As the horns curved inward around the enemy, the main body would advance killing all those who could not break through the encompassing lines. He supplemented this with a mixture of diplomacy and patronage, incorporating friendly chieftains, including Zihlandlo of the Mkhize, Jobe of the Sithole, and Mathubane of the Thuli. In 1826, in order to be closer and more accessible to the settlers at Port Natal, Shaka built a large military barracks at Dukuza, (‘the place where one gets lost'). Shaka's army set out on a massive programme of expansion, killing or enslaving those who resisted in the territories he conquered. By the time the first white traders arrived at Port Natal in 1824, Shaka was in control of a centralized monarchy, which spanned the entire eastern coastal belt from the Pongola River in the north to the lands beyond the Tugela in the south. Some scholars contend that this theory must be treated with caution as it generally neglects several other factors such as the impact of European encroachment, slave trading and expansion in that area of Southern Africa around the same time. Freed from the restrictions that limited most chiefs, Shaka acted as an undisputed, almighty ruler. Some scholars[who?] The Zulu tribe soon developed a warrior outlook, which Shaka turned to his advantage.[9]. In his initial days, he served as a warrior under the leadership of Dingiswayo. Isaacs was aided in this by Henry Francis Fynn, whose diary (actually a rewritten collage of various papers) was edited by James Stuart only in 1950. Malcolm in 1950. As for the ruling Qwabe, they began re-inventing their genealogies to give the impression that Qwabe and Zulu were closely related in the past. Shaka was … When the Mthethwa forces were defeated and scattered temporarily, the power vacuum was filled by Shaka. The survivors of the main Ndwandwe force settled for a time on the upper Pongola River. If a regiment had the misfortune to be defeated, whether by its own fault or not, it would on its return to headquarters find that a goodly proportion of the wives and children belonging to it had been beaten to death on [Shaka]'s orders, and that he was waiting their arrival to complete his vengeance by dashing out their brains. In 1825, when Lieutenant James King paid him a visit, Shaka sent a goodwill delegation to Major J Cloete, Cape government representative at Port Elizabeth. This produced a sense of common identity amongst them. Under Shaka's successors, Dingane, Mpande, and Cetshwayo the Zulu monarchy profoundly influenced the course of South African history. This "imagining of Shaka" it is held, should be balanced by a sober view of the historical record, and allow greater scope for the contributions of indigenous African discourse. His father was the chief or monarch of the Zulu, but “Zulu” meant something very different at that point. Who pursued the sun and the moon. Zulu Kings. Scholarship in recent years has revised views of the sources on Shaka's reign. [8], As Shaka became more respected by his people, he was able to spread his ideas with greater ease. Confirmation of such accounts can also be seen in modern archaeology of the village of Lepalong, an entire settlement built underground to shelter remnants of the Kwena people from 1827 to 1836 against the tide of disruption that engulfed the region during Shakan times.[42]. Shaka was born into the small South African clan of the Zulus in 1787. Boys and girls aged six and over joined Shaka's force as apprentice warriors (udibi) and served as carriers of rations, supplies like cooking pots and sleeping mats, and extra weapons until they joined the main ranks. Shaka prohibited the wearing of sandals, toughened his warriors' feet by making them run barefoot over rough thorny ground and in so doing secured their greater mobility. He never married nor had any recognized children, which was highly unusual. Furthermore, it is believed that he taught his warriors how to use the shield's left side to hook the enemy's shield to the right, exposing the enemy's ribs for a fatal spear stab. [online] About.com [accessed 17 September 2009], Emperor Shaka the Great: A Zulu Epic by Mazisi Kunene, Chaka by Thomas Mofolo and Daniel P. Kunene, Colonialism: An International Social, Cultural, and Political Encyclopedia by Melvin E. Page, A Military History of South Africa From the Dutch-Khoi Wars to the End of Apartheid by Timothy J. Stapleton, General History of Africa Volume IV - Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century, Amatikulu, a Nature Reserve in Kwa-Zulu Natal, Andries Pretorius Monument , Graaf Reniet. Microsoft Encarta Reference Library, 2005. You decide? He had a big nose, according to Baleka of the Qwabe, as told by her father. When Senzangakhona (Shaka's father) died in 1816, Shaka's younger half-brother Sigujana assumed power as the legitimate heir to the Zulu chiefdom. He was one of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu Kingdom, responsible for re-organizing the Zulu military into a formidable force via a series of wide-reaching and influential reforms. As for firearms, Shaka acknowledged their utility as missile weapons after seeing muzzle-loaders demonstrated, but he argued that in the time a gunman took to reload, he would be swamped by charging spear-wielding