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kingdom and spends many years travelling among kingdoms friendly to her own tribe. While abroad she gives birth to Shaka and raises him. They finally settle in the kingdom where Shaka grows, quickly showing himself as having a sharp mind and military prowess. He gains command of his own regiment, which he retrains in a new fighting system. Instead of fighting with throwing spears from afar, which was the traditional method of warfare, Shaka suggested that a large shield and a short stabbing spear should be used. His strategy relied on a quick approach to the enemy under cover of the shield so as to stab the enemy before the enemy could throw many spears.
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143:, who produced considerable advances in State structure and military technologies of the Zulu. Some critics express concern over the historicity of the retelling. However, Kunene's embrace of an African perspective on Shaka's rule expresses an attempt at understanding the apparent horrors observed by Europeans in the history of Shaka.
156:) are definers of social values and celebrators of the nation and its successes. One expert, commenting on Kunene's work, said "the oral traditions of the Zulus these are not memorized stories ... These are re-creations, re-creations in terms of the present. Kunene was masterful at that." The Culture Sector of
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brothers. With his ascension to the throne Shaka radically reorganizes the military system. With this new organization and the tactics he perfected with the short spear, Shaka begins expanding into neighbouring regions, suppressing kings and bandit armies and assimilating these peoples into the Zulu nation.
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historiographic approach are a result of portraying the "tension between Shaka's creativity and his destructiveness" from an aristocratic point of view and embodying Zulu values. Thus Kunene's "Africanist" approach is more of a delve into how the Zulu political leaders of Shaka's time saw Shaka's rule.
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also seeks to delve into the greater psychological motivations which could have driven Shaka to certain deeds which are perceived by western historians as violent or immoral. This means to express the values that
African rulers should embrace in their leadership. John Haynes suggests that the events
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Soon, the first white people come in contact with the Zulus led by a man named King. Though Shaka does not totally trust these people, he allows them to settle in a small part of his land so that he can learn about their ways. He also sends an uncle as a mission to King George of the United
Kingdom.
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Though the Zulu had practised considerable oral poetry from early in the history, the Zulu heroic epic was not fully developed until the reign of Shaka. This poem represents the national tradition of recording the rule of Shaka through many official historians specializing in one particular part of
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The epic follows the life narrative of Shaka the Great and is narrated from a third person perspective. The book begins with the apparently legitimate love affair of Nandi with Shaka's father
Senzangakhona. However, Senzangakhona mistreats Nandi, and drives her from the Zulu kingdom. She flees the
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Shaka earns a reputation as both a fighter and warrior. When
Senzangakhona dies, Shaka, with pardon of the King whose kingdom he has lived in, leads a military force into Zululand. Soldiers and the populace flock to this great warrior and Shaka ascends to the throne, usurping his more legitimate
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suggests that the book was simply a praise of Shaka, ignoring all the other great individuals of the period and Shaka's failings. Malaba calls this book a "glorious technicolor," describing how beautiful Kunene makes the tale of Shaka
However, John Haynes suggests that many of these changes to
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Kunene's approach to the Shaka epic appears to represent the position of the Zulu aristocracy during his rule. The book focuses more on the tension and conflicts of the political elite than on the greater welfare and interest of the people.
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Meanwhile, Shaka's mother, Nandi, dies and Shaka declares a national year of mourning. As the nation mourns, the economy begins to fall apart. Finally Shaka is persuaded to allow everyone to replant the fields and have children.
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during Kunene's composition of the poem allow the book to also act as a model for how black
Africans, or at least black South Africans, can rule themselves using African values, using a "top-down populism".
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Gradually, Shaka's brothers and Aunts become frustrated with his rule and plot to overthrow him. One of Shaka's most trusted advisers agrees to help them, and they kill Shaka while he is holding court.
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guerrillas as a source of inspiration in their struggle against the apartheid government. The book was later reprinted by
William Heinemann Ltd in 1984, 1986, 1993. The 1993 edition (
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Malaba, Mbongeni Z. (Winter 1998). "Super-Shaka: Mazisi Kunene's "Emperor Shaka the Great"".
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189:– Shaka's aunt and regent before the rule of Senzangakhona
353:"Mazisi Kunene, 76; Zulu Poet, Teacher Fought Apartheid"
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For more information about the UNESCO selection see
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313:(1993), East African Educational Publishers,
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290:East African Educational Publishers
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133:Heinemann African Writers Series
66:Heinemann African Writers Series
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460:Research in African Literatures
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432:(1): 39–50. Archived from
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274:African Writers Series
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104:xxxvi + 438
77:epic poetry
522:Epic poems
507:1979 poems
501:Categories
440:5 February
296:References
170:Shaka Zulu
164:Characters
137:Shaka Zulu
321:, p. xxv.
241:Reception
234:Apartheid
223:Kunene's
154:izimbongi
117:epic poem
382:. UNESCO
187:Mkhabayi
54:Language
472:3819798
228:of the
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215:Themes
158:UNESCO
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181:Nandi
101:Pages
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442:2010
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125:Zulu
88:1979
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
