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Shaka

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Historical figures

   Only known drawing of Shaka standing with the long throwing assegai and
   the heavy shield in 1824 - four years before his death
   Enlarge
   Only known drawing of Shaka standing with the long throwing assegai and
   the heavy shield in 1824 - four years before his death

   Shaka (sometimes spelled Tshaka, Tchaka or Chaka; ca. 1787 – ca. 22
   September 1828) is widely credited with transforming the Zulu tribe
   from a small clan into the beginnings of a nation that held sway over
   that portion of Southern Africa between the Phongolo and Mzimkhulu
   rivers. His military prowess and destructiveness have been widely
   credited. One Encyclopaedia Britannica article (Macropaedia Article
   "Shaka" 1974 ed) asserts that he was something of a military genius for
   his reforms and innovations. Other writers take a more limited view.
   Nevertheless, his statesmanship and vigour in assimilating some
   neighbours and ruling by proxy through others marks him as one of the
   greatest Zulu chieftains.

Early years

   Shaka was probably the first son of the chieftain Senzangakhona and
   Nandi, a daughter of the past chief of the Langeni tribe, born near
   present-day Melmoth, KwaZulu-Natal Province. He was conceived out of
   wedlock somewhere between 1781 and 1787. Some accounts state that he
   was disowned by his father and chased into exile. Others maintain that
   his parents married normally. When his mother became pregnant with him,
   she claimed that her growing belly was because of a "shaka" or
   intestinal beetle, hence his name. Shaka almost certainly spent his
   childhood in his father's settlements, is recorded as having been
   initiated there and inducted into an ibutho or 'age-group regiment'. In
   his early days, Shaka served as a warrior under the sway of local
   chieftain Dingiswayo and the Mthethwa, to whom the Zulu were then
   paying tribute.

   Dingiswayo called up the emDlatsheni iNtanga (age-group), of which
   Shaka was part, and incorporated it in the iziCwe regiment. Shaka
   served as a Mthethwa warrior for perhaps as long as ten years, and
   distinguished himself with his courage, though he did not, as legend
   has it, rise to great position. Dingiswayo, having himself been exiled
   after a failed attempt to oust his father, had, along with a number of
   other groups in the region (including Mabhudu, Dlamini, Mkhize, Qwabe,
   and Ndwandwe, many probably responding to slaving pressures from
   southern Mozambique) helped develop new ideas of military and social
   organisation, in particular the ibutho, sometimes translated as
   'regiment'; it was rather an age-based labour gang which included some
   better-refined military activities, but by no means exclusively. Most
   battles before this time were to settle disputes, and while the
   appearance of the impi (fighting unit) dramatically changed warfare at
   times, it largely remained a matter of seasonal raiding, political
   pressures rather than outright slaughter. Of particular importance here
   is the relationship which Shaka and Dingiswayo had.

   On the death of Senzangakona, Dingiswayo aided Shaka to defeat his
   brother and assume leadership in around 1812. Shaka began to refine the
   ibutho system further, used by Dingiswayo and others, and with
   Mthethwa's support over the next several years forged alliances with
   his smaller neighbours, mostly to counter the growing threat from
   Ndwandwe raiding from the north. The initial Zulu manoeuvres were
   defensive and offensive, and mostly Shaka preferred to intervene or
   pressure diplomatically, aided by just a few judicious assassinations.
   His changes to local society built on existing structures, and were as
   much social and propagandistic as they were military; there were a
   number of battles, as the Zulu sources make clear.

   Later Dingiswayo was murdered by Zwide, a powerful chief of the
   Ndwandwe (Nxumalo) clan. Shaka took it upon himself to avenge
   Dingiswayo's blood. At some point Zwide barely escaped Shaka, though
   the exact details are not known. In that encounter Zwide's mother, a
   Sangoma (Zulu word for a seer, more than it is a traditional doctor.
   This person can consult the spirits of the dead, cast spells, bewitch,
   heal and many others) was killed by Shaka. Shaka chose a particularly
   gruesome revenge on Zwide's mother, locking her in a house and placing
   jackals or hyenas inside. They devoured her and, in the morning, Shaka
   burned the house to the ground. Despite carrying out this revenge,
   Shaka was still eager to kill Zwide. It was not until around 1825 that
   the two great military men would meet, near Phongola, in what would be
   their final meeting. Phongola is near the present day border of
   KwaZulu-Natal, a province in South Africa. The victory went to Shaka,
   however he sustained heavy casualties and lost his head military
   commander - Umgobhozi Ovela Entabeni.

