SHAKA

I

INTRODUCTION

Shaka (1787?-1828), warrior, military leader, and king of the Zulu people of southern Africa. By the time of his death, Shaka had the largest and most powerful kingdom in southeastern Africa.

II

EARLY LIFE AND RISE TO POWER

Shaka was born in the Zululand region of present-day southeastern South Africa. His father, Senzangakhona, was the Zulu chief, and his mother Nandi, was a daughter of Mbhengi, the chief of the Langeni people. The Langeni, like the Zulu, owed allegiance to the Mthethwa, one of the major chiefdoms in the region. Nandi, who would be Senzangakhona’s third wife, conceived Shaka while still betrothed and, according to tradition, attributed her growing belly to a shaka, or intestinal beetle.

Nandi reputedly had a difficult temperament, and in about 1794 Senzangakhona drove her and Shaka into exile. They took refuge among the Langeni, where, according to traditional accounts, they were looked down upon and ill-treated. In this period Shaka began to display the aggressive and domineering traits that would characterize his personality for the rest of his life. In the early 1800s Nandi married a commoner and after she bore a son Shaka left home and placed himself under the protection of Jobe, the ruler of the Mthethwa.

Jobe died in about 1807 and his son Dingiswayo succeeded him. In the years that followed, the Mthethwa fought frequently for regional dominance with the Ndwandwe, who were led by Zwide. Shaka fought alongside the Mthethwa and Dingiswayo soon recognized his extraordinary military skills. He placed considerable trust in Shaka, and the young Zulu became a prominent figure. When Senzangakhona died in 1816, Dingiswayo backed Shaka’s claim for the Zulu chieftainship and aided the assassination of Senzangakhona’s designated heir, Shaka’s half-brother Sigujana. Once chief, Shaka took immediate revenge on those responsible for the afflictions of his childhood, ordering the massacre of large numbers of the Langeni.

III

SHAKA’S RULE

Under Shaka’s leadership the Zulu swiftly became a regional power. However, Dingiswayo was still his overlord. The war between the Mthethwa and Ndwandwe was coming to its climax, and many neighboring groups were already moving away in search of safety. In the process, they dislodged other chiefdoms in their way, and the entire region descended into chaos. This period of turmoil and subsequent migrations, lasting through the 1820s, is often referred to as the mfecane, meaning “the crushing” in Nguni languages. Shaka was one of many ambitious chiefs who tried to take advantage of the mounting confusion, and thereby added to it. Decisive and ruthless, and with clearly superior military and administrative abilities, Shaka was far more successful than any of his rivals.

A

Social Order and Military Tactics

The basis of Shaka’s power was the amabutho system, a traditional means of social control that he refined as a means of integrating his various new subjects into the growing Zulu kingdom. All subjects—men and women alike—were grouped by age and gender into regiments, or amabutho, in order to effectively control them and exploit their labor. In this way new subjects no longer served their individual lesser chiefs, but the Zulu king alone.

The functions of the male amabutho included policing Shaka’s own subjects and fighting external enemies. Their style of combat was not new in the region, but under Shaka it was perfected. When going into battle, the Zulu army was meant to resemble a charging bull. The center of the army—the bull’s chest—would advance slowly, while two flanking divisions—the horns—moved rapidly out to surround the enemy. Once the encirclement was complete, the chest would charge in and destroy the enemy in hand-to-hand fighting with their stabbing spears. Reserve divisions—the loins—would act in support or pursuit. Two factors were essential to this successful style of fighting and to the psychological advantage his armies enjoyed: Shaka’s emphasis on the deadly stabbing spear over the lighter and much less effective throwing spear, and his insistence on giving no quarter in battle.

To remain under control, the amabutho had to be fed and rewarded regularly. This required that they be sent out on constant raids for cattle and other booty. In essence, the amabutho system required continuous warfare, and this necessity provided the tone for Shaka’s reign.

B

Zulu Expansion

In 1817 the Ndwandwe, led by Zwide, defeated the Mthethwa and killed Dingiswayo. They next attacked the Zulu. After a series of inconclusive battles, Shaka finally defeated Zwide in 1819 and took over his territory. Now the preeminent power in the area, Shaka’s state had expanded beyond a chiefdom to become a kingdom.

Shaka consolidated his hold over other neighboring chiefdoms through diplomacy when he could, and through conquest if they resisted. A number of chiefdoms took the option of flight, increasing the scale of the dislocation and bloodshed that engulfed the region. The growing size of the Zulu kingdom and the lack of developed administration meant that Shaka could only effectively control a limited amount of territory. His armies kept subordinate chiefdoms along the vague borders of the Zulu kingdom cowed through the levying of tribute, and by regularly raiding more distant peoples.

Within his kingdom, Shaka faced opposition from rivals in the royal house and from lesser chiefs who resented being incorporated into the Zulu state. In 1824 Shaka was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, which was blamed on the Qwabe, a dissident subject chiefdom. The attempt on his life gave Shaka the opportunity to eliminate internal opponents, and he crushed and dispersed several groups. In 1827 the death of his mother, Nandi, and his subsequent declaration of mandatory public mourning again served as an excuse for Shaka to execute his rivals and critics. Such actions, however, simply encouraged others who felt threatened to conspire against him. Even his amabutho began turning against him because they were exhausted by the incessant campaigns and wanted an opportunity to enjoy the fruits of their conquests.

In 1824 British traders and hunters had established a settlement at Port Natal (now Durban) with Shaka’s permission. They brought firearms, and Shaka had grown to rely on them as mercenaries. He also saw them as a channel through which to open friendly relations with Britain’s Cape Colony (see Cape Province), which lay to the southwest of Zululand. Shaka recognized that the Cape Colony was the other major power of the region, and saw that the British could prove either useful allies or dangerous enemies. However, the British rejected Shaka’s diplomatic overtures in 1828, citing the destabilizing effect of ongoing Zulu warfare. The reversal encouraged those plotting against Shaka to act. His half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana, with the crucial approval of his politically influential aunt, Mnkabayi, seized the opportunity provided by a temporary absence of the Zulu army. With the help of Mbopha, Shaka’s trusted personal attendant, they assassinated the king on September 24, 1828, at kwaDukuza, his royal residence. Dingane subsequently seized the throne. Shaka’s kingdom survived his death by only 50 years, when it was conquered by the British.

IV

EVALUATION

Many powerful myths surround Shaka’s life, making it difficult for people to appraise him rationally. As the founder of the Zulu kingdom—a kingdom whose traditions and influence survive to this day—Shaka is celebrated for his military prowess, and he serves as a potent symbol of Zulu national pride. For many Europeans, however, he has always epitomized the stereotypical savage African tyrant. Indeed, oral traditions regarding his cruelty have been preserved among the descendants of the African people he conquered as well. Yet local and regional politicians continue to invoke his name to attract support, and artists, writers, and filmmakers never tire of studying him. No matter how he is regarded, Shaka remains the dominant figure in Zulu history.