THE NATAL SOCIETY OFFICE BEARERS, 1977-78 President Cr Miss P. A. Reid Vice-Presidents Dr J. Clark M. J. C. Daly, Esq. A. C. Mitchell, Esq. Trustees A. C. iMitchell, Esq. Dr R. E. Stevenson M. J. C. Daly, Esq. Treasurers Messrs Dix, Boyes & Co. Auditors Messrs Thomton-Dibb, van der Leeuw & Partners Chief Librarian A. S. C. Hooper Secretary P. C. G. McKenzie COUNCIL Elected Members Cr Miss P. A. Reid (Chairman) Dr F. C. Friedlander (Vice-Chairman) R. Owen, Esq. Mrs S. Evelyn-Wright W. G. Anderson, Esq. F. Martin, Esq., M.E.C. A. D. S. Rose, Esq. R. S. Steyn, Esq. S. N. Roberts, Esq. J. M. Sellers, Esq. EDITORIAL COMMITEE OF NATALIA Editor J. M. Sellers, Esq. J. M. Deane, Esq. T. B. Frost, Esq. W. R. Guest, Esq. Miss M. P. Moberly Mrs. S. P. M. Spencer Miss J. Farrer (Hon. Sec.) Natalia 8 (1978) Copyright Natal Society Foundation 2010Cover Picture Dabulamanzi, brother of Cetshwayo - a contemporary illustration selected to typify a Zulu commander of the period. SA ISSN 0085 3674 Printed by The Natal Witness (Ply) Ltd. Contents Page EDITORIAL 5 REPRINT A Zulu Boy's Recollections of the Zulu War Edited by C. de B. Webb 6 ARTICLE Pre-Shakan age-group formation among the northern Nguni - John B. Wright . 22 ARTICLE Lines of Power - The High Commissioner, the Telegraph and the War of 1879 - C. de B. Webb 31 ARTICLE Isandhlwana and the Passing of a Proconsul J. A. Benyon 38 ARTICLE Saving the Queen's Colour - J. A. Verbeek 46 ARTICLE Soldiers' letters from the Zulu War Frank Emery 54 ARTICLE Ethnomusicology and its relationship to some aspects of music in Cetshwayo's time - P. Weinberg 61 OBITUARY C. T. Binns 69 A CONTEMPORARY DOCUMENT Durban, February 1879 71 NOTES AND QUERIES M. P. Moberly 72 BOOK REVIEWS AND NOTICES 79 REGISTER OF RESEARCH ON NATAL J. Farrer 88 SELECT LIST OF RECENT NATAL PUBLICATIONS J. Farrer 89 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 90 Dr. John Clark Now that Dr John Clark has vacated the editorial chair of Natalia, which he held from 1976 to 1977. we should like to acknowledge our gratitude to him for what he did to maintain the high standard of the issues for which he was responsible. Natalia Nos. 6 and 7 bore the imprint of Dr Clark's great interest in the history of Natal and in the people who made it. A native of Scotland, he has done a great deal to add to the historical knowledge of the land of his adoption. As Editor, he certainly exemplified these words of Scotland's greatest poet, Robert Burns: "A chield's amang you takin' notes, And faith he'll prent it." 5 Editorial It was John Milton, in his sonnet addressed "To the Lord General Cromwell", who declared that ". . . . peace hath her victories no less renowned than war:" Thus, in this edition of Natalia, which is devoted very largely to aspects of the Anglo-Zulu War, the centenary of which will be commemorated in 1979, it is fitting that we should include articles dealing not only with the heroic events of that war itself, but also with broader yet relevant aspects. It is hoped that some of them will stimulate further research, and open up new avenues of academic endeavour. The reader will see that the material included ranges from an interesting and rare account by a Zulu youth of incidents which occurred during the campaign. to a study of the war on the scale which Shakespeare in Macbeth referred to as "the imperial theme". This war, one of many fought during the era of the so-called "New Imperialism", had far-reaching results, and created widespread public interest in Britain mainly because of the character of the Zulu people themselves. Furthermore, the war and its outcome had profoundly complicating effects on the foreign policy of the British Prime Minister of the day, Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield). This is seen in a revealing comment by Sir Henry Ponsonby, Queen Victoria's Private Secretary, in a letter to her dated 1st September, 1879: "Lord Beaconsfield has always been impatient of ill success and this Zulu War has interfered so seriously with his European action that it is not surprising that he should be so bitter about it. . . . . ." By April of the following year he had ceased to be the Queen's Prime Minister. The articles in this issue of Natalia are not limited to the strictly historical facets. The aim has been to enlarge the range of topics in order to widen readers' horizons. The essays represent the fruits of careful research in a variety of fields and reflect, ina measure, a multi-disciplinary approach to the fascinating history and culture of our country, and of Natal in particular. If this commemorative edition of Natalia enables its readers to gain a fuller knowledge and a deeper understanding of the land and its people, then it will have made the work of its contributors and that of the Editorial Committee worth while. JOHN M. SELLERS 6 A Zulu Boy's Recollections of the Zulu War 1979 will be a year of pilgrimage to the battlefields of Zululand. Visitors to Isandhlwana will hear of the 1 800 men of Chelmsford's centre column, whose fight for life against an encircling Zulu army left its imprint on the stark landscape. At nearby Rorke's Drift, they will be shown the site, marked out with stones, where 200 men of the invading force withstood the assault of 3 000 Zulu, and found amongst themselves such resources of courage that eleven of the beleaguered company were awarded the Victoria Cross. Moving on to Ulundi, the visitor will walk down paths hedged by Christ-thorn, and pace out the positions from which 5000 British troops unleashed a storm of shot and shell that overwhelmed the Zulu army. And should the itinerary include visits to