zulu ethnicity in colonial south africa the other zulus michael r. Framed around queen victorias decision on englands political stance towards the zulu nation, the novel starts with shakas illegitimate birth, taking us through his difficult childhood, his obsessive attachment to his mother nandi, to. The word zulu means sky and according to oral history, zulu was the name of the ancestor who founded the zulu royal line in about 1670. History of shaka zulu natal, kzn early history about the zulu. The zulu empire weakened after shakas death in 1828. However, apart from their reputation as great military leaders, history has remembered these two men quite differently.
Founded by king shaka in 1816, it began as a small tribe of only 1500 people. Christine riggio lent her photographic expertise and artistic eye to the preparation of all the photographs. I merely relate stories that were told to me verbally, by zulu elders, chiefs and princes of the zulu royal family about the zulu history, including the history of shaka zulu, during the course of my life growing up and living in zululand. History school, who sought to counter the racist assumptions of the colonial and apartheid eras by portraying african history as dynamic, constructive and independent of european influence. Sep 24, 2016 the zulu nation is celebrating 200 years of existence.
Their military exploits led to the rise of a great kingdom that was feared for a long time over much of the african continent. Shaka built a zulu nation that expanded over a hundred thousand square miles of land and created a military machine capable of inflicting heavy casualties on british troops and calvarymen armed with rifles, cannons, rockets and other advanced weapons. The nguni were bantu speakers who had been migrating down the eastern coast of africa over the course of many centuries, with some groups arriving perhaps as early as the ninth century. Practices of naming and the possibilities of home on american zulu mission stations in colonial natal.
Several homesteads were traditionally run by one chief, who made the important decisions. The first zulu christian booklet was produced by newton adams, george newton and aldin grout 18378 titled incwadi yokuqala yabafundayo which dealt with the spelling of zulu words and the history of the old testament. The division of labor within a household is mainly between men and women. The kingdom of zulu sometimes referred to as the zulu empire or the kingdom of zululand. It is the home of the zulu people and site of their 19thcentury kingdom. After realizing that it would benefit the community more if the gangs unified to better the community and to better each other, zulu was formed. Zulu nation, as a call to all aboriginal and indigenous people, to all preachers, immams, rabbis, teachers, students, and other community leaders, socalled religious leaders and community activists. The zulu never regained their independence see anglozulu wars. Pdf the zulu identity south african ingenious tribes. Our ancient arena southern africas contribution to the cradle of mankind is borne out by several.
In the space of twelve years during the early nineteenth century, he transformed the small zulu chieftains into a large and powerful military force. Critical engagement with the notion of the mfecane was further stimulated by. The zulu of that time, and particularly the zulu who had been moulded by men like shaka and his successor dingane are vividly described by adulphe delegorgue,1 the french naturalist who visited natal in 1838 and subsequent years, as being born haughty, and possessing a feeling of nationality in a high degree. Shaka, founder of the zulu kingdom of southern africa, is murdered by his two halfbrothers, dingane and mhlangana, after shakas mental illness threatened to. Founded by afrika bambaataa the universal zulu nation, originally known simply as the organization, is an international hip hop awareness group, with over 400,000 members, which arose among reformed street gang members in the bronx in the. Apartheid apartness in the language of afrikaans was a system of legislation that upheld segregationist policies against nonwhite citizens of south. Jan 31, 2020 in 1921, after more than 20 years of rule by queen regent lobatsibeni, sobhuza ii became ngwenyama lion or head of the swazi nation. Part one john wright school of human and social studies university of kwazulunatal, pietermaritzburg october 2004 introduction shaka kasenzangakhona, who ruled the emerging zulu kingdom from the late 1810s until his assassination in 1828, has long featured in south african history making as a. It is the home of the zulu people and site of their 19thcentury kingdom the zulu, a nguni people, initially were a small chieftaincy situated near the white mfolozi river, but they provided the nucleus for the amalgamations of regional chieftaincies. Zulu history the history of the zulu nation tourism kzn. Founded by afrika bambaataa the universal zulu nation, originally known simply as the organization, is an international hip hop awareness group, with over 400,000 members, which arose among reformed street gang members in the bronx in the early 1970s. Pdf applicability of shaka zulus leadership and strategies.
The zulu nation is celebrating 200 years of existence. He played an important role in the politics of the zulu territory throughout history and has represented his people internationally. Famous for the bloody battles of isandlwana and rorkes drift, the anglozulu war of 1879 saw over 15,000 british troops invade the independent nation of zululand in presentday south africa. The effects from dutch pressure on the western african frontier by the end of the. Over the years, the zulus have survived wars, famine and. To mpande fell the difficult task of plaiting the nation back together and healing the rift between his followers and those of the recently killed dingane. The word zulu means sky and according to oral history, zulu was the name of. The rise and fall of the zulu nation under shaka and its fall in the zulu war of 1879 touchstone books online books in format pdf. This list of zulu kings gives a list of zulu chieftains and kings from their earliest known history up to the current monarchthe personal standard of king goodwill zwelithini kabhekuzulu adopted in 1999. A brief history of the zulu nation 200 years on youtube. Uzn was started in 1973 by afrika bambaataa who at the time was a gang leader. The way they live, their beliefs, family and their levels of organization.
