SOURCE: "Super-Shaka: Mazisi Kunene's Emperor Shaka the Great," in Research in African Literatures, Vol. 19, No. 4, Winter, 1988, pp. 477-88.

[In the following essay, Malaba questions Kunene's over-whelmingly positive depiction of Shaka in Emperor Shaka the Great. He also faults Kunene's dismissal of other important South African leaders, stating "their quest for position and power is not explored or judiciously considered."]

Light from the past passes through a kind of glass to reach us. We can either look for the accurate though somewhat unexciting image or we can look for the glorious technicolour.

This is where the writer's integrity comes in. Will he be strong enough to overcome the temptation to select only those facts which flatter him? If he succumbs he will have branded himself as an untrustworthy witness. But it is not only his personal integrity as an artist which is involved. The credibility of the world he is attempting to re-create will be called to question and he will defeat his own purpose if he is suspected of glossing over inconvenient facts. We cannot pretend that our past was one long, technicolour idyll. We have to admit that like other people's pasts ours had its good as well as its bad sides. [Chinua Achebe, "The Role of the Writer in a New Nation," African Writers on Writing, 1978]

The central argument of this paper is that Mazisi Kunene succumbs to the temptation to present Shakan Zululand [in Emperor Shaka the Great] as "one long technicolour idyll." By avoiding a detailed analysis of Shaka's modus operandi, Kunene's epic defeats its own ends—which are the veneration of Shakan imperialism:

       By our ancient epics we are made beautiful.
       The puffadders come and lick our feet.
       Our pride shall be restored then,
       And the wilderness shall echo with our songs!

From the above quotation, it is quite clear that Kunene seeks a flattering (self-)image: his epic must be read as a Black Consciousness manifesto, as a throwback to the slogan Black Is Beautiful, as the testimony of someone whose "pride" has been wounded and calls for redress. One wonders which "wilderness" is referred to: that of exile, or that of the political wilderness of apartheid-ruled South Africa?

My main criticism rests on the "point of view" that dominates in Emperor Shaka the Great. The "glass" through which the rise of the first Zulu king is filtered selects only those rays that, in the writer's view, best illuminate Shaka. Other perspectives are rigorously excluded. Other historically important leaders are contemptuously dismissed as "bandits" or "dissidents": their quest for position and power is not explored or judiciously considered! Matiwane, Mantantisi, and Mzilikazi (to name but three) also have their story to tell. Shaka's scornful dismissal of Mantantisi is highly ironic:

       This woman demonstrates how a homeless vagabond
       Often possesses greater powers of destruction than peaceful nations.
       These barbarous invaders
       Conquer and dispossess the rich villages of Man.
       A wild collection of desperadoes do not compose a nation,
       However numerous their numbers.

Shaka appears to have forgotten his "years in the wilderness": the humiliations he experienced when he was a "homeless vagabond"; the complaints of the Langeni clan about numerous raids by the Zulus, when Nandi and Shaka were in exile; and Shaka's own "destruction [of] peaceful nations." Thomas Mofolo's historical romance Chaka bears eloquent testimony to the ravages wrought by Chaka's army.

Kunene sidesteps the fact that Shaka's empire was founded by force, intimidation, and gross intolerance:

       Shaka addressed them: "My brothers, our journey is now pointless.
       Everywhere we go we find only those who acknowledge our authority.
       Zulu power no longer issues from conquest
       But from a bond of an all-embracing nationhood.
       We must turn back to our homes.
       Perhaps in the north Soshangane and his lot need a lesson."

Kunene does not challenge the "might is right" philosophy that prevailed during the Shakan era and which, to this day, characterizes the South African regime. What motivates those who relinquish their sovereignty in the face of the powerful Zulu army: fear? prudence? or a genuine desire for integration? These questions are not even asked, let alone answered, in Kunene's epic.

