Video by Sihle Mavuso
Ulundi – One hundred forty-four years after it was fought, Zulu King, Misuzulu KaZwelithini says the historic battle of Isandlwana was about preserving the Zulu way of life and land.
He says as a result, all Zulu cultures should be preserved, while at the same time, Zulus should import other cultures and practices from other nations if they deem them to be progressive and helpful.
The king said this on Thursday in the historic town of Ulundi in northern KwaZulu-Natal where he presided over a symbolic sending off of Zulu regiments to Isandlwana in Nquthu ahead of Saturday’s 144th commemoration.
The regiments are re-enacting the footsteps of the Zulu warriors who were assigned by the legendary King Cetshwayo from his Ulundi palace to go to the mountain of Isandlwana to face off with the mighty British imperial army.
The re-enactment has been added for the first time this year as part of the annual commemoration of the battle that took palace on January 22, 1879 and the Zulus emerged victorious, thus shocking the world as that time, the British were the masters of the world and their army had never been defeated.
Addressing throngs of people that gathered at the Ulundi museum, the king said the Zulu nation has a unique culture that other nations would like to emulate.
As such, he said these cultures should be preserved and the Zulu nation should behave in a humble way before the eyes of the glaring world.
“Other global nations know that we as the Zulus, have a unique and special way of life in the world.
“We have the throne, which is the king, we have Amakhosi (Chiefs), we have the royal house, we have izinduna (headmen),” he said.
“As the Prince (Mangosuthu Buthelezi) was giving us oral history about the battle of Isandlwana.
“That battle was about all what I have spoken about, our way of life, our land and beliefs as Zulus,” he added.
The send-off was in two parts.
It started with the unveiling of the monuments of Inkosi Mnyamana Buthelezi and Ntshingwayo Khoza near the old Ulundi legislature building and along the R66 highway which connects Ulundi and Nongoma.
Inkosi Mnyamana Buthelezi was the traditional prime minister of King Cetshwayo, the Zulu king who declared the war on the British at the time.
He was the one who gave the order to Khoza that the king has declared war which was later recorded in the books of history and thrust the Zulu nation into the global eye.
It was during that unveiling that Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi gave a speech where he said the British underestimated the Zulus and their spears.
To the British, it was just going to be a “picnic” as they had superior weapons, but the determined Zulu army embarrassed them on the battlefield.
Later when giving a memorial later about the battle and the life of King Cetshwayo, he lamented that its end results brought pain to the nation as the capital of Ulundi was razed to the ground on 4 July 1879 when the British reinforced and conquered.
He said the British wanted to wipe out the Zulu nation after deposing King Cetshwayo and jailing him in the Castle of Good Hope and later died under suspicious circumstances on 8 February 1884.
However, that failed as up to this moment, there is a Zulu kingdom with a reigning leader, King Misuzulu KaZwelithini.
“With the King’s death (Cetshwayo), a chapter was closed.
“But the story of our nation continued, and it still continues today.
“One hundred and forty-four years after Isandlwana, there is still a King on the throne of the Zulu nation.
“His Majesty King Misuzulu Kazwelithini has ascended to the throne of his father, King Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekuzulu, who sat on the throne of his father, King Cyrprian Bhekuzulu KaSolomon.
“Who sat on the throne of his father, King Solomon Maphumuzana KaDinuzulu, who sat on the throne of his father, King Dinuzulu whose father was King Cetshwayo KaMpande.
“King Misuzulu continues an unbroken lineage that has united the Zulu nation since its founding by King Shaka KaSenzangakhona,” Buthelezi said in his memorial lecture.
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