Fugitives' Drift, Inyezane, Intombe River, Kambula, Hlobane, Gingindhlovu, Eshowe, the tales of daring, folly and devotion will multiply. From battlefield to battlefield the detail will differ. But always the action will be relived from the positions held by the British forces. The central figures in each case will be men bearing names such as Durnford, Pulleine, Chard, Bromhead, Melvill, Coghill, Pearson, Moriarty, Wood and Buller. There will be no comparable particularity about the course of the action as it unfolded within the Zulu lines; nor will there be much detail about the captains and heroes who filled the field on their side. Most of the listeners, engrossed in what they are hearing, probably will not notice. But some, perhaps, will. And if they do, they may recall the two engraved tablets which they were shown within the precincts of the monument at Ulundi-one recording the names, initials and ranks of the officers and men under Chelmsford's command who were killed in the action; the other, devoid of all detail, bearing the inscription: 'In memory of the brave warriors who fell here in 1879 in defence of the old Zulu order.' This imbalance in what is known and recounted of the war of 1879 is, to some extent, unavoidable. In piecing together the story of the struggle, the historian has at his disposal vast quantities of documents that tell of the doings of the invaders--official despatches and memoranda, notes, diaries, memoirs, field-sketches, photographs, newspaper reports, private letters. But no comparably rich and varied resources are available for the other side. The imbalance, nevertheless, need not be as gross as it is: documentation about what was happening beyond the British lines survives, and does so in larger quantities than is commonly supposed. The controversy and interest which the war aroused led polemicists and publicists to gather information about it from every possible source; and in doing so, they recorded statements of Zulu participants ranging in rank from humble commoners to the exiled king himself. Much of this material is less readily accessible, and also less easily 7 A Zulu Boy's Recollections interpreted and synthesised, than the records of the invaders. But it is the historian's responsibility to seek it out; for the story of the war must remain unnecessarily distorted until all the available evidence, no matter how intractable, has been critically examined and assessed. The little piece that follows is one of these 'forgotten' sources. Based on testimony gathered by George H. Swinny of the Kwa Magwaza mission, it was first published in 1884 along with a companion piece on Cetshwayo's restoration to Zululand in 1883. The publishers were George Bell and Sons of York Street, Covent Garden; and the title of the volume was A Zulu Boy's Recollections of the Zulu War and of Cetshwayo's Return. The book is now extremely rare. Only four copies have been traced in South Africa; and it is not listed in the bibliographies appended to any recently published works on Natal and Zulu history. In itself it does not rank as a document of major historical importance; but very few individual items ever do. Its value lies in the insights which it provides into the impact of the war on the lives of ordinary Zulu. For while it tells, at second hand, of the major military engagements, it also tells of other things: of the disruption caused to family life; of the movements of refugee herd-boys, attempting to survive with their stock in a country in turmoil; and of some of the inner tensions and latent feuds within the Zulu body politic. In the reprint that follows, editorial intervention has been limited to two activities: the revision of clumsy punctuation; and the provision of supplementary notes. The latter are indicated by raised numerals, whereas Swinny's notes are indicated, as in the original 1884 edition, by numerals in parentheses set on the line of print. One further change must be mentioned: in the original, the Zulu text recorded by Swinny was printed alongside his English translation; here, only the English version is given. With these adjustments, Swinny's 'Zulu Boy' tells his story again as he did almost a hundred years ago. C. de B. WEBB 8 A Zulu Boy's Recollections of the Zulu War INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER The Zulu boy at home.-An unscrupulous trader.-A disagreeable Surprise.-The biter bit. I was born at Isandhlwana. the people called my name Umsweanto (the beggar). I lived on there till I grew up. I herded the calves together with the other boys. They bullied me. On one occasion we went out to steal something to eat. sweet cane (1). We feasted continuously. I and Umdeni and the big boys. On another occasion we reported this, I and Umdeni. We reported it at home. The big boys thrashed us at the watercourse. They said we were never to 'sneak' again. We, I can tell you, let it alone; we never reported it any more. Thus we robbed the gardens of the people. After a time I ceased to herd the calves; I herded very many sheep and goats. Once, as we were sitting by the watercourse, early in the afternoon, it became quite dark; it grew light, however, again very soon. We cried, I and Umdeni. As soon as it grew light we went home, and stayed there. I herded the sheep at all times, and Umdeni herded the cattle. The sheep gave me much trouble; I cried heartily. Thus I herded them, some being killed and others remaining (with these cattle were bought), until it was said that the white men were coming. Our people said, CO! what do the little bits of a rag(2) think to do? We shall do for it utterly!' I went [one day] to the sheep; we saw a wagon outspanned by the roadside; we sat there. Forthwith the white man seized me, and, mounting into the wagon, bound me with the whip. I wriggled out, however, and ran away. Next he seized our brother. Our brother (his name is Ungwemu) seized him, and just scratched his hands till they were red. He was a low fellow that white man. He was confounded; he lamented a little. Presently his people [lit. the people of their father] cooked their food-it was porridge, poor stuff, too; they ate and the white man ate with them-he grabbed like fun. [Our people] all laughed at him, crying, 'Just look at this low fellow, eating with his Kafirs!'