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Zulu

An estimated 8 million South Africans consider themselves Zulu (amaZulu) or members of closely related ethnic groups in the 1990s. AmaZulu are originally from the Great Lakes of Central Africa. They share their roots with all the Nguni peoples whose ancestral and linguistic roots are Ntu. Ntu begot Mnguni; Mnguni begot Xhosa, Luzumane, Swazi and Ndebele. By the eighteenth century, Zulu society encompassed a number of Nguni-speaking chiefdoms north of the Tugela River. The Zulu homestead (imizi) consisted of an extended polygynous family and others attached to the household through social obligations. This social unit was largely self-sufficient, with responsibilities divided according to gender. Men were generally responsible for defending the homestead, caring for cattle, manufacturing and maintaining weapons and farm implements, and building dwellings. Women had domestic responsibilities and raised crops, usually grains, on land near the household.

AmaZulu are originally from the Great Lakes of Central Africa. They share their roots with all the Nguni peoples whose ancestral and linguistic roots are Ntu. Ntu begot Mnguni; Mnguni begot Xhosa, Luzumane, Swazi and Ndebele. Each of the descendants of the sons of Mnguni subsequently established their own kingdoms and spatial territories. Luzumane is the progenitor of amaZulu. Luzumane was succeeded by Malandela, Zulu, Ntombela, Nkosinkulu, Phunga, Mageba, Ndaba, Jama, Senzangakhona, Shaka, Dingane,Cetshwayo, Dinuzulu, Maphumzana, Bhekuzulu and the current king, Zwelithini.

Malandela had two quarrelsome sons, Qwabe and Zulu. In order to prevent them from fighting, he sent them to different areas to settle and establish their own communities. At this time, there was no Zulu kingdom as such. In fact, there were several traditional communities which were semi-independent entities, but not kingdoms. They lived in a loose confederation from the hills of Babanango to the Mhlathuze river. The borders of KwaZulu were the White Umfolozi river to the north and the Mhlathuze river to the south.

The neighbors of amaZulu included amaNdwandwe, abaThethwa, isiThelezi, amaHlongo or abaseLangeni and amaQwabe. Zulu chiefs demanded steadily increasing tribute or taxes from their subjects, acquired great wealth, commanded large armies, and, in many cases, subjugated neighboring chiefdoms. Military conquest allowed men to achieve status distinctions that had become increasingly important. AmaNdwandwe under the leadership of Zwide and abaThethwa led by Dingiswayo were the most powerful of these communities. The two leaders continuously extended their areas of influence by conquest and incorporation of smaller communities. Their ambitions ultimately led to a battle for supremacy between them. In the early nineteenth century, the large and powerful Mthethwa chiefdom, led by Dingiswayo, dominated much of the region north of the Tugela River.

Shaka, a Zulu warrior who had won recognition in 1810 by skillfully subduing the leader of the warring Buthelezi chiefdom, took advantage of Dingiswayo's military defeat by the neighboring Ndwandwe armies to begin building the Zulu empire in 1817. Shaka was one of the traditional leaders ofamaZulu who played a significant role in the creation and expansion of the kingdom of amaZulu. Shaka was one of the sons of Senzangakhona. He was born out ofwedlock and his mother was Nandi. After the death of Senzangakhona, Shaka usurped the throne with the aid of Dingiswayo of abaThethwa. He immediately set about organising the Zulu warriors into a mighty force. Meanwhile, the conflict between amaNdwandwe and abaThethwa escalated and culminated in the killing of Dingiswayo, the benefactor of Shaka. This enraged Shaka and he gathered both the amaZulu and abaThethwa armies and routed amaNdwandwe. Zwide fled and later died.

When Shaka ascended the throne in 1816, there were about 50 independent traditional communities in KwaZulu. Between 1816 and 1828, he attacked, defeated and subjugated most communities while others simply submitted and paid tribute and allegiance to the new king.

As king, Shaka Zulu (r. 1817-28) defied tradition by adopting new fighting strategies, by consolidating control over his military regiments, and by ruthlessly eliminating potential rivals for power. Shaka's warrior regiments (impis ) eventually subjugated the powerful Ndwandwe, and decimated or drove from the area the armies of Shaka's rivals. Spreading warfare -- exacerbated by pressures from Europeans -- drove thousands of Africans north and west, and the ensuing upheaval spawned new conflicts throughout the region.