warriors. There is no evidence to suggest that Shaka betrayed Dingiswayo. Loyalty was also maintained through fear, as anyone who was suspected of rivaling Dingane was killed. [41] Other scholars acknowledge distortion of the historical record by apartheid supporters and shady European traders seeking to cover their tracks, but dispute the revisionist approach, noting that stories of cannibalism, raiding, burning of villages, or mass slaughter were not developed out of thin air but based on the clearly documented accounts of hundreds of black victims and refugees. At some point, Zwide barely escaped Shaka, though the exact details are not known. He was portrayed by DeStorm Power. Source: New World Encyclopedia. [12] (He died in mysterious circumstances soon afterwards.) Shaka's corpse was dumped by his assassins in an empty grain pit, which was then filled with stones and mud. With Qwabe, Hlubi and Mkhize support, Shaka was finally able to summon a force capable of resisting the Ndwandwe (of the Nxumalo clan). The traditional leaders of the subject chiefdoms still held local administrative authority, and on the dissolution of the amabutho the young men would return to live in their community of origin. According to members of his family, Shaka's last words were: Hastily they buried his body in a grain-pit nearby. Shaka, also spelled Chaka or Tshaka, (born c. 1787—died Sept. 22, 1828), Zulu chief (1816–28), founder of Southern Africa ’s Zulu Empire. "[16], Laband also dismissed the idea of a 50 miles (80 km) march in a single day as ridiculous. Tags. Shaka still recognised Dingiswayo and his larger Mthethwa clan as overlord after he returned to the Zulu but, some years later, Dingiswayo was ambushed by Zwide's Ndwandwe and killed. According to the diary of Henry Francis Fynn, Dingiswayo's death (c.1818) was the result of Shaka's treachery, though firm testimony of this is lacking. It is claimed that Shaka was born into Senzangakhona's household but that the couple were not yet married according to traditional custom. The military indunas or captains, as trusted favourites of the king, received many cattle from him and were able to build up large personal followings. Shaka Zulu was the illegitimate son of Senzangakona, King of the Zulus. A brutal fate awaited them and their families if they did not perform well in combat. South African historian Dan Wylie has expressed skepticism of the portrayal of Shaka as a pathological monster destroying everything within reach. The development of the military system caused major economic and social changes. He further claims that even though these stories have been repeated by "astonished and admiring white commentators," the Zulu army covered "no more than 19 kilometres (12 mi) a day, and usually went only about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi). [7], In the initial years, Shaka had neither the influence nor reputation to compel any but the smallest of groups to join him, and upon Dingiswayo's death, Shaka moved southwards across the Thukela River, establishing his capital Bulawayo in Qwabe territory; he never did move back into the traditional Zulu heartland. He had seen that the traditional type of spear, a long-handled assegai thrown from a distance, was no good for the regulated fighting in close formation he had in mind. There was no need to record messages, he held, since his messengers stood under penalty of death should they bear inaccurate tidings. Once in power Shaka began reorganizing the forces of his people in accordance with ideas he had developed as a warrior in Dingiswayo's army. Part of the main Ndwandwe force under Shoshangane, together with the Jere under Zwangendaba, the Maseko under Ngwane, and the Msene led by Nxaba, fled northwards. These developments resulted in the evolution of powerful figures in later reigns with strong local power bases that they had been able to build up because of royal appointments and favours. Indeed, the core Zulu had to retreat before several Ndwandwe incursions; the Ndwandwe was clearly the most aggressive grouping in the sub-region. Shaka's name is said to stem from Senzangakhona's claim that Nandi was not pregnant but was suffering from an intestinal condition caused by the iShaka beetle. In Shaka's time, these cowhide shields were supplied by the king, and they remained the king's property. Shaka accorded the white traders most favoured treatment, ceded them land, and permitted them to build a settlement at Port Natal. Old chiefdoms vanished and new ones were created. He is credited with creating a fighting force that devastated the entire region. Oral sources record that in this period of devastation, a singular Zulu, a man named Gala, eventually stood up to Shaka and objected to these measures, pointing out that Nandi was not the first person to die in Zululand. It is probable that, over time, the Zulu were able to hone and improve their encirclement tactics. DVD, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay, "History of Shaka (Tshaka), King of the Zulu", "The Zulu are coming to Civilization 6 in the Rise and Fall expansion", "Notices of the Cape And Southern Africa, Since The Appointment, As Governor, Of Major-Gen. Sir Geo. He argues that attempts to distort his life and image have been systematic— beginning with