(3) I fled for my part. He gave chase to me. I distanced him. I abused him to the utmost of my power. Then I turned homewards; I went to get something to eat. I got home. I just ate. I remained at home. We stayed there; we slept. At early dawn Umdeni and I went out with the cattle. We went out also to them at midday. But the sheep ate up a garden. We collected a lot of stones. We said, 'These are our cattle.' We just herded them, rejoicing. All of a sudden appeared Matuta, Umdeni's father, armed with a stick. We 9 A Zulu Boy's Recollections fled at top speed. I yelled when he was yet a long way off. I cried, 'Maye babo!' there being no one to warn a fellow and sing out, 'You're dead!' He chased Umdeni. I ran, for my part, as hard as I could pelt. He came up with Umdeni; he thrashed him. Umdeni howled heartily. He shouted after me did Matuta, crying, 'I say, you little barrel-headed rascal! (4) Come and have a look at me!' I left him in the rear, and fled on continually. At another time we played with the water belonging to an old woman. The old woman drove us away. We said, 'O! You are not swift enough to overtake us!' We frisked about, kicking up our heels; we waggled our heads; we made various noises with our mouths. We said, 'Run! Let's see you!' Said the old woman, 'Eventide will gather ye together, children of my child! Look you!' That was because I had my meals there. I returned in the afternoon. The girls called to me, saying, 'Come and eat, Umsweanto!' I sat down. I ate, I ate. I then took the kids, and tied them up. Then I ate the flesh of other kids that had been killed (Umdeni being in his mother's hut). I was satisfied; I was completely filled. The old woman was just there in her hut, and I, not considering that a while ago I had troubled her, entered, together with Umdeni. We sat down; we just played in her hut. Suddenly the old woman seized me. Umdeni bolted and fled. She pinched me continuously. The girls laughed. I besought her. I besought her, saying, 'Never will I do it any more!' I made a solemn promise. She let me go. But the next day, early in the morning, many boys arrived. I was stimulated by them. We played at home. We took the old woman's dry mud(5) [for cooking]. She was furious. She said, 'I'll lay it into you!' We said, 'O! So you're possessed of speed, are you?' Said the old woman, 'You shall see me (6) with your eyes - you, I mean, who carry those little ears of yours so bravely!' We ran away. We returned in the afternoon. I went again to the hut of the old woman, carrying a kid. I put it down and tied it up. I entered into her hut. At once the old woman seized me, Tno longer thinking any more about the matter. I yelled with a loud voice, I cried, 'Maye babb!' I then betook me to laughing a little before she laid into me. She then closed the doorway. She took a blanket. She made me 'the wild beast of the blanket.'(7) She put my head into the blanket. She bit my head [all over]. I besought her; I besought her. She let me go, and gave me some food. I laughed at her. She hunted me out saying, 'Off with you! Go home!' I went out. I went home, and stayed there. I gave it over; never again did I trouble her any more. I was very civil to her, and she for her part was very civil to me. The matter of the old woman is now ended. CHAPTER I Invasion of Zululand.-AfJair with Sihayo's people.-Flight of Zulu women and children from Isandhlwana.-A Zulu regiment on the march.-Defeat of Matshana's people. The news came [one day] that the white men had already arrived. It was then said that they were at Mr Fynn's. (8) Our people were somewhat alarmed. They said, 'Let the youngsters run away and go to Emahlabatini:1 The white men reached the Buffalo River. It was said that they had come to fight with the Zulus. 10 A Zulu Boy's Recollections Soon they fought with the people of Sihayo, who were few in number. These were all killed; some however survived. They for their part killed a few white men and [black] men toO.2 O! We scampered away, [we young ones]. We went to Malagata." It was next said that the white men were coming to Malagata. Some said, 'It is good that homage be paid to the white men.' Said our father, 'Whosoever desires to do homage, it is good that he be off, and go and do homage [to them].' Our father went away with his men. Others deserted him and did homage. We pushed on, [we children and women]. We came to Esipezi and halted there.4 We stayed there for a few days. Then went forth the spies and Mtembu with them, having seen some soldiers in our neighbourhood. We made off as fast as we could. We rested for a short time, we boys. Umali was lost. O! We lamented, we boys. We said, 'Perhaps we shall be killed [i.e. thrashed] because we have left him behind!' All of a sudden he was found. We pushed on continually. We reached the Umhlatusi river. It was rumoured that the Usutus(9) were coming up, and [sure enough] in the afternoon there appeared through the fog the Bongoza regiment. j They saw the many sheep belonging to our father and other people. Up