Patterns of Shaka's hegemony

   In the initial years, Shaka had neither the clout nor the kudos to
   compel any but the smallest of groups to join him, and he operated
   under Dingiswayo's aegis until the latter's death at the hands of
   Zwide's Ndwandwe. At this point Shaka moved southwards across the
   Thukela River, establishing his capital Bulawayo in Qwabe territory. He
   never did personally move back into the traditional Zulu heartland. In
   Qwabe, Shaka may have intervened in an existing succession dispute, and
   help his own choice, Nqetho, into power; Nqetho then ruled as a proxy
   chieftain for Shaka.

   Shaka's hegemony was primarily based on military might, smashing rivals
   and incorporating scattered remnants into his own army. 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. These peoples were never defeated in battle by
   the Zulu; they did not have to be. Shaka won them over by subtler
   tactics of patronage and reward. The ruling Qwabe, for example, began
   re-inventing their genealogies to give the impression that Qwabe and
   Zulu were closely related in the past -a handy fiction. In this way a
   greater sense of cohesion was created, though it never became complete,
   as subsequent civil wars attest.

The major conflicts

   In 1816, after the death of his father, Shaka had seized power over the
   then-insignificant Zulu clan. Though he was boosted in by the Mthethwa,
   and his brother Sigujana was killed, the coup was relatively bloodless
   and accepted by the Zulu. 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 amaNdwandwe and
   killed. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Shaka betrayed
   Dingiswayo. Indeed, the core Zulu had to retreat before several
   Ndwandwe incursions; the Ndwandwe were clearly the most aggressive
   grouping in the sub-region.

   Shaka was able to form an alliance with the leaderless Mthethwa clan,
   and was able to establish himself amongst the Qwabe, after Phakathwayo
   was overthrown without much of a fight, if any. With Qwabe, Hlubi and
   Mkhize support, Shaka was finally able to summon a force capable of
   resisting the Ndwandwe (of the Nxumalo clan). Historians like Donald
   Morris (Washing of the Spears) state that Shaka's first major battle
   against Zwide of the Ndwandwe was the Battle of Gqokli Hill, on the
   Mfolozi river. Shaka's troops maintained a strong position on the crest
   of the hill. A frontal assault by their opponents failed to dislodge
   them, and Shaka sealed the victory by sending elements in a sweep
   around the hill to attack the enemy's rear. Losses were high overall,
   but the efficacy of the new Shakan innovations was proved. It is
   probable that over time, the Zulu were able to hone and improve their
   encirclement tactics.

   Another decisive fight eventually took place on the Mhlatuze river, at
   the confluence with the Mvuzane stream. In a two-day running battle,
   the Zulu inflicted a resounding defeat on their opponents. Shaka then
   led a fresh reserve some seventy miles to Ndwandwe ruler Zwide's royal
   kraal, and destroyed it. Zwide himself escaped with a handful of
   followers, before falling foul of a chieftainess named Mjanji, ruler of
   the baPedi clan. He died in mysterious circumstances shortly after.
   Shaka's general Soshangane (of the Shangaan) moved off north towards
   what is now Mozambique, to inflict further damage on less resistant
   foes and take advantage of slaving opportunities, causing Portuguese
   traders to give tribute. Shaka later had to contend again with Zwide's
   son, Sikhunyane, in 1826.

Death and succession

   Dingane and Mhlangana, Shaka's half-brothers, appear to have made at
   least two attempts to assassinate Shaka before they succeeded, with
   perhaps support from Mpondo elements, and some disaffected iziYendane
   people. While the British colonialists considered his regime to be a
   future threat, allegations that white traders wished his death are
   problematic given that Shaka had granted concessions to whites prior to
   his death, including the right to settle at Port Natal (now Durban).
   Shaka had made enough enemies among his own people to hasten his
   demise. It came relatively quickly after the devastation caused by
   Shaka's erratic behaviour after the death of his mother Nandi.
   According to "The Washing of the Spears" by Donald R. Morris and
   Mangosuthu Chief Buthelezi, in this mourning period, Shaka ordered that
   no crops should be planted during the following year, no milk (the
   basis of the Zulu diet at the time) was to be used, and any woman who
   became pregnant would be killed along with her husband. Massacres were
   carried out of those deemed insufficiently grief-stricken (though it
   wasn't restricted to them) and cows were slaughtered so that their
   calves would know what losing a mother felt like.