The Zulu empire weakened after Shaka's death in 1828 and fragmented, especially following military defeats at the hands of the Afrikaners in 1839 and the British in 1879. Zululand, the area north of the Tugela River, was incorporated into the British colony, Natal, in 1887. The last Zulu uprising, a poll tax protest led by Chief Bambatha in 1906, was ruthlessly suppressed. The Zulu population remained fragmented during most of the twentieth century, although loyalty to the royal family continued to be strong in some areas. Leaders of Zulu cultural organizations and Zulu politicians were able to preserve a sense of ethnic identity through the symbolic recognition of Zulu history and through local-level politics.

Zulu men and women have made up a substantial portion of South Africa's urban work force throughout the twentieth century, especially in the gold and copper mines of the Witwatersrand. Zulu workers organized some of the first black labor unions in the country. For example, the Zulu Washermen's Guild, Amawasha, was active in Natal and the Witwatersrand even before the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910. The Zululand Planters' Union organized agricultural workers in Natal in the early twentieth century.

The KwaZulu homeland was carved out of several unconnected plots of land in Natal in the 1960s. In 1976 Mangosuthu (Gatsha) Buthelezi, a member of the Zulu royal family, was named chief minister of KwaZulu, and the government declared KwaZulu a self-governing territory a year later. Buthelezi established good relations with the National Party-dominated government and, in the process, severed his former close ties to the African National Congress (ANC).

During the 1980s, Buthelezi refused repeated government offers of homeland independence; he preferred to retain the self-governing status that allowed the roughly 4 million residents of KwaZulu to be citizens of South Africa. Zulu solidarity was enhanced by Buthelezi's intellectually powerful and dominant personality and by his leadership of the Zulu cultural organization, Inkatha Yenkululeko Yesizwe (National Cultural Liberation Movement--usually called Inkatha), which became the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) during the 1990s.

During the apartheid era, many people in areas officially designated as Zulu were descendants of nineteenth-century Zulu warriors or subjects of the Zulu royal family, who retained a strong ethnic consciousness and pride in their Zulu identity. Others in these areas, however, traced their descent to those who resisted Shaka's domination or celebrated his death at the hands of his own relatives in 1828. Some viewed their association with Zulu royalty as little more than an artificial political creation. A substantial minority within the diverse Zulu society in the 1980s and the 1990s supported the rival ANC.

Military prowess continued to be an important value in Zulu culture, and this emphasis fueled some of the political violence of the 1990s. Zulu people generally admire those with physical and mental agility, and those who can speak eloquently and hold a crowd's attention. These attributes strengthened Buthelezi's support among many Zulu, but his political rhetoric sometimes sparked attacks on political opponents and critics, even within Zulu society.

Buthelezi's nephew, Goodwill Zwelithini, was the Zulu monarch in the 1990s. Buthelezi and King Goodwill won the agreement of ANC negotiators just before the April 1994 elections that, with international mediation, the government would establish a special status for the Zulu Kingdom after the elections. Zulu leaders understood this special status to mean some degree of regional autonomy within the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Buthelezi was appointed minister of home affairs in the first Government of National Unity in 1994. He led a walkout of Zulu delegates from the National Assembly in early 1995 and clashed repeatedly with newly elected President Nelson (Rolihlahla) Mandela. Buthelezi threatened to abandon the Government of National Unity entirely unless his Zulu constituency received greater recognition and autonomy from central government control.