the first European visitors to his kingdom. The second major clash was against the British during 1879. [citation needed]. [16] He also had two prominent front teeth. However, the cattle wealth of the whole community throughout the kingdom was greatly improved; even though most of the herds were owned by the king and his chiefs and indunas, all shared in the pride roused by the magnificence of the royal herds as well as the pride of belonging to the unequalled military power of Zulu. They spent two whole days recuperating in one instance, and on another they rested for a day and two nights before pursuing their enemy. It was not until around 1825 that the two military leaders met, near Phongola, in their final meeting. Then they were formally dissolved and allowed to marry. This was meant to release sexual tension between young people, a… A number of historians[who?] Clans driven westwards into the Drakensberg mountain range were left without livestock or the leisure to plant crops, and turned to desperate, grisly means of survival in … He thus retained his forces intact. This left the royal kraal critically lacking in security. [17][18] He also drilled the troops to carry out encirclement tactics. [16] Different coloured shields distinguished different amabutho within Shaka's army. The exact location is unknown. Whatever his horrendous faults, and however popular history has distorted his image, Shaka did create the Zulu empire, amalgamate a nation covering hundreds of thousands of square miles and build a standing army of more than 50,000 troops. General histories of Southern Africa are also valuable including Noel Mostert's "Frontiers" and a detailed account of the results from the Zulu expansion, J.D. Age-grade groupings of various sorts were common in the Bantu culture of the day, and indeed are still important in much of Africa. By means of much drilling and discipline, Shaka built up his forces, which soon became the terror of the land. Certain aspects of traditional Zulu culture still revere the dead monarch, as the typical praise song below attests. [15] Dingane ruled for some twelve years, during which time he fought, disastrously, against the Voortrekkers, and against another half-brother, Mpande, who, with Boer and British support, took over the Zulu leadership in 1840, ruling for some 30 years. With the impi in the iziCwe regiment, he had the companionship he had previously lacked, while the battlefield provided a stadium in which he could demonstrate his talents and courage. John Wright (history professor at University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg), Julian Cobbing and Dan Wylie (Rhodes University, Grahamstown) are among a number of writers who have modified these stories. Howcroft, P. (undated). Stuart's early 20th century work was continued by D. McK. During his brief reign more than a hundred chiefdoms were brought together in a Zulu kingdom which survived not only the death of its founder but later military defeat and calculated attempts to break it up. Phongola is near the present day border of KwaZulu-Natal, a province in South Africa. Those seeking an explanation for Shaka’s brutality may begin with his childhood. His life is the subject of numerous colourful and exaggerated stories, many of … In a two-day running battle, the Zulu inflicted a resounding defeat on their opponents. 1 Information on the rapper 2 Lyrics 2.1 Verse 1: 2.2 Verse 2: 3 Trivia 4 Gallery Shaka kaSenzangakhona,also known as Shaka Zulu,was born circa 1787, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In fact, European travellers to Shaka's kingdom demonstrated advanced technology such as firearms and writing, but the Zulu monarch was less than convinced. A cruel tyrant, he had men executed with a nod of his head. Nevertheless, the concept of "light" forces is questionable. His father, Senzangakhona, was a minor chief of one of the Zulu-speaking clans and his mother, Nandi, was daughter of Chief Mbhengi of the rival clan. Reading about him, one is tossed about by a mixture of hate and admiration. Later, probably at the time of the Great Famine, known as the Madlantule (c.1802), Shaka was taken to the Mthethwa people, where shelter was found in the home of Nandi's aunt. Outside South Africa Shaka has long enjoyed a reputation as a tyrant, a monster of cruelty who murdered his own people on a whim, and whose campaigns of conquest depopulated huge areas of the interior. The majority then submitted to Shaka. [16] He was tall and his skin tone was dark brown. Shaka ruled from 1816 till 1828. Their effects were felt even far north of the Zambezi River. Until such time, however, sexual intercourse between members of the male and female age regiments was forbidden. Taking advantage of the absence of his armies, on 22 September 1828, his bodyguard Mbopha, and his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana, stabbed Shaka near his military barracks at Dukuza. Shaka Zulu & Julius Caesar battle it out in this episode of Epic Rap Battles Of History. Shaka, founder of the Zulu Kingdom of southern Africa, is murdered by his two half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, after Shaka’s mental illness threatened to destroy the Zulu tribe. Moreover, he was alert to the advantages that their trade might