   The Zulu monarch was killed by three assassins sometime in 1828,
   (September is the most often cited date) when almost all available Zulu
   manpower had been sent on yet another mass sweep to the north. This
   left the royal kraal critically short of security. It was all the
   conspirators needed- Shaka's half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana, and
   an inDuna called Mbopa. A diversion was created by Mbopa, and Dingane
   and Mhlangana struck the fatal blows. Film and book portrayals of
   dramatic pre-death speeches by Shaka warning of future European
   imperialism lack credibility, as do stories of colorful and impressive
   burial ceremonies. In reality, Shaka's corpse was dumped into an empty
   grain pit by his assassins and filled with stones. The exact site is
   unknown. Historian Donald Morris holds that it is somewhere on Couper
   Street in the village of Stanger, South Africa.

   Shaka's half-brother Dingane assumed power, and embarked on an
   extensive purge of pro-Shaka elements and chieftains, running over
   several years, in order to secure his position. A virtual civil war
   broke out. 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, and ruled for some 30 years. Later in the 19th
   century the Zulus would be one of the few African peoples who managed
   to defeat the British Army (at the Battle of Isandlwana).

Shaka's social and military revolution

   Some revisionists have doubted the military and social innovations
   customarily attributed to Shaka, denying them outright, or attributing
   them variously to European influences. But both explanations fall
   short. In fact the 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. Some
   of these practices are shown below.

   Weapons changes

   Shaka is often said to have been dissatisfied with the long throwing
   assegai, and credited with introducing a new variant of the weapon—the
   Iklwa, a short stabbing spear, with a long, swordlike spearhead. It was
   named, allegedly, for the sound made as it went in, then out, of the
   body. Shaka is also supposed to have introduced a larger, heavier
   shield made of cowhide and to have taught each warrior how to use the
   shield's left side to hook the enemy's shield to the right, exposing
   his ribs for a fatal spear stab. The throwing spear was not discarded,
   but used as an initial missile weapon, until the impis closed with the
   enemy, hand to hand.

   Introduction of a shorter stabbing spear area makes practical sense if
   an attack is to be pressed home, versus ritualized stand-off encounters
   involving throwing spears, as is the use of a larger shield in such
   close quarters combat. Implementation of a more reliable hand-held
   weapon would have been a must for aggressive raiding operations
   implemented under the Shakan regime.

   Greater mobility via sandal-less feet, constant drill and forced
          marches

   The story that sandals were discarded to toughen the feet of his men
   may or may not be accurate but the bare feet of many Zulu warriors has
   been noted in various military accounts. (See Donald Morris "The
   Washing of the Spears" or Edgerton's "They Fought Like Lions" or Ian
   Knight's "Anatomy of the Zulu Army"). Implementation was typically
   blunt. Those who objected to going without sandals were simply killed,
   a practice that quickly concentrated the minds of available personnel.
   Shaka drilled his troops frequently, implementing forced marches
   covering more than fifty miles a day in a fast trot over hot, rocky
   terrain. He also drilled the troops to carry out encirclement tactics
   (see below).

   Well-organised logistic support by youth formations

   Young boys from the age of six up 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. It is sometimes held that such support was used more for
   very light forces designed to extract tribute in cattle, women or young
   men from neighbouring groups. Nevertheless, the concept of "light"
   forces is questionable. The fast-moving Zulu raiding party or impi on a
   mission did travel "light", driving cattle as provisions on the hoof
   and were not weighed down with heavy weapon and supply packs. The
   herdboy logistic structure was deployed in support of such activities,
   and was easily adaptable, whether the force was numerous ("heavy") or
   not.