The death in 2021 of South Africa’s Zulu king, Goodwill Zwelithini, three years ago triggered a bitter family feud over succession – one that has found its way to the country’s courts and remains unresolved. The Zulu nation is the largest ethnic group in the country with an estimated 15 million Zulu-speaking people, predominantly in the KwaZulu-Natal region, whose monarchy stretches back to the 16th century. They are synonymous with resisting British colonialism and oppression in the early 1800s, and the Zulu king is arguably the most influential traditional leader in South Africa. King Zwelithini’s son, Misuzulu KwaZwelithini, was recognized as his successor and assumed a powerful position that controls vast resources and political power. However, his seat on the throne is being challenged by his uncle, Prince Mbonisi Ka Bhekuzulu, and his half-brother, Prince Simakade Zulu, who is the eldest son of the late king, but was born out of wedlock, and a list of aunts and uncles who have contested the legitimacy of his rule through the country’s courts. At the same time, other family members are firmly behind Misuzulu’s right to the throne. The lasting conflict between relatives ensures the African ‘Game of Thrones’-like drama has played out in public view, embarrassingly exposing the bitter divisions in the royal family and putting on display the fractious relationships that now exist between those who support the king and those who are firmly against him. The country’s constitution recognizes traditional rulers and chiefs. They wield significant moral authority, with the most powerful of these being the Zulu royal family. South Africa’s seventh democratic elections were held in May 2024, and the significant role of the Zulu king could be seen in the campaigns that preceded the ballot, with major and small political parties visiting the royal palace in KwaZulu-Natal to get the king’s blessing ahead of what was a highly competitive poll.The king remains publicly an apolitical figure, but political parties understand that he holds significant influence over a quarter of the country’s 61 million people. The Apartheid regime that ruled from 1948 to 1994 incorporated many African traditional leaders into governance structures, giving them mostly unaccountable powers. The African National Congress (ANC), the country’s governing party, has always had a tentative relationship with these monarchies, but made several deals with traditional authorities to ensure a peaceful path to democracy in 1994. More deals were done in the province of KwaZulu-Natal than any other, with political violence occurring in 1989-1993 between the ANC and the right-wing Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which led to deadly clashes with hundreds of victims before the first free elections in 1994. Inkatha rejected the socialist ideas of the ANC, while the ANC condemned the close ties between Inkatha and Apartheid government. Both parties tried to campaign in each other’s KwaZulu-Natal strongholds, and were met with violent resistance by members of their opponents. Under South African law, the president gives official recognition to the new king, paving the way for him to be treated like a constitutional monarch and to be funded by the government. This legislation is defined by the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act, which defines a royal family as “the core customary institution or structure consisting of immediate relatives of the ruling family within a traditional community, who have been identified in terms of custom, and includes, where applicable, other family members who are close relatives of the ruling family.” Western arrogance: European royals have deprived these people of their homes, freedom, and dignity and refuse to admit it Read more Western arrogance: European royals have deprived these people of their homes, freedom, and dignity and refuse to admit it It is also captured by the Traditional Khoi-San Leadership Act, with specific reference to the Khoi-San communities and the KwaZulu-Natal Traditional Leadership and Governance Act. The Zulu monarch does not have formal political power but is hugely influential as a custodian of the ethnic group’s traditional customs and land. The king also controls vast swaths of land, estimated at about 3 million hectares, in KwaZulu-Natal under an entity called the Ingonyama Trust. Speaking to RT, political analyst Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast from the Nelson Mandela University said the role of traditional leaders is extremely important, noting that one of the policies of colonial powers was indirect rule, which meant traditional leaders were allowed to rule their own people. Breakfast said King Misuzulu might not express his political views in public, but he does play a role politically in terms of the posture of the electorate. “The lifestyle of the king is dependent on the political party in power, and that is a political arrangement…. There is a political and economic exchange and the issue of succession is definitely a political matter. “The office of the king is political in nature, despite what is said at the surface,” the professor emphasized. King Goodwill Zwelithini’s reign For more than 50 years, Misuzulu’s father, King Zwelithini, who became monarch in 1968, oversaw the kingdom through the tumultuous period when the Apartheid-run South African government controlled the country through to the achievement of democracy in 1994 and beyond. RT FILE PHOTO. Goodwill Zwelithini and Mangosuthu Buthelezi at a Zulu's meeting In Ulundi, South Africa On March 18, 1994. © Georges MERILLON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Zwelithini died on March 12, 2021, aged 72, after reportedly being admitted to hospital for diabetes-related illness. It was announced later that he had died of Covid-19. Accounts of the king’s reign describe him as diplomatic and courteous but a fierce defender of the right of his people to administer their land and practice their cultures and traditions. He was the vanguard of the sacred traditions and values that sustained his monarchy. He was a symbol of unity and peace in the province of KZN. Experts on the Zulu royal family claim the king offered stability for the monarchy despite the turmoil of Apartheid and his death ignited a bitter feud over succession. The reason for this is that King Zwelithini did not appoint a successor. Months after his death in 2021, the country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, handed over a certificate of recognition to the king of the Zulu nation, Misuzulu KaZwelithini, in recognition that he was the heir to the throne of the monarchy. RT FILE PHOTO. Then-Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, center, arrives at a Zulu gathering at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa, April 20, 2015. © AP Photo “I do so to fulfill my duty under our Constitution, which affirms the role of our kings and queens. Today, we are here to witness a new epoch in the history of AmaZulu. “We pray that His Majesty’s reign will be a long and glorious one. May your hand be guided by the Almighty. May your rule be one of justice, compassion, peace and unity. “Your Majesty, your people look to you to lead them to a bright, glorious new future. It is a heavy responsibility, but also an illustrious one,” Ramaphosa said. The ghosts of apartheid triggered South Africa’s case against Israel in The Hague Read more The ghosts of apartheid triggered South Africa’s case against Israel in The Hague High stakes for the royal family As soon as Misuzulu was announced as the king, his uncle, Prince Mbonisi, and his half-brother, Prince Simakade, made their intentions known that they would separately contest the king’s ascension and that they believed they were the rightful heirs to the crown. A meeting in May 2021 was held by the Zulu royal family, where the name of then Prince Misuzulu emerged as the successor. Prince Simakade did not attend this meeting. In October 2022, Ramaphosa gave Misuzulu a certificate officially recognizing him as the ruler of the country’s richest and most influential traditional monarchy. Prince Simakade then approached the Pretoria High Court, seeking the court to declare Ramaphosa’s decision to issue the certificate of recognition to King Misuzulu as irrational and asking it to set aside the decision. Ramaphosa told the court that his decision was rational in issuing the certificate to King Misuzulu, thus paving the way for his October 2022 coronation. He added he had been guided by a February 2022 ruling which dismissed an application by Prince Mbonisi, who wanted King Misuzulu’s coronation to be stopped on the basis that he was wrongly nominated, citing a pending dispute which should first be resolved. RT FILE PHOTO. King Misuzulu KwaZwelithini (R) and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (L) attend the coronation ceremony of South Africa's new Zulu king in Durban, South Africa on October 29, 2022. © Presidency of South Africa/Getty Images Last year, the High Court in Pretoria declared Ramaphosa’s recognition of Misuzulu as Zulu king invalid. Simakade sought the ruling, which said the presidential recognition of the Zulu king “was unlawful and invalid and the recognition decision is hereby set aside.” The court found that Ramaphosa had not correctly appointed the king in terms of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019. Both the king and Ramaphosa have appealed the ruling and experts believe that it will go all the way to the country’s apex court before a final decision can be made. Africa’s oldest liberation movement must choose left or right Read more Africa’s oldest liberation movement must choose left or right The uncertainty over succession is likely to fuel tension within the royal family that oversees the country’s largest and most culturally influential traditional kingdom. Zulu cultural expert Dr Gugu Mazibuko from the University of Johannesburg told RT that historically there had always been challenges to whoever ascended the throne but these had been settled through violence. “The challenge in a contemporary context is that the kingdom is governed by an act and is considered a constitutional monarchy, the king is no longer purely a king of the Zulus and disputes cannot be dealt with within the ethnic group. “The king is recognised constitutionally and people are free to lodge their dissatisfaction or to contest the throne legally – something that did not take place in the past as those kings were not constitutional monarchs.” Mazibuko said despite the challenges playing out in the country’s court, the king’s followers were not perturbed. “The king is the rightful heir to the throne and people are not concerned although the litigation disturbs the smooth running of the kingdom,” Mazibuko concluded. By Kubendran Chetty, a South Africa-based international affairs commentator Feature You can share this story on social media: Follow RT onRT Africa South Africa