came the 'horned'(lO) Usutus and said, 'A bit of food for us, this, master!' They stabbed some of the sheep; they drained our calabashes; they took the [dead] sheep away with them. Suddenly one of the warriors espied an exceedingly fine kid. He seized it. Our father [uncle] seized it, and the warrior seized it too. The next moment up came the indunas [officers] and scolded the regiment. The men ran off and continued their march. We went on. We came to a kraal and stayed there. We happened upon five warriors. They were just starting off in the early morning, it being very cold indeed. One of them was chilled with the cold; he had no longer any power to get along .quickly. [When] he arrived at the kraal he was exceedingly cold. He warmed himself at the fire. The others derided him. They said, 'It is not(1) a young man of any worth. It is just cold for no reason at all!' With that they killed many sheep. We started early in the morning; we removed from thence and came to a[nother] kraal. We stayed there one day. We left at dawn, and went on to Equdeni.6 All the warriors had by that time gone off to the army. We came to a kraal; we stayed there a long time. We heard it said that the people of Matshana, the son of Mondisa, had just been slaughtered, every one of them. 7 CHAPTER Jl The eclipse of January 22, 1879.-The commencement of the battle of Isandhlwana.-Colonel Dum/ord's natives stir up the Zulu army.-Usikota, a refugee brother of Cetshwayo and his tribe, allies of the English.-The English camp rushed.-Individual acts of heroism on the British side. After a few days it came to pass that the sun was darkened; there was silence-an utter silence-throughout the land. Nevertheless the army was fighting at Isandhlwana. Then, after a day or so, there arrived some of our 11 A Zulu Boy's Recollections people who had come out from the host, being sent by our father to fetch away the cattle and the folk that they might return home. They said, 'There have died many white men and Iziqosa [Natal Zulus] also. 8 They told us that the army had been encamped on the Ingqutu range, the moon being dead and they not wishing to fight. (When the moon is dead, it is called a black day, there is no fighting.) Up came the Amangwana [Durnford's natives];" and opened fire upon the host, stirring them up. At once they [i.e. Durnford's natives] found themselves in the close embrace of the Kandempemvu [a Zulu regiment)1 even as tobacco [is united] with aloes (12). The Zulu generals forbad [an advance], seeking to help the white men. But the regimental officers simply mutinied. They marched forward; they went into the battle. They [i.e. the combatants] were rolled along together towards Isandhlwana. They [i.e. the Zulus] killed some [of Durnford's natives]; the rest fled. Yes indeed, and the soldiers too were alarmed; they endeavoured to concert some plan, but they were unable to do anything to any purpose, being now in a state of nervous apprehension, and powerless to know what they should do. They lay down upon the ground. They fired terribly. They fired terribly, until they were weary. The Zulus lay down for a little time, then started up [and ran forward], lying down again according to their custom. Then shouted Undhlaka from the Amatutshane hil1(13) and cried, 'Never did his Majesty the King give you this command, to wit, "Lie down upon the ground!'" His words were: 'Go! and toss them into Maritzburg!' Up started the warriors, but again they lay down, being endangered by the bullets. The soldiers hoped and said, 'Perhaps we have now killed them all.' But again the warriors arose, seeking to approach closely to the wagons. (The cannon were useless in their fire upon an enemy that was now close at hand.) There fought also the Iziqosa tribe-long ago the lziqosa were vanquished(1 4). There was present too Usikota,l1 brother of Cetshwayo(15); he saw the Zulu army coming up and cried, CO! Not for me! I'm off! I know those fellows over there. It is just "Coming, come' with them. They are not to be turned aside by any man, and here are we sitting still for all the world like a lot of turkeys!' Then he called to his brother, 'Away! let's away, Ungabangaye, let's make a run for it!' Said Ungabangaye, 'Oh stop a moment just till I see them tackled by the white men!' 'O!' cried Usikota, 'A pleasant stay to you!' He seized his horse and bolted. He escaped through the 'neck,' before the 'impi' encircled the [campV2 Up came the Zulu army and made an end of Ungabangaye. And the soldiers themselves were overpowered. Some seized their rifles and smashing them upon the rocks hurled them [at their foes]. They helped one another too; they stabbed with the bayonet those who sought to kill their comrades. Some covered their faces with their hands [lit. closed their eyes], not wishing to see death. Some ran away. Some entered into the tents. Others were indignant; although badly wounded they died where they stood, at their post. We were told also that there was a soldier at lsandhlwana who carried a flag. He just waved it backwards and forwards. He fought not; he feared not (perhaps he put his trust in other soldiers). They killed him. We were told also that there was present a son of Somseu(16). He fought very bravely. He killed [some of] our people. The others feared to approach 12 A Zulu Boy's Recollections him. Suddenly there dashed in our brother Umtweni before he could load, and killed him.13 But that young fellow died at Hlobane. Our father too fought at Isandhlwana, carrying a black and white shield (17). They shot at him; they hit it. He cast it away from him; he just fought on with assegais and rifle only. CHAPTER III The return of Lord Chelmsford to the camp.