Those who assert their independence, like Soshangane, are hounded. Shaka's intolerance is reflected in Ngomane's diatribe:

       We, a nation of heroes that subdued the bandit nations,
       We, humiliated, conceited rulers of the earth.
       We are blasphemed by those who refuse to mourn with us,
       Who by their acts violated the customs of the Palm Race.
       I am talking of such men as Soshangane of the north.
       I have in mind such rulers as Faku of Ngqungqushe of Nyanga,
       Who rules over the Mpondos of the Mzimvubu region.
       Those rulers must wear the tears they refused to share with us;
       Through them we shall cleanse the death power in our weapons.

It is quite clear that Shaka and Ngomane are looking for a pretext for war. The war-weary troops are summoned by Shaka and sent on a campaign against Soshangane:

       Though many bandit nations have been tamed,
       There still remain those who would cause disorder
       And violate custom and bully the smaller nations.
       There are those like Soshangane who still boast their power.

Yet, Kunene does not condemn Shaka for bullying smaller nations! One is reminded of Achebe's comment: "But I maintain that any serious African writer who wants to plead the cause of the past must not only be God's advocate, he must also do duty for the devil." Shaka's hypocrisy is revealed in his disregard for "custom" when it suits him: we are told that he put an end to circumcision ceremonies because he felt that they incapacitated potential recruits into the army! Prince Hlangabeza provides another example of Shaka's hypocrisy:

       Prince Hlangabeza of the Mtshalis had spit saliva on the ground
       As news of Queen Nandi's death was told:
       "I shall never mourn for Nandi," he said.
       "Did Shaka ever mourn for my father, Khondlo, when he died?"
       It was because of these words that the army attacked him,
       Taking the supplies they needed for their war against Soshangane.

Surely, there must be one rule for all! Shaka's army is no better than the "bandit princes" Kunene despises because they "lived by raiding and by confiscating the wealth of the settled communities."

Kunene attempts to enhance Shaka's stature by systematically denigrating other leaders, or potential leaders. Shaka's father, Senzangakhona, is dismissed as an "unpredictable" womanizer and generally portrayed as a weak, vacillating ruler. And yet, his praise poem (which is not cited by Kunene) testifies to his political acumen:

       He who plaited a long rope, son of Jama,
       Who plaited a rope and climbed up,
       There even the ancestral spirits of Mageba could not come,
       When they tried to climb they broke their little toes.

This extract from Senzangakhona's praise poem, which is taken from a text collected by James Stuart and published in Professor T. Cope's [1968 Zulu Praise Poems], pays tribute to Shaka's father for his contribution to making the Zulus a force with which to be reckoned. Shaka built on the foundations established by his father.

Kunene not only disparages Senzangakhona, he despises most of the Zulu princes as well, referring dismissively to "the arrogant Prince Sigujana, / The proud and erratic Prince Dingane, the soft-hearted / Prince Mhlangana." Dingane and Mhlangana are portrayed as cowardly aristocrats pining for lost privileges:

       The insatiable war-thirst of Shaka gives us no peace.
       Those who applaud the endless campaigns only do so to please.
       We have the right to the destiny of our nation.
       We, too, are the children of the king.
       No nation was ever built only on wars:
       The greatness of a people lies in the richness of their lives.
       The sacrifice of war is to ensure a better life for their children.

Dingane's desire to lead a "normal life," to have children, and to enjoy the fruits of victory does not elicit the writer's sympathy. Nevertheless, Shaka's policy of enforced celibacy, on the part of the army, is criticized by his close friend Zihlandlo. Notwithstanding these strictures, Shaka is free to indulge his appetite: "Indeed Shaka himself never filled the royal grounds with royal issue. / His children were secretly given to relatives or removed." The word "removed" has spine-chilling connotations! Although Kunene claims that Shaka ushered in an egalitarian era, some privileges are clearly reserved for the king. Notwithstanding his affairs, Shaka still claims to be leading an exemplary life: "What example would I be setting for the army? / What wise general would ask of his men what he himself would not do?" It is quite apt that Shaka dies lamenting his failure to marry and enjoy family life, as this validates Dingane's complaint, cited earlier.

