A great poet from KwaZulu-Natal, Mazisi Kunene, passed away on August 12th. The Los Angeles Times has a nice summary of his life and work. A Foundation Trust has been established in his name to continue his legacy.
His writing was banned at various times by the South African government. The LA Times points out, however, that the verse narrative “Emperor Shaka the Great: A Zulu Epic” (1979) was apparently distributed as a form of inspiration to the resistance fighters who opposed apartheid.
From Book One: The prophecy (page 1):
After the night has covered the earth
Rouse us from the nightmare of forgetfulness
So that we may narrate their tales.
You will see them, the Forefathers, by the brightness of the
moon.
You will see their great processions as they enter the mountain!
Eternally their anthems emerge.
How then can we be silent before the rising sun?
How wonderful! We can sing the sacred songs of our
Forefathers!
By our ancient epics we are made beautiful.
Past Book Seven: A military and political genius organises (page 156):
No man must let his weapons lose their power.
Failure to build a powerful nation
Only breeds a nation of vagabonds on the outskirts.
Bees that have been stirred from their nest
Often run amok, stinging the innocent passer-by.
For this reason the sting must be removed from them.
By our invincible power we must make peace for all peoples.
We must be alert for battle.
Those who believe in our truth shall be welcomed.
Their harvests shall be protected by our army.
Our lands shall be fertile for all peoples.
But for the moment we must build and be ready for our
enemies.
Let none among our regiments be rushed into precipitate wars.
Let none pester the nation with calls for senseless raids.
Let no one claim Zwide’s war still haunts them,
Alleging possession by the spirit of war.
Let such reckless men know they only invite death from me.
There is no heroism in those who terrorize others.
Yet there shall be no coward in Zululand;
Whoever makes this blasphemy against you and your clan —
Bring him to justice!
As a slight digression, Kunene wrote in the introduction to this book:
I have tried to give a fatihful but free translation of the original. I have also cut out a great deal of material which would seem to be a digression from the story, a style unacceptable in English but characteristic of deep scholarship in Zulu.