-An unseen spectator.-Bivouac of the troops on the battlefield.-An unexpected rencontre in the morning with a detachment of the Zulu army.The fight at Rorke's Ddft.-Zulu opinions of the action.-Why the Zulus did not invade N ata/. By occasion of the battle our father obtained some sheep at Isandhlwana. He killed them; he cooked for his mother at home, for his kraal was close at hand. Forthwith he climbed up a hill: he saw some white men, greatly dejected, marching towards Isandhlwana. They were silent, utterly silent. They were marching in line. Presently they fired in the direction of Isandhlwana (father being just hidden you see, close to them). They fired, they fired-all was still. They drew near to lsandhlwana. They saw a large flag beneath the hill: it just stood there, hanging from its staff. They shouted aloud. They said 'Hurrah!' They took it away. They lay there at Isandhlwana for the night; but they did not lie asleep. 14 At dawn, rising very early, they encountered a band of Zulus, just a few in number. Forthwith the [people] who served the white men shouted to them (the soldiers uttering not a word) saying, 'Where do you come from?' They replied, 'We come from the other side of the river there-away.' 'You are telling lies!'(18) said the others. The black men wanted to fight with them-those Zulus; but the commander of the troops forbad it. So they just went on their way. 15 On the day of the fight at Isandhlwana the sun was darkened until it declined. The Zulus thought much of the soldiers who fought at Isandhlwana: they fought bravely; they did not burrow to enter within and hide. As for the Mbozankomo regiment16 they merely remained at the Ingwebini river(19). They danced, they just ate meat merrily. Presently they said, 'O! Let's go and have a fight at Jim's!'(20) The white men had by this time made their preparations; they were quite ready. The Zulus arrived at Jim's house. They fought, they yelled, they shouted, 'It dies at the entrance! (21) It dies in the doorway! It dies at the entrance! It dies in the doorway!' They stabbed the sacks; they dug with their assegais. They were struck; they died. They set fire to the house. It was no longer fighting: they were now exchanging salutations merely. (We were told this by Umunyu who was present.) The Mbozankomo regiment was finished up at Jim's-shocking cowards they were too. Our people laughed at them, some said, 'You! You're no men! You're just women, seeing that you ran away for no reason at all. Hke the wind!' Others jeered and said, 'You marched off. You went to dig 13 A Zulu Boy's Recollections little bits with your assegais out of the house of Jim, that had never done you any harm!' The Zulus had no desire to go to Maritzburg. They said, 'There are strongholds there.' They thought that they should perish and come utterly to an end if they went there. CHAPTER IV The author, in company with other Zulu boys, visits the field of Isandhlwana four days after the battle.-The captured cannon are removed from the field.-Drawn battle between Sihayo's army and General Wood's column at Ezungeni.-Surprise of the Prince Imperial and his party.-The affair at the Hlobane mountain.-Defeat of the English.-The battle of Hlobane (Kambula).-The trooper Grandier in the hands of the Zulus.-Cetshwayo asks a hard question. We started; we returned to Isandhlwana. We arrived early in the morning. We saw the soil that it was red, the sun shining very brightly. We walked out after a short time. We went to see the dead people at Isandhlwana. We saw a single warrior dead, staring in our direction, with his war shield in his hand. We ran away. We came back again. We saw countless things dead. Dead was the horse, dead too, the mule, dead was the dog, dead was the monkey, dead were the wagons, dead were the tents, dead were the boxes, dead was everything, even to the very metals. We took some thread for sewing and a black pocket-book; we played with the boxes; we took the tent ropes and played with them. We thought to return home. As for Umdeni he took some biscuit, but I and my brother declined. We said, 'We don't like them.' We went off, they carrying them. We moved out of sight of the place where they(22) were. We asked for some. Said Umdeni, CO! we don't choose, for you said you didn't like them.' We retorted, CO! sit there, !if you please, with your little bits of bread smelling of people's blood!' This we said, being with envy. We then returned home. At daylight we came back again. We saw some boys who had died in a tree, [lying] underneath it. They were dressed in black clothes. We saw white men dead (they had taken off their boots, all of them), and the people also who had served them, and fought with them, and some Zulus, but not many. We saw Mtembu's wagon, laden with the cannon, going to the kraal of his father, Klass. We went home again. Once more we returned, I and my brother, the two of us. I took some boots for my part, and a satchel. I put on the black boots. Our brother also took some boots. He sat in a wagon and put them on. But no sooner had we put on the boots, than the people shouted from home and cried, 'You're dead! Look at the army there away!' We undid the boots; they refused. We burst them. We flung away our satchels. Our brother threw his [boots] away in a moment. I-I was a long time in taking mine off; he forsook me. I got mine off after a short time. I tore along with the utmost speed; I overtook our brother, and leaving him behind in my turn, arrived first at home. The people said, 'There is no army.' I took a new pair of brown 14 A Zulu Boy's Recollections trousers; I went away with them. We