Shaka's equivocation on the question of marriage can be seen in his granting of permission to marry to his soldiers, after the inconclusive campaign against the Mpondos; and his prompt dispatch of the army to fight against Soshangane, once it has returned to Zululand. Kunene omits to mention the disastrous nature of this campaign, in which thousands died of hunger and disease, as well as in battle. Indeed, the poet shifts attention to the definitive battle Shaka wishes to wage against the "White Strangers," but which, in fact, never occurs.

Kunene is clearly embarrassed by Shaka's friendship with the handful of settlers, adventurers, and traders running around Zululand in the last four years of Shaka's reign. Kunene's Shaka oscillates between friendship and hostility, between sharing the world with his brother, King George, and a desire to eliminate all the Europeans in the Cape. Ironically, Kunene approves of the "kindly Isaacs," the man principally responsible for Shaka's "bad press" in early European accounts of the Shakan era (a topic dealt with at greater length in my thesis). Isaacs's advice to Henry Francis Fynn deserves to be quoted in full:

… show their chiefs, both Shaka and Dingarn's [sic] treachery and intrigue…. Make them out as bloodthirsty as you can and endeavour to give an estimation of the number of people that they have murdered during their reign, and describe the frivolous crimes people lose their lives for. Introduce as many anecdotes relative to Shaka as you can; it all tends to swell up the work and make it interesting.

What distinguishes Kunene's text from other black South African accounts of the Shakan era is the absence of any references to Shaka's putative brutality. Magema Fuze's Abantu Abamnyama, John L. Dube's Insila KaTshaka, Rolfus R. R. Dhlomo's UShaka, Elliot Zondi's Ukufa Kuka-Shaka, and Lindinkosi Mbatha's Nawe Mbopha KaSithayi all "do duty for the devil." While lauding Shaka's achievements, they acknowledge his ruthlessness in achieving his goals.

We are given few glimpses of Shakan terror in Kunene's "glorious technicolour." The first instance is the dissection of the pregnant woman, which occurs in book 9. This case figures prominently in European accounts of Shakan terror. In Kunene's work, the unfortunate woman is presented as an adulteress, whose life, by inference, is worthless. The second instance is the dreadful fate of the cattle rustler, Gcugcwa, who is very insolent when he appears before His Imperial Majesty and is, for his pains, trampled to death by cattle. The third instance is the death sentence passed on Manyundela's troops, for daring to come back, when their leader perished in battle. They are denounced as "cowards" and summarily executed. Kunene portrays all of Shaka's victims as culpable figures, whose demise is akin to "healthy blood-letting," to the purgation of an otherwise healthy body politic!

While it is to be expected that Shaka's underlings treat him with respect and address him in a stilted manner, one is struck by the sycophantic utterances of Shaka's "friends." Mzilikazi addresses Shaka in flattering terms: "Since I came here / I have learnt many things and reflected on many truths. / I have grown to be a man whose vision feeds from others." Zihlandlo also pampers Shaka's ego:

       I repeat my words, my lord:
       Your speed of thought excels all in our generation,
       Making us seem dull and foolish and lacking in vision.
       Then you yourself see us only as children.
       The words you speak penetrate deep into my mind,
       Yet even I had not seen the extent of these truths.

Shaka himself has no illusions about his divine right to rule as he wishes and his superiority: "Images of my youth rush back and I decide: / People must be controlled until they learn the higher truth." Such cocky self-confidence alienates the reader, who has, early on, detected Shaka's megalomania: "Should I fail, the nation itself shall disintegrate." The reader is inclined to concur with Mkhabayi's denunciation of Shaka's vanity:

       He simply sings his own song, believing himself the wisest of men.
       Of late he seems to toss people around
       As though they were some branches loaded with decaying fruit,
       No longer is there anyone who can restrain him.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, is the conclusion one draws.