Bantustan - KwaZulu

During the apartheid era, tribal authorities served as the local government in the rural areas of the KwaZulu Bantustan. Chiefs only lost this status after the formation of the Government of National Unity in 1994. However, most chiefs still have great influence and respect among the traditional people who live in rural areas. Besides this, among the Zulus, the institution of tribal authorities symbolizes Zulu nationalism and culture. Because of their closeness to the people at the grassroots, chiefs had good relationships with different political parties.

The process which led to the creation of the KwaZulu Bantustan in the 1970s started in 1955. On 6 December 1955, H.F.Verwoerd, the Minister of Native Affairs, addressed an assembly of over 300 Zulu chiefs at Nongoma, where he urged them to implement the Bantu Authorities Act which had been passed in parliament that year.

Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi was born on 27 August 1928 into the Zulu royal family. His mother was the daughter of King Dinizulu, and granddaughter of King Cetshwayo. His grandfather Myamana Buthelezi was Prime Minister to King Cetshwayo. As the first-born son he was first in line to the Buthelezi chieftainship. Buthelezi was selected by the King, which indicated that Buthelezi enjoyed favor with King Cyprian, and that he had achieved some recognition as a leader within Zulu politics. In order to gain political credibility amongst the loyalists, Buthelezi set about portraying himself as a zealous supporter of the King and as a traditionalist.

On 31 July 1959 "Zululand" was finally proclaimed a Bantu Regional Authority. Military opposition was said to have been decisive in preventing a proposed territorial consolidation of the KwaZulu homeland that would have isolated Durban and its military installations from the rest of the country.

In the early 1970s cooperation increased among the homeland leaders, although they remained divided over the issue of whether to accept independence for their territories. Even Chief Matanzima, hitherto considered South Africa's puppet, joined the others in bargaining with the government in Pretoria and in denouncing its policies while demanding additional land and the consolidation of existing areas. In 1973 eight of the homeland leaders met at Umtata in Transkei to explore a federation of the homelands, but nothing came of this owing in part to the coolness of the Tswana leader, Lucas Mangope, and in larger degree to the incompatibility of a Black federation with the goal, voiced most strongly by Zulu chief Gatsha Buthelezi, of a unified multiracial South African state.