bring to him. A great part of Shaka's life and rule has been referenced in Henry Rider Haggard's fiction novel, Nada the Lily. At that time there were two strong rival Nguni groups, the Mthethwa led by the paramount chief Dingiswayo, and the Ndwandwe under the ferocious Zwide. Information about Shaka's early years is gleaned entirely from oral sources. His war cry was `Victory or death!' [13] More modern researchers argue that such explanations fall short, and that the general Zulu culture, which included other tribes and clans, contained a number of practices that Shaka could have drawn on to fulfill his objectives, whether in raiding, conquest or hegemony. Shaka sought revanchy in the Battle of Mhlatuze River in 1820, and won it with Zulu’s dominance over the Ndwandwe. Shaka's triumphs did not succeed in obliterating or diminishing the memories of his better-born rivals. Groups of refugees from Shaka's assaults, first Hlubi and Ngwane clans, later followed by the Mantatees and the Matabele of Mzilikazi, crossed the Drakensberg to the west, smashing chiefdoms in their path. Shaka kaSenzangakhona (c. July 1787 – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu (Zulu pronunciation: [ˈʃaːɠa]), was the King of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. J.H. Probably when he was about twenty-three years old, he was drafted into one of the Mthethwa regiments where he found a satisfaction he had never known before. 1879: The British suffer a crushing defeat from the hands of the Zulu … Shaka thus spent his earliest years at his father's esiKlebeni homestead near present Babanango, in the hallowed locality known as the EmaKhosini or Burial-place of the Kings, where Senzangakhona's forebears, the descendants of Zulu (Nkosinkulu), had been chiefs for generations. Transgressions were punished by death. He was born c. 1787. It was 80 km further south of his previous royal residence kwaBulawayo, on the site of the present day town of Stanger. This is the only known sketch of Shaka, drawn in 1824. [30], Various modern historians writing on Shaka and the Zulu point to the uncertain nature of Fynn and Isaac's accounts of Shaka's reign. He lived in an area of south-east Africa between the Drakensberg and the Indian Ocean, a region populated by many independent Nguni chiefdoms. The royal women. Famine and chaos followed the wholesale extermination of populations and the destruction of herds and crops between the Limpopo and the Gariep River. Though much remains unknown about Shaka's personal appearance, sources tend to agree he had a strong, muscular body and was not fat. He addressed this by allowing them to marry and set up homesteads (which was forbidden during Shaka's rule) and they also received cattle from Dingane. Economic and social changes. By then, Shaka had no major rival in the area of present day KwaZulu/Natal. A more credible account is that the relationship between Nandi and Senzangakhona was illicit, and that Shaka was born in Langeni territory at the Nguga homestead of Nandi's uncle. The hypothesis that several states of a new kind arose about the same time does not take account of the contrast between the short line of Shaka and the long pedigrees of his most important opponents – especially the coalition grouped around his deadly enemy Zwide (d. 1822). Shaka Zulu. Discipline. Shaka's troops maintained a strong position on the crest of the hill. He was one of the most influential monarchs in the Zulu kingdom. He set up his main residence at Mmungungundlovo and established his authority over the Zulu kingdom. Traditional Zulu praise song, English translation by Ezekiel Mphahlele, Other Zulu sources are sometimes critical of Shaka, and numerous negative images abound in Zulu oral history. [3], Shaka further refined the ibutho military system and, with the Mthethwa empire's support over the next several years, forged alliances with his smaller neighbours to counter the growing threat from Ndwandwe raids from the north. His mother was Nandi, the daughter of a Langeni chief. The rise of the Zulu kingdom under Shaka. Shaka's first capital was on the banks of the Mhodi, a small tributary of the Mkhumbane River in the Babanango district. [5] Thus Shaka became Chief of the Zulu clan, although he remained a vassal of the Mthethwa empire[6] until Dingiswayo's death in battle a year later at the hands of Zwide, powerful chief of the Ndwandwe (Nxumalo) nation. Shaka observed several demonstrations of European technology and knowledge, but he held that the Zulu way was superior to that of the foreigners. The ripple effect caused by these mass migrations would become known (though only in the twentieth century) as the Mfecane/Difaqane (annihilation). There, King Shaka leads a perfect strategy that saves over 300,000 soldiers, but at the cost of his own life. A short biography on a man with incredible vision Shaka, Zulu King [online] Pagewise [accessed 17 September 2009]|Anglo-Zulu War 1879. Want to help ERB? Other notable figures to arise from the Mfecane/Difaqane include Soshangane, who expanded from the Zulu area into what is now Mozambique. Shaka was born in 1787. Officially, they were wards of the king. His reforms of local society built on existing structures. Shaka Zulu established the Zulu Empire and revolutionized warfare in Southern Africa in the early 19th Century. [16] Several other historians of the Zulu, and the Zulu military system, however, affirm the mobility rate of up to 50 miles per day.