set off; we fled on without stopping. The men, however, remained at home. Once some white men arrived at Isandhlwana. The men shouted out, seeing people at Isandhlwana, saying, 'You will be trodden under foot! '(23) The white men fled. There were four of them. We went on to the Umhlatusi. The white men tried very hard to cross [the Buffalo] near Jim's house, but the people of Sihayo would not have it, and prevented them. Hereupon the white men crossed higher up at Encome.17 It was now decided that the army of Sihayo should fight at EzungenU8 So the Ubisi tribe It fought for a long time, but it was beaten, and the white men were beaten too. The armies just looked at one another. A few white men died; there died of the Zulus a few also.20 Now, as we were told it, the story goes that while some Zulus were lying in ambush in the long grass near Ezungeni (they were but few) some white men arrived at the kraal, there being no one there. They put their guns down under [the wall of] the cattle kraal. Some of them went into a hut, the sun being scorchingly hot; others sat in the doorway. One went off to water the horses. The officer sat in the doorway armed with a long sword. Suddenly the Zulus sprang into view. The white men sung out, 'Good day, (24) young fellow!' but the Zulus took not the least notice of that. The white men made a rush, seeking to get hold of their guns, but their strength failed them. They were killed. There escaped only one, the one who was with the horses. The horses galloped away. They followed the man who was mounted. He saved his life. Our people took the officer's sword and carried it to Cetshwayo. They said, 'A beautiful sword, indeed.' We remained at the Umhlatusi river until the fighting(25) at Ezungeni came to an end and a march was made to Hlobane.21 A very large [Zulu] army was lying in the vicinity of Hlobane. The white men climbed to the top of Hlobane in the afternoon during the rain. 22 Then came one of Umzila's(26) men by night to the army,23 and cried, 'To arms! The white men have even now climbed up to the summit of Hlobane!' Then Usihayo, too, called out, 'To arms!' With that he went off to speak with the great captains, Untshingwayo and Umnyamana.24 They, seeking to assist the white men, said, 'O! Not a bit of it! The army shall fight to-morrow.' Accordingly orders were given that the Abaqulusi25 (i.e. Umzila's army) be told to sit still, the [great] captains being unwilling. But the Abaqulusi mutinied, and uniting with the Kandempevu regiment (the hail-catchers), surrounded the mountain. They got at a few white men; the rest ran away and escaped. The white men captured many cattle and sent them off immediately into Natal. The warriors were on the point of putting Umnyamana to death, because he helped the white men and did not love Cetshwayo. But almost immediately the Zulus were defeated. Thus they let Umnyamana alone. The next day a battle was fought at the stronghold!6 A good number of white men died, but the Zulus were beaten; great numbers of them perished. So the Zulus marched away and returned to Emahlabatini. They say that the [English] soldiers were greatly assisted by two monkeys at Hlobane; they [i.e. the monkeys] shot down numbers of people. It is said that a white man was taken prisoner at Hlobane at the time of the engagement and carried off to Cetshwayo. Sihayo spoke with him in the 15 A Zulu Boy's Recollections white men's tongue, for Sihayo was slightly acquainted with the white men's tongue. Said Cetshwayo, 'What am I just being destroyed for?' The white man replied, 'I don't know.' Cetshwayo said, 'Don't let them kill him.' He had mercy on him. It was then ordered that he should be taken to Umzila, who was as clever as Sihayo.72 CHAPTER V The guerilla chief Umbelini.-British reverse at Intombi River(?)-Umbelini and two companions engage a party of British troops.-Death of Umbelini.-Dabulamanzi attacks a patrol at the White Umfolosi.-The Zulu generals Umnyamana and Untshingwayo play into the hands of the English.-The battle of Ulundi.-A Zulu hero.-The hedge of steel. Now a son of Sihayo dwelt with Umzila (Umbokode was his name). They worried the white men; they worried terribly the soldiers who spied out the army. On one occasion Umzila went out with his army and worried the soldiers by night. He chased away some of them; he killed them; he took away their cattle. His people went on ahead, driving the cattle [homewards]. The whole army went on ahead of him. Himself remained behind together with a son of Sihayo and one of the officers of his household. They thought to return home. They caught sight of some soldiers (there were a good many of them) lying down, holding their horses [i.e. bridles] with their arms, for they had by this time learned a device of the Zulu people, viz., to lie down at the time of fighting. Umzila tried a shot; he fired. He hit a white man, and the white men they too opened a hot fire. Thus, it was said, he kept hitting the white men. He out with [a bullet] and in with it into the flesh; out with [a bullet] and in with it into the flesh-always. But after a time the white men slew the son of Sihayo. Umzila fought on alone with his steward. They hit Umzila too. He fled, he and his steward mounting their horses. He went away home did Umzila, being badly wounded. He arrived. He died at home. His steward-he was uninjured. 