   The age-grade regimental system

   Age-grade groupings of various sorts were common in the Bantu tribal
   culture of the day, and indeed are still important in much of Africa.
   Age grades were responsible for a variety of activities, from guarding
   the camp, to cattle herding, to certain rituals and ceremonies. Shaka
   organized various grades into regiments, and quartered them in special
   military kraals, with each regiment having its own distinctive names
   and insignia. The regimental system clearly built on existing tribal
   cultural elements that could be adapted and shaped to fit an
   expansionist agenda. There was no need to look for European inspiration
   hundreds of miles away.

   The famous "buffalo horns" formation

   Most historians (Morris, Knight et al.) credit Shaka with initial
   development of the famous "buffalo horns" formation. It was composed of
   three elements:
    1. the "horns" or flanking right and left wing elements to encircle
       and pin the enemy. Generally the "horns" were made up of younger,
       greener, but quicker moving troops.
    2. the "chest" or central main force which delivered the coup de
       grace. The prime fighters made up the composition of the main
       force.
    3. the "loins" or reserves used to exploit success or reinforce
       elsewhere. Often these were older veterans.

   Coordination was supplied by regimental inDunas (chiefs or leaders) who
   used hand signals and messengers. The scheme was elegant in its
   simplicity, and well understood by the warriors assigned to each
   echelon.

   Some controversy has arisen over whether the Zulu chieftain could have
   developed such a system. However, the use of separate maneuver elements
   to support a stronger central group is well known in pre-mechanized
   tribal warfare, as is the use of reserve elements farther back. Indeed
   some Xhosa groups of Southern Africa used separate elements including
   an advance guard. See Noel Mostert's history of Southern Africa
   "Frontiers" and McMillian's "Boer, Bantu and Briton". Morris notes on
   page 38 that attempts to surround an enemy were not unknown even in the
   ritualized battles.

   Organization and leadership of the Zulu forces

   The host were generally partitioned into 3 levels: regiments, corps of
   several regiments, and "armies" or bigger formations, although the Zulu
   did not use these terms in the modern sense. Any grouping of men on a
   mission could collectively be called an impi, whether a raiding party
   of 100 or horde of 10,000. Numbers were not uniform, but dependent on a
   variety of factors including assignments by the king or the manpower
   mustered by various clan chiefs or localities. A regiment might be 400
   or 4000 men. These were grouped into corps that took their name from
   the military kraals where they were mustered, or sometimes the dominant
   regiment of that locality.

Shakan methods versus European technology

   The expanding Zulu power inevitably clashed with white hegemony in the
   decades after Shaka' death. Indeed, white travelers to Shaka's kingdom
   demonstrated advanced technology such as firearms and writing, but the
   Zulu monarch was less than convinced. There was no need to record
   messages he held, since his messengers stood under penalty of death
   should they bear inaccurate tidings. As for firearms, Shaka was
   impressed, but after seeing muzzleloaders demonstrated, he argued that
   in the time the gunmen took to reload, the gunmen would be swamped by
   charging spear-wielding warriors. Ironically, this latter boast was to
   be put to the test against European opponents where the Zulu were
   defeated.

   The first major clash after Shaka's death took place under his
   successor Dingane, against expanding white Voortrekkers from the Cape.
   Initial Zulu success rested on fast moving surprise attacks and
   ambushes, but the Voortrekkers recovered and dealt the Zulu a severe
   defeat from their fortified wagon laager at the Battle of Blood River.
   The second major clash was against the British during 1879. Once again,
   most Zulu successes rested on their mobility, and ability to screen
   their forces and close quickly when their opponents were unfavorably
   deployed. Their major victory at the Battle of Isandlwana is well
   known, but they also forced back a British column at the Battle of
   Hlobane mountain, deploying fast moving regiments over a wide area in
   the rugged ravines and gulleys while the British were on the move.

   Nevertheless, the Zulu failed to learn from their earlier defeats and
   persisted in "human wave" attacks against well defended, static
   European positions where massed firepower decimated their ranks. It is
   questionable whether Shaka might have done things differently.
   Certainly his operations during his rise to power showed both
   imagination and flexibility. His successors could argue that they had
   faithfully followed his classical template which had advanced the Zulu
   from a small, obscure tribe to a strong regional power, but it is also
   clear that those following Shaka lacked his tactical vision and acumen.

