THE STORY OF SHAKA ñ KING OF THE ZULUíS
Long ago, in 1789, in the rolling green hills of Zululand, a Zulu woman called Nandi gave birth to an unwanted and illegitimate child. The childís father, Senzangakona, from the clan of Zulu, wanted nothing to do with them and the tribal elders sent a message to Nandi saying "the girl has a beetle (shaka) in her belly". Nandi was relegated to the lowly position of third wife. When Shaka was six years old he allowed a dog to kill one of Senzangakonaís sheep and from that day forth, Shaka and Nandi were cast out by the Zulu clan.
In shame, they were forced to return to the clan of Nandiís family. Shaka hated living with his motherís family, they were treated as outcasts and he continuously suffered the cruel, taunting of the other children who referred to him as "the fatherless one." The family were forced to move around from clan to clan until they found a degree of acceptance by the Mtetwa tribe. Shaka grew to young manhood herding sheep and cattle. He showed extraordinary bravery in protecting the animals under his care, and one day killed a leopard single handedly using two throwing spears and a club.
At the age of twenty-one, Shaka became a soldier and distinguished himself in battle under the Mtetwa chieftain Dingiswayo. Shaka proved to be an excellent military strategist and introduced changes in battle methods that were to be a great success. Dingiswayo was a good leader of his people, and under his protection, Shaka grew into a rich and important person. One day Senzangakona came to pay homage to Dingiswayo and was gratified to find that his son had become a great man. He promised Shaka the chieftainship of the Zulu clan after his death. However Senzangakona bowed to the pressure of his wives, and after his death, Shakaís young half-brother, Sugujana became chief. When Shaka heard the news he broke into a great rage and killed the new chief in battle. Shaka dressed up in his glorious and fearsome battle costume of blue monkey fur and genet tails, and with his own Mtetwa regiment by his side, became king of the Zuluís.
Shaka set to building a mighty new kraal, it was called Bulawayo, "the place of killing." Nandi was brought to live there in a sumptuous royal kraal of her own. A great feast was held in honour of the new capital and the hills rang out with the roar of the royal salute, "Bayete, Nkosi! Bayete Nkosi!" Shaka marched in revenge on his motherís Mlangeni clan who had treated them so cruelly in his youth. Victory came easily and Shaka developed a taste for the power of battle.
Shaka continued to revolutionise the Zulu army. He introduced new weapons, new regimental structures and battle formations. He was a cruel and strict disciplinarian. Soldiers caught disobeying his rules were immediately put to death. He forced his regiments to run barefoot over fields of thorns so that their feet became hardened and they could move more quickly in battle. Shaka scored victory after victory. Each clan that was conquered was assimilated into his tribe and the Zuluís became a great and powerful nation ruling over vast tracts of land in the southern coastal and interior regions of what is today known as KwaZulu Natal.
In 1825 the British arrived at Port Natal. Shaka invited the two British commanders, Fynn and Farewell, to his kraal where he entertained them with a majestic display of his power. Shaka granted the British full possession of Port Natal, and in return the British plied him with gifts of brass bars, beads and blankets. The British at that time were forced to respect the power of the Zulu and there was no trouble in Shakaís lifetime.
After the death of his mother Nandi in 1827, Shaka became increasingly paranoid and unpredictable. Ironically, unbeknown to him, members of his inner family circle were hatching a plot to destroy him. In September 1828, Shaka was assassinated by his half-brothers Dingaan and Mhlangana who stabbed him to death with their spears. He was buried the following day together with personal possessions and Dingaan become king.
From then on the Zulu Nation began its decline. Shaka may have been an unpredictable and bloodthirsty tyrant but he increased the power and glory of his tribe and will always hold an important place in the history of both the Zuluís and South Africa.
Shaka takes the throne
On the death of his father Senzangakhonain 1816, Shaka directed his assault on the Zulu throne with the support of Dingiswayo. He wasted no time in asserting his authority. He removed such opposition as he thought might be troublesome, afterwhich he assembled his closest advisers.
The need for well-trained standing armies had become more acute as competition for cattle and grazing led to a rise in tensions between the various political groupings. Yet the old battle techniques and strategies, such as they were, were increasingly inappropriate to the armed conflicts of the new order. The new Zulu kingís first duty was to organise and discipline the Zulu army. He called up all able-bodied males. Between three and four hundred men responded. Two of the men slouching before him were selected for instant execution. They were dragged from the ranks and stunned with a blow from a knobbed stick, before being thrashed with sticks and then impaled per rectum.
Resentment against the rule of Shaka had been steadily increasing since the nation was subjected to the drastic measures decreed following the death of Nandi. Although Shakaís opponents were well aware of the danger of taking action, they knew that his increasingly arbitrary killings were now beginning to turn popular opinion against him.
The traders too, had fallen from grace. The king seemed to treat them as a special breed, heeding their advice, while jeering at his own people as inferior, even as dogsÖ And the kingís favouritism had aroused much jealousy.
Shakaís aunt, Mnkabayi, believed that the king had been directly responsible for the death of his own mother, who had been their friend. She began to appeal to Shakas' half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana to revenge Nandi, and save the country. She also spoke to Shakaís trusted induna and servant ,Mbopha, who had lost his own mother to some whim of the king.
On the evening of the 22nd of September 1828, Shaka was watching some of his cattle return to the fold, when a group of Mpondo messengers was ushered in, and began to report to him. At that moment Mhlangana and Dingane arrived. Thwarted from action by the people pressent, they made an excuse and withdrew in dismay. If the trio of killers was to succeed, they had to move quickly. Knowing this, Mbopha drove the Mpondo tributaries away with a bullock-killing spear (being the only one privileged to carry such a weapon in the presence of the king). Shaka rose to remonstrate with his servant. His two half-brothers returned to the enclosure from where they had been hiding behind a fence, with short stabbing weapons concealed beneath cloaks wrapped around their bodies. Mbopha threw his spear at the king, wounding him. Mhlangana and Dingane then drew the short stabbing spears,and closed with Shaka, stabbing him. With his dying breath, Shaka is reported to have said, "The land will see locusts and white people come."
Before the body was buried by a group of menials, Dingane had decided that his half-brother Mhlangana would not live long. The death of Shaka was met by a stunned silence throughout the nation.