28 We moved away for our part. We went to Emahlabatini. the troops being now at Emtonjaneni.29 Some of the soldiers went forth. They went to scout. They reached the Umfolosi. They went [down] and began just to bathe in the river. Suddenly Dabulamanzi appeared and fired at them.30 Those who had their clothes on drove him away. He fled. He left them in the rear, because his horse was fleeter than the horses of the soldiers. The soldiers were foiled because their horses do not understand how to travel among stones. Now it came to pass after a short time, that the Zulus sought to surround the soldiers at Emtonjaneni. The great captains [however] forbad it. those. that is, of the highest rank, to wit. Umnyamana. and Untshingwayo the son of Maholi, the generals at Ondini, desiring above all things to help the white men.31 Orders were given that the warriors should just sit still, they [i.e. the great captains] saying, 'Let the spirits of our ancestors bring it [i.e. 16 A Zulu Boy's Recollections the English army] here to us at home; they will be comfortably killed, the wretched creatures!' So after a few days the soldiers arrived at Nodwengu very early in the morning with their cannon.32 They fired, and the Zulus too fought, and fired with might and main. The battle raged for a long time. But at the time of the climbing up of the sun the Zulu army fled. 33 Our father-they shot at him. He entered into a hole. He stayed there a little time. He arose and fled. Our brother too was present. He was an officer. He carried a breech-loading rifle that he had taken at Isandhlwana from his [rivals]. The Zulu army fled. He got tired of running away. He was a man too who understood well how to shoot. He shouted, 'Back again!' He turned and fired. He struck a horse; it fell among the stones and the white man with it. All the white men turned upon him. They fired at him. They killed him. Report says (27) that there was metal-iron sheeting-which protected the white men. The Zulus hit it. It resounded with a sharp clang. The white soldiers kept continually just overflowing [from behind it] till they drew near and swept away with it [i.e. the Zulu army),3" Also another brother of ours told me that they saw a white man (on foot) vanish into a water course. They ran; they pursued him, seeking to kill him. The white man however thought to keep to the water course. He stuck to the sandy bed, following its downward course. Soon they saw that it was now all up with him by reason of the bands of men that were below him. These presently began to shout, 'Aha! Our numbers! Now we have done for him!' They killed him. Some of the [beaten] Zulus entered into the water. The white men fired at them but failed to hit them, because they dived. CHAPTER VI Flight of Zulu women and children to lnhlazatshe.-Zulu boys playing at war in eamest.-English overtures of peace to the Zulus.-Termination of hostilities.-Cetshwayo taken prisoner. -Causes which led to his fall.-Amehlo kaZulu, son of Sihayo, gives himself up.-The author returns home with his people to I sandhlwana. Soon we saw a very great smoke.35 01 We flung away the clothes which we had taken at Isandhlwana. We thought, perhaps we shall be put in prison by the white men on account of the clothes which we are wearing! We went to Inhlazatshe.36 We stayed there awhile. The people hated us because we dwelt with Sihayo,37 that ferocious man; for once upon a certain occasion he destroyed them. They hated us cordially. They thought to kill us. But since we had a few warriors with us who guarded our cattle, they feared, saying, 'We are not able to destroy the people of Sihayo, for they will kill us every one!' They said we had better be off and go clean away. We departed. They captured some sheep belonging to certain of our people, but just the boys alone went for them, and taking them away returned with them. I was there too and the other small boys, all of us being armed with big stones. We went on. We reached the bush at Isihlungu, we entered 17 A Zulu Boy's Recollections into a huge hyena's cave in the face of the rock; the kraals of our people were near.38 Our party obtained food from thence. Now it came to pass after a few days that our boys fought with the boys of another place. They quarrelled with respect to water, for as one of our boys went to fetch some water, the [aforesaid] boys caught sight of him, and seizing him soused him with water. All our fellows were furious, but the other boys despised us, saying, 'O! [you're] only babies!' Our fellows marched up from the forest, but the big boys [of our party] were but three, together with us little fellows. They on the other hand were all biggish boys and many in number. Yes, and the young men of our place turned out. They said it was fitting that we should give them a tremendous thrashing. The young men too belonging to those boys came to behold, and the girls from those boys' place attended also to look on. We sat down we boys, our big fellows taking position on our flanks in order to repel the 'horns' [of the enemy's army]. Presently up they came, desiring to lay into us; but we for our parts had devised a stratagem, to wit that the little boys should raise a hullaballoo crying, 'Huzu! Huzu! Kweza yona! Kweza yona!' [Here it comes! Here it comes!] They arrived. We sprang to our feet simultaneously, and yelled, 'Huzu! Huzu! Kweza yona!' We kicked up a terrific row; they fled. They returned again, and we fought. But as for a certain boy whose name was Usanyongo, we got him into our midst. We thrashed him terribly, the small boys simply taking their fill of him and crying, 'Take that! And that! Here's into you!' He sang out, 'O! Are you just thrashing me, I being all alone, our fellows having already run away?' He broke away by a violent effort and fled. We drove them along [like cattle] by a single path. Their sisters wailed. There was present one of our boys, an exceedingly ferocious fellow. We called him 