Shaka as the creator of a revolutionary warfare style

   Sweeping claims that Shaka 'changed the nature of warfare in Africa'
   from 'a ritualised exchange of taunts with minimal loss of life into a
   true method of subjugation by wholesale slaughter', are open to
   question. Certainly his military campaigns created widespread
   destruction and local distress where his impis were active. When the
   bigger picture of the entire region is considered, several other
   factors come into play, including white expansion at the Cape, slaving
   in Mozambique, and the usual assortment of agricultural pressures
   common to that region. Still on the balance, it seems clear that
   Shaka's military expansion caused much disruption and turmoil of the
   Mfecane, and played a major role in shaping the area where he resided
   and beyond.

   Like every other aspiring hegemon, Shaka faced dissent and opposition,
   but the mere presence of these did not negate his activities or plans.
   And while sweeping broad brush claims of Shaka's revolutionary impact
   must be treated with caution, so too must more limited revisionist
   assertions, which in turn fail to achieve a balanced view of the Shakan
   tenure, and fail to see that the tribal structures and culture itself,
   provided enough precedent and raw material for Shaka to embark on his
   plans of hegemony or expansion, and many of the innovations he is
   traditionally credited with.

Shaka in Zulu culture


        Shaka

                        He is Shaka the unshakeable,

                    Thunderer-while-sitting, son of Menzi
                  He is the bird that preys on other birds,
             The battle-axe that excels over other battle axes,
                He is the long-strided pursuer, son of Ndaba,
                      Who pursued the sun and the moon.
              He is the great hubbub like the rocks of Nkandla
                        Where elephants take shelter
                          When the heavens frown...


                                                               Shaka

   The figure of Shaka still sparks interest among not only the
   contemporary Zulu but many worldwide who have encountered the tribe and
   its history. The current tendency appears to be to lionize him; popular
   film and other media have certainly contributed to his appeal. Against
   this must be balanced the devastation and destruction that he wrought.
   And yet traditional Zulu culture still reveres the dread monarch, as
   the typical Praise Song above attests. It should be noted that praise
   names are among the most widely used poetic forms in Africa, applying
   not only to gods but to men, animals, plants and even towns.

Mfecane - The Aftermath of Shaka

   The increased military efficiency led to more and more clans being
   incorporated into Shaka's Zulu empire, while other tribes moved away to
   be out of range of Shaka's impis. The ripple effect caused by these
   mass migrations would become known (though only in the twentieth
   century) as the Mfecane. Some groups which moved off (like the Hlubi
   and Ngwane to the north of the Zulus) could have been impelled by the
   Ndwandwe, not the Zulu. Some moved south (like the Chunu and the
   Thembe), but never suffered much in the way of attack; it was
   precautionary, and they left many people behind in their traditional
   homelands.

   Among the many fascinating cases of the Mfecane is that of Mzilikazi of
   the Khumalo who was a 'general' of Shaka's, who fled Shaka's employ,
   and in turn conquered an empire in Zimbabwe, after clashing with
   European groups like the Boers. Other notable figures to arise from the
   Mfecane include Shoshangane, who expanded from the Zulu area into what
   is now Mozambique. Shaka was clearly a tough, able leader, the most
   able of his time, and during the last four years of his reign indulged
   in several long-distance raids.

   The theory of the Mfecane holds that the aggressive expansion of
   Shaka's armies caused a brutal chain reaction across the southern areas
   of the continent, as dispossessed tribe after tribe turned on their
   neighbors in a deadly cycle of flight and conquest. This theory must be
   treated with caution, as it generally neglects several other factors
   such as the impact of white encroachment and expansion in that area of
   Southern Africa around the same time. Revised histories have cast doubt
   on the concept of the Mfecane and its attribution of wholesale
   migration and destruction to the Zulu. A more balanced approach sees
   Zulu expansionism as one of a number of factors (albeit an important
   one) that disrupted traditional patterns of the local area. One
   outstanding example of the traditional view of the Mfecane is J.D.
   Omer-Cooper's "The Zulu Aftermath".

   It is safe to say that Shaka was not like an African version of
   Napoleon or Bernard Montgomery with a "master-plan". To the contrary
   the record shows a shrewd, if harsh manipulator of circumstances,
   customs and events to cobble together the Zulu nation under difficult
   circumstances and with patchy success at times.
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