By 1972 Buthelezi had become a thorn in Pretoria's side. His calls for a national convention of representatives from all racial categories — White, Coloured, Asian, and Black — to decide the country's future form of government were encouraged by Coloured and Indian leaders. His initiatives were also supported by the Progressive Party, whose platform contained similar goals. His demands that Blacks be consulted by the government before the passage of any laws or regulations affecting them had great appeal for urban Blacks.

Inkatha, a Black movement dating back to the 1930s, had been shaped since 1975 by KwaZulu's Chief Minister Catsha Buthelezi into a popular organization to draw on Zulu ethnicity for political purposes. Formally known as the National Cultural Liberation Movement (Inkatha ye Nkululeko ye Siswe), Inkatha had a rural, tribal, and grass-roots flavor. With 300,000 members it was the largest Black movement in South African history. At least 95 percent of its supporters were Zulus and membership until 1979 was open only to members of that ethnolinguistic group.

Buthelezi emphasized links with the more radical nationalism of the ANC, of which he was once a member, and sought out the exiled ANC leader, Oliver Tambo, for a meeting in London in 1979. At the same time Buthelezi maintained contact with Nationalist cabinet members and the PFP opposition. He rejected the idea of independent homelands and of the separate council for Blacks foreseen in Prime Minister Botha's President's Council plan. The shortcoming of Buthelezi as a symbol of Black nationalism was that he was seen by educated urban Blacks and radical youth as a divisive figure, operating from a tribal homeland base. In spite of his rhetoric, it was suspected that he might in the end be willing to compromise with a reformist Botha government. With other Black political forces having to operate underground or with severe police constraints, Inkatha under Buthelezi is nevertheless an important power center. In Soweto, where Zulus formed the largest group, surveys have shown considerable sympathetic affinity with Inkatha, a factor that could become significant if urban politics become more meaningful.

Buthelezi was widely recognized as a Black nationalist leader. A charismatic and articulate figure, he benefited from his aristocratic lineage, and his legitimacy as the chief minister of the most populous dependent homeland provided him a relatively high degree of immunity to government sanctions. Inkatha was the only political party permitted in KwaZulu. Although some independent candidates ran for seats in the homeland legislature, all elected members belonged to the organization. Inkatha had the overwhelming support of the tribally oriented appointed members.

While Inkatha was less confrontational in expressing its aims, its program did not diverge markedly from that of the Black con- sciousness movement. It demanded the abolition of racial discrimination and full incorporation of Blacks into the country's decision-making process, leaving the final form of government subject to the practical give-and-take of negotiation. Inkatha foresaw a continued role for Whites, and Buthelezi took a controversial stand in favor of investment by multinationals in South Africa. One technique for excluding Blacks from the total estimated in the White areas has been to attach Black urban zones on the edge of cities to adjacent or nearby homelands. Invariably the Blacks living in such zones had been oriented to urban life and were dependent on the White-controlled urban centers for a livelihood just as the centers are dependent on Blacks for labor and as consumers. Thus one of the major Black areas attached to Durban has been added to KwaZulu and a similar area near Pretoria has been made part of Bophuthatswana, although its people are in all significant respects linked more closely to the city than to the homeland. During the period that the idea of separate development was being elaborated and the homelands established in law and in fact, aspects of apartheid in the White areas continued to be widely enforced.

The Lombard Commission in the 1970s, and then the Buthelezi Commission of 1980, were set up to investigate a possible future constitution for the province of KwaZulu-Natal; and then later on the KwaNatal Indaba of 1986, which was created by the joint governments of KwaZulu and Natal to investigate proposals for a federal system.

The 1996 report of the Auditor-General of KwaZulu Natal, Chris Foster, about the wastage of public funds by the former KwaZulu bantustan exposed the fact that graft and corruption was not accidental under apartheid but was indeed its essence. That the KwaZulu government ordered at the expense of the taxpayer teapots costing R575 each; salt and pepper sets each costing R391; curtains and their installation at the guest house of Chief Buthelezi and more than R500 000 spent to provide lace and curtains for four ministerial houses is a scandal. Such deeds could only be done by people who knew that their days in public positions were numbered.

The irony of it all is that the whereabouts of these expensive materials is now not known. This extravaganza occured in the midst of the sea of poverty. The ANC strongly condemned such activities of the former KwaZulu bantustan. The ANC called upon the IFP leaders who in the the KwaZulu bantustan government to account for the disappearance of this expensive public property.