Shaka

I

Introduction

Shaka (1787-1828), warrior, military leader, and king of the Zulu people of southern Africa (1816-1828). By the time of his death, Shaka had the largest and most powerful kingdom in south-eastern Africa.

II

Early Life and Rise to Power

Shaka was born in the Zululand region of present-day south-eastern 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 neighbouring 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 labour. 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 centre 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.