Kunene "puts his finger in the pan" in favor of Shaka by claiming that Shaka became very fond of his brothers just when they were plotting his assassination. The account of Shaka's death reveals how "great" Kunene believes his hero to be:

       They stabbed Shaka of Senzangakhona from all sides.
       Blood spurted out even from his mouth.
       When Shaka realized the truth at the last moment
       He smiled and said: "So, my brothers, you are killing me?
       And you, too, Mbopha, son of Sithayi!
       You think you shall rule Zululand after my death.
       No, you shall never rule. Only the swallows shall rule over it."
       These were the last words he uttered as he fell onto the ground …
       He lay there, the great warrior, the son of Ndaba, the wisest of men.
       Emperor Shaka the Great, Ruler of Many Rulers, King of Kings!

That Shaka was a remarkable figure, no one would deny. But the informed reader does question the necessity of portraying other principal figures as being far beneath Shaka, intellectually. Kunene's Shaka wins all the debates, with the whites, on philosophy, religion, and the penal code. "Suspension of disbelief" becomes impossible: we are presented with a demigod, not a human being. Indeed, Shaka is portrayed as the darling of the ancestors: "Shaka himself escaped only by the kindness of the Ancestors. / Through their love they had forewarned him, / Making his body tremble with pain and imagined battles." It is difficult not to conclude that Kunene has selected "only those facts which flatter him." That he is an "untrustworthy witness" can be seen in his partisan stance. Kunene repeatedly stresses the historicity of his work: "Throughout the epic I have attempted to give as accurate a historical account as possible. On rare occasions where I felt rearrangement would make the central story more dramatic, without distorting the history, I have changed the sequence of events." But one can justifiably question his understanding, or model, of "history." His sources are in part oral which is understandable, bearing in mind that we are dealing with a preliterate society. However, the writer has not filtered the information sufficiently to instill in the critical reader a confidence in the method employed. Kunene is not wholly unaware of the critical questions posited by oral traditions:

Through these traditions and literary techniques I was able to learn much about the history of Southern Africa. The dramatization and enactment of the important historical episodes added great meaningfulness to the facts of the cultural life. Since I began travelling extensively in the African continent I have learned how greatly valued are the oral traditions of telling the story, of dramatizing the story and of making it socially relevant. (emphasis added)

The central message of Kunene's epic is that "the great Zululand shall rise again!" It seems to me that Kunene makes much of Shaka's heroism in the hope of inspiring dispirited people both in exile and in South Africa. For he writes: "The wily Princess knew no great history is without heroes: / Great countries are those that boast a great Ancestry. / Indeed, artists embellish their past to inspire their children." This quotation begs the question. Are we to take Emperor Shaka the Great as yet another Shakan legend, or is it the accurate, "honest" historical record the writer claims it is?

In order to reach a suitable answer [to how the Zulu nation rose to prominence] it is necessary to cut through the thick forest of propaganda and misrepresentation that have been submitted by colonial reports and historians. The following epic poem is an attempt to present an honest view of the achievements of Shaka.

"Suitable" to whom? we ask.

A careful reading of the text reveals that Kunene's purpose is to respond to earlier myths (produced by both white and black writers) with countermyths. So that the generally accepted "fact" that Shaka was illegitimate is dismissed: "Shaka was not born illegitimately, as some have claimed." Kunene claims that Shaka's aim was not to centralize power, but the quest for "equal distribution of wealth and national affiliation." Surely people can determine their own "national affiliation"!

Kunene asserts that Shaka set up an egalitarian and democratic society, but the text itself undermines these assertions:

… those who surround the seats of power live in terror. They survive only by keeping their distance from their masters.

The king's dominance over the Assembly had been accepted by all: Decisions were not meaningful unless endorsed by him.

Most European accounts stress Shaka's quest for immortality by referring to his desire to have the elixir of life, but Kunene's response is that Shaka sought it for Nandi. Most European accounts highlight the mass slaughter that took place on Nandi's death, and this also features in the accounts given by the pioneering black writers. Kunene claims that these atrocities occurred when people decided to settle old scores. Kunene also states that the prohibitions issued after the death of Nandi stemmed from the counselors:

       At this point Shaka left the Assembly.
       They debated now on the various ways to express their mourning.
       Then proclaimed: "There shall be no ploughing and no reaping;
       No cows shall be milked throughout the land;
       No man shall sleep with his wife in the year of mourning;
      No woman shall be pregnant in the year of mourning;
       Lovers shall not visit each other in the year of mourning;
       No one shall wear ornaments in the year of mourning."
       All these commands were broadcast throughout the land.
       Many hailed and praised them,
       Eager to display their warm love for their king and the Queen Mother.