[19][20]. After a first expedition had been defeated by the superior control and strategies of the Zulu at Gqokoli Hill, Zwide, in April 1818, sent all his army into Zululand. Each military settlement had a herd of royal cattle assigned to it, from which the young men were supplied with meat. His impis (warrior regiments) were rigorously disciplined: failure in battle meant death.[34]. According to popular belief, Shaka was an illegitimate child of Senzangakhona kaJama, a minor Zulu chief, and Nandi. [31], A 1998 study by historian Carolyn Hamilton summarizes much of the scholarship on Shaka towards the dawn of the 21st century in areas ranging from ideology, politics and culture, to the use of his name and image in a popular South African theme park, Shakaland. As the great King Shaka's life ebbed away, he called out to his brother Dingane: He meant the white people, because they made their houses of mud, like the swallows. The Zulu Empire numbered approximately 250,000, including rival groups, and its province became the largest in the history of Southern Africa. Shaka's enemies described him as ugly in some respects. Shaka's reign coincided with the start of the Mfecane/Difaqane ("Upheaval" or "Crushing"), a period of devastating warfare and chaos in southern Africa between 1815 and about 1840 that depopulated the region. Shaka won them over by subtler tactics, such as patronage and reward. The settling of Mzilikazi's people, the AmaNdebele or Matabele, in the south of Zimbabwe with the concomitant driving of the AmaShona into the north caused a tribal conflict that still resonates today. These peoples were never defeated in battle by the Zulu; they did not have to be. During his brief reign, which lasted only ten years after his final defeat of the Ndwandwe, his regiments continuously went on campaign, steadily extending their assaults further afield as the areas near at hand were stripped of their cattle. On the death of Shaka's father (c. 1816), Dingiswayo lent his young protégé the military support necessary to oust and assassinate his senior brother Sigujana, and make himself chieftain of the Zulu, although he remained a vassal of Dingiswayo. Nandi and her son sought sanctuary in the Mhlathuze Valley of the Langeni people. He is the bird that preys on other birds, According to Donald Morris, Shaka ordered that no crops should be planted during the following year of mourning, no milk (the basis of the Zulu diet at the time) was to be used, and any woman who became pregnant was to be killed along with her husband. 1781 to 1816 Senzangakhona 1816 to 1828 Shaka 1828 to 1840 Dingane 1840 to 1872 Mpande 1872 to 1879 Cetswayo 1879 to 1916 Dinizulu 1916 to 1933 Maphumazana 1933 to 1968 Cyprian Bhekezulu 1968 to Date His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu; Family History. Zwide's general Soshangane (of the Shangaan) moved north towards what is now Mozambique to inflict further damage on less resistant foes and take advantage of slaving opportunities, obliging Portuguese traders to give tribute. The story that sandals were discarded to toughen the feet of Zulu warriors has been noted in various military accounts such as The Washing of the Spears, Like Lions They Fought, and Anatomy of the Zulu Army. The battle-axe that excels over other battle-axes in sharpness, The climax came with the death of his mother Nandi in October 1827, huge numbers were put to death during the mourning ceremonies because they showed insufficient grief; and his armies were sent out to force the surrounding chiefdoms to grieve. Shaka kaSenzangakhona (1787 – 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu was the leader of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. Outwardly, he was tall and powerfully built, and his skill and daring gave him a natural mastery over the youths in his age group; inwardly, he was developing a thirst for power. However, it is known that when Dingiswayo fought his last battle, Shaka did not arrive at the scene until after his overlord's capture. Soga implied as much when he used genealogical evidence to argue that the Zulu were an upstart group inferior in dignity and distinction to established chiefdoms in their region, for example, the Hlubi, Ndwandwe, and Dlamini lines. Shaka later had to contend again with Zwide's son Sikhunyane in 1826. Shaka’s life story is a fascinating tale in the telling. We all know that Shaka remodeled the assegai, turning a long, throwing weapon into a much more effective, short stabbing one. Zwide himself escaped with a handful of followers before falling foul of a chieftainess named Mjanji, ruler of a Babelu clan. At the time of his death, Shaka ruled over 250,000 people and could muster more than 50,000 warriors. [23], The expanding Zulu power inevitably clashed with European hegemony in the decades after Shaka's death. The Zulu nation was founded by King Shaka kaSenzangakhona (the prefix ka meaning ‘son of’), who reigned from 1816 to 1828, and whose nephew Cetshwayo kaMpande was on the throne in 1879. The military system thus helped develop a strong sense of identity in the kingdom as a whole.