Description
Dingiswayo
While the story of Dingiswayo’s life alone is compelling, any story of Shaka would be incomplete without understanding the central role Dingiswayo played in Shaka’s life. In many senses Dingiswayo was the father figure that Senzangakhona refused to be. Dingiswayo’s death, at the hands of Zwide kaLanga of the amaNdwandwe, would culminate in the battle of Mhlatuze River, and the defeat of Zwide kaLanga, Soshangaan kaNxumalo and Zwangendaba kaJele by the Mthethwa under Shaka, supported by Zwide’s grandson Mzilikazi kaMashobane. Following the battle, Zwide escaped to northern eSwatini and Mpumalanga, while the amaShangaan and Ngoni nations were established under Soshangaan and Zwangendaba respectively.
Africa’s oral tradition
A dozen boys and girls aged between twelve and fourteen, smart in their school uniform, stand around a large, but unremarkable, boulder embedded in the ground. Nkosikazi Khumalo, their schoolmistress, clears her throat, then speaks.
“Children, over the past three days we have travelled backwards in time, from re-imagining the Anglo-Zulu War of January 1879 at Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift near Dundee. We then visited Emakhosini Heritage Site, the burial place of early amaZulu amakhosi. Our next stop was Gqokli Hill, where Shaka defeated amaNdwandwe Inkosi Zwide, around 1818. We visited the site of the final battle, Ulundi, of 4 July 1879,
where the British were victorious over the amaZulu. Before coming here, to kwaDukuza, we explored the dark and dense Nkandla Forest, the scene of many mysterious events. And now, here we are, where it ended for King Shaka in 1828. As he sat brooding and scheming on this rock, lit by the setting sun, his three assassins sneaked up and stabbed him to death. He lived by the spear and he died by it. Do you have any questions?”
A girl looks around, raises a tentative hand. The teacher nods. “Nkosikazi, this bus trip was all about bloody battles, treachery, and killings. What’s different today? Were it not for Dingiswayo, Shaka might well have died of hunger in his childhood or been killed by a leopard. End of story. Why are there no monuments to the great abakwaMthethwa inkosi?” Nkosikazi Khumalo smiles. “Good question, Thandi! I will ask the curator of the museum, Mr Sithole, to answer.” A tall man in their midst bows, smilingly addressing the group, “Now, girls and boys, I don’t want you collapsing from heatstroke to keep Nkosi Shaka company in the after-world, if there is one. Let’s have some refreshments, then continue in the lecture room”.
Thirstily enjoying their cold drinks, the chatting learners sit in the two front rows of a room designed to accommodate about thirty people. Mr Sithole sits on the steps leading to a stage. Taking a sip of cooldrink, he claps his hands, commanding silence. Mr Sithole stands to face the young people and begins to speak.