It is difficult to believe that a cowed assembly would issue such proclamations without prior consultation with Shaka. Indeed, most oral sources conclude that Nandi was a shrewish and quarrelsome woman, in which case she would hardly be missed. Indeed, her praise poem, which begins:

       Father, of troubles!       She whose thighs do not meet
       They only meet on seeing the husband.
       Loud-voiced one from the upper part of the court.

does not conjure up images of "warm love"!

From the above it is clear that Kunene's attempt to "embellish" Shaka's story stems from a desire to "white wash," if one may use the term, Shaka's sanguine reputation. In order to do this, he utilizes segments of Shaka's praise poems, which generally present him as an elemental force that destroys all in its wake:

       Fierce descendant of Ndaba,
       Who sat in anger with his shield on his knees:
       They have no peace those whom he threatens.
       Be they outsiders or those of his family.
       Thou ever growing power, like the forest of Ngome!
       He crossed the river and created the Ntontela regiment.
       They said he should not do it, but he did.
       He tempted the ocean but did not want to cross it.
       Only the swallows and the overseas people crossed it.
 
       .....
       The battle-axe of Senzangakhona,
       Which was spurred on by the falling heads!
 
       .....
       Great One! Beautiful One! Black One!
                                   (emphasis added)

Shaka's izibongo, which I deal with at length in my thesis, portray vividly the destructive capacity of the founder of the Zulu empire. The mega-poem, edited by Trevor Cope, from the manuscripts prepared by James Stuart (who collated thirty-three versions of Shaka's praise poems) and D. M. Malcolm, stresses the magnitude of the Shakan wars in its lists of his victims. The devastation that occurred during what is generally known as the infecane is powerfully portrayed in the following extract from Shaka's praises:

         Fire of the long dry grass, son of Mjokwane;
       Fire of the long grass of scorching force,
       That burned the owls on the Dlebe hill,
       And eventually those on Mabedlana also burned.
         He who travelled across the Ndima and Mgovu,
       And women who were with child gave birth easily;
       The newly planted crops they left still short,
       The seed they left amongst the maize-stalks,
       The old women were left in the abandoned sites,
       The old men were left along the tracks,
       The roots of the trees looked up at the sky.

It is curious that, in Kunene's lengthy epic, the devastation of the "Shakan wars," to which the above "praises" give eloquent testimony, is glossed over, and, indeed, is referred to largely in the praise poems that Kunene incorporates into his "history." Surely the cause of Africanist historiography is not served by "glorious technicolour," but, rather, by a judicious acknowledgment of the "good and bad sides" of Shaka's personality.

I fear that Kunene is not "strong enough to overcome the temptation to select only the facts that flatter him." And this is not merely a question of personal integrity, but that of the Shakan saga itself. One cannot honestly present a feudal king as a socialist hero without stretching credibility in the way that Mazisi Kunene and Jordan Ngubane do.

The differences between the accounts of Shaka's reign given by other black Southern African writers and that of Kunene substantiate my allegation that Kunene glosses over "inconvenient facts."

It is interesting to note that Kunene, like Ngubane before him, approves of Gatsha Buthelezi:

I thank particularly my brother and leader, Prince Gatsha Buthelezi, who greatly inspired and encouraged me. His glorious example of leadership is a true continuation of the tradition of his ancestor, Shaka the Great himself. Through such vision as he possesses, the actions of the forefathers became a living reality.

In most circles Gatsha Buthelezi is regarded as a thoroughly compromised figure—but we see his leadership endorsed by the Director of Finance of the ANC!