Pdf on jan 10, 2017, cyril malibongwe mbeje and others published. At that time, the area was occupied by many large nguni communities and clans also called the isizwe people or nation, or were called isibongo, referring to their clan or family name. Their written history can be traced back to the fourteenth century. Map illustrating the rise of the zulu empire under shaka 18161828 in presentday south africa. The nguni family of bantuspeaking people who later formed the zulu nation migrated into southeastern. An excellent history which outlines the culture, the policies of both the zulu nation and the british empire, the rise of the zulu nation and the subsequent actions of the british government in the invasion and subjugation of the zulu nation. At that time, the area was occupied by many large nguni communities and clans also called the isizwe people or nation, or were called isibongo, referring to their clan or. History of shaka zulu natal, kzn early history about the. The rise and fall of the zulu nation under shaka and its fall in the zulu war of 1879 touchstone books and read the washing of the spears. An offshoot of the zulu, the amandebele, better known to history as the matabele created an even larger empire under their king mzilikazi, including large parts of the highveld and modernday zimbabwe.
Pdf the washing of the spears a history of the rise of the. Le royaume zoulou, parfois designe sous le terme dempire zoulou ou assez imprecisement. Traditionally, stories about the zulu empire focus on its very demise. The zulu are the descendants of ngunispeaking people. Early in the spring of 1846, a young man named nembula and a young woman called. In the nguni languages, izulu means heaven, or weather. Essence devoted a full halfhour segment of their weekly television series to zulus impact on carnival. There was one zulu king who represented all the zulu. Shaka fought as a warrior under jobe, and then under jobes successor, dingiswayo, leader of the mthethwa paramountcy. The profile and history of tshaka king of the zulu a.
Between 1845 and 1883, the first translated version of the bible was produced in very old zulu orthography. On the one hand, napoleon, despite the wars he waged across europe, has been considered by. The cover letter below was written by king yoda, of the universal zulu nation, as a call to all aboriginal and indigenous people, to all. My other primary objective is to explain why, twentyseven years later, many of those same natal africans, or their children or grandchildren, rebelled against the british in the name of the zulu king. Southern africas contribution to the cradle of mankind is borne out by several important archaeological sites. In 1921, after more than 20 years of rule by queen regent lobatsibeni, sobhuza ii became ngwenyama lion or head of the swazi nation. Yet british fortuneseekers of the 1820s found shakas zulus a dignified people whose martial qualities were tempered by generosity and hospitality. The little known consequences of the division of zululand, the boer war, and the 1906 zulu rebellion are analyzed in fascinating detail. Each of these areas contribute to culture that is a source of much pride for the zulu people. Often worn as a necklace, the beads were displayed in a crisscross formation across the shoulders. Jan 20, 2017 traditionally, stories about the zulu empire focus on its very demise. An offshoot of the zulu, the amandebele, better known to history as the matabele created an even larger empire under their king.
Zululand, traditional region in the northeastern section of presentday kwazulunatal formerly natal province, south africa. The battle of isandlwana is one of the most historic events in the history of not just the zulu nation but that of southern africa. One of the most significant events in zulu history was the arrival of europeans in natal. He and his mother, nandi, were exiled by senzangakona, and found refuge with the mthethwa. The zulu people were thus split along ideological lines, the dingane mpande conflict having broken the rope that holds the nation together. The zulu were descended from the nguni, a group that established itself in southern africa in the seventeenth century. Shaka zulu was the illegitimate son of senzangakona, king of the zulus. This is one of the best accounts of how the zulu nation become one of the most feared in africa under shaka and how it fell to ruin under cetshwayo during the war with england in 1879. The history of the zulu nation zulu kingdom kwazulu natal south africa. The creation of beadwork dates back to the times of war for the zulu people. To mpande fell the difficult task of plaiting the nation back together and healing the rift between his.
In this essay i hope to briefly discuss the zulu history, what makes them unique, the zulu religion, the interaction with the british colonial groups, how the zulu nation came to come into power, and where the present day zulu people stand in society today. Zulu introduction, location, language, folklore, religion. Originally, the zulu tribe emanated from the ngunis who inhabited the central and eastern africa and subsequently migrated to the southern africa in the bantu migration which occurred. A history of the zulu and neighbouring tribes dashboard web cms. Among black people and white people, among lay people and among most academics, inside south africa and outside, shaka the mighty is counted as one of the most famous of africans. Sep 07, 2018 the zulu monarch shaka was a contemporary of the french emperor napoleon, and has even been dubbed the african napoleon by some. Critical engagement with the notion of the mfecane was further stimulated by the publication. Represents the interwoven future of the zulu people.