'He-that-bellows-and-all-fight, the little bull of Nomatukumezana.' O! We worried them finely! We went forward-our young men headed us back. We sang a triumph song proper to boys, to wit, 'We boys! We boys! Ah! just look out for us! We boys! We boys! Ah! just look out for us!' and, 'We are the Thrashers-till-their-sisters-cry!' We detested them heartily. On another occasion we sat down by the river from which they drew their water. We hindered them exceedingly. They feared to approach. And look you, from that day to this they have never begun with us. At another time we chased them like deer. Now after a few days some white men arrived. They came to entreat the people kindly. They offered a letter to them, showing it while remaining some distance off. But our brother, arming himself with a huge assegai (Uzimvu, his name, is a mad-cap fellow of the Kandempevu regiment) just went to them carrying the assegai. O! but the white men didn't bargain for that. They retreated a little on seeing the assegai. They ran the finger(28) round and round the head, saying 'Come man!' Our people refused-the soldiers retreated and departed. Our people followed them till they reached the tents. There they talked with the officer in command of the troops (The Bearded One' they called him). He gave them papers, telling them to go to their homes and live there peaceably. We went home. Our father went to Isandhlwana and all his people. He returned again, our father did, to his kraal at the Umhlatusi. I and Umali and another of our brothers stayed there for a long time together with our father and the two girls who cooked our food. 18 A Zulu Boy's Recollections We heard it said that they had just captured Cetshwayo, he having been betrayed by the people."" By this time the people were sick of war. And he too, Cetshwayo, having put numbers of them to death, they had no longer any appetite for him; [on the contrary] they were now regarding him with a dangerous [lit. red] eye.40 He perished, remembering the saying of a young man of Sihayo's tribe-Umtwalo by name. Long ago he killed him. He was dancing, and Cetshwayo ordered them to leave off. But he-he went on dancing. Said the king, 'Let him be seized.' He was seized; his arms were twisted and bound behind his back. The order was given, 'Let him go away and be killed.' Then said he, 'Notwithstanding that you kill me, you shall see the white men-they will come.' And in very truth they came. And look you; now they have it all their own way. They marched away with Cetshwayo. Next they proceeded to hunt Amehlo kaZulu (29), but Amehlo kaZulu delivered himself into their hands, carrying his gun. They sought to kill him, but they feared. The order was given, 'Let him be taken to Maritzburg to have his case tried.' They bound him, he being mounted on horseback. They arrived. They were beaten by Amehlo kaZulu's case. The order was given, 'Let him return and go to live at home with his own people.' So he lived happily. We returned, we and our father to Isandhlwana. I returned first, travelling together with our brothers. I went with the many cattle of our people. Our father came up from the Umhlatusi. Umali was weary and our other brother too. They got home; both our brothers were tired out. Umali recovered. Our other brother was ill for a long time; after a while he died. NOTES 1. 'sweet cane', a plant ('imfe') the stalk of which resembles that of Indian corn (mealies), and contains a sweet juice; the natives are very fond of chewing it. 2. "little bits of a rag", a playful allusion to the clothing of the white people. 3. 'Kafirs', a contemptuous term applied by the Zulus to the Natal natives. 4. 'barrel-headed'. The word translated here as 'barrel' really means 'a little milking vessel', which is shaped like an elongated barrel. 5. 'dry mud', i.e. dry manure, used for heating the earthen vessel in which the native beer ('utshwala') is brewed. This operation is always conducted out of doors. Hine illae lachrymae! for the heap of convenient missiles is irresistible. 6. 'you shall see me', &c., a common Zulu threat. 7. 'tIhe wild beast of the blanket', apparently a 'slang' phrase. Whether it means that the narrator was like a lion in the toils, or else that the blanket was in loco leonis to him, is not clear to the translator. 8. 'Mr Fynn's' then the magistrate at Umsinga in Natal, some twenty-five miles from Rorke's Drift by the waggon road. 9. 'The Usutus.' Generic name of the people of Cetshwayo. Hence the Zulu war cry 'Usutu!' 10. 'horned', referring to the 'horns' or wings of the Zulu army. 11. 'It is not,' &c. The impersonal pronoun expressing the greatest contempt. 12. even as tobacco,' &c. The Zulus mix burnt aloes ('umhlaba') with their snuff ('ugwai') to make it more pungent. Hence the similitude. 13. 'the Amatutshane hill', a conical hill standing alone in the plain, facing the English camp, and about a mile from Isandhlwana hill. 14. 'long ago,' &c. 'Iziqoza' is the tribal name of the people of Umkungo and Umbulazwi, Cetshwayo's brothers. The tribe was decimated in battle and driven out of Zululand by Cetshwayo, Umbulazwi being slain. This was 'long ago,' i.e. during the lifetime of Umpande, Cetshwayo's father. A Zulu Boy's Recollections 19 15. 'Usikota.' This incident was related to Uzibana, father of the narrator, by Usikota himself, after the conclusion of the war. 16. 'Somseu', the name given by the Zulus to Sir T. Shepstone. 17. 'carrying a black and white shield.' Only certain privileged persons were allowed to carry shields of this colour. 18. 'you are telling lies", lit. 'you are with lies'. 19. 'the Ingwebini river,' close by Isandhlwana, on the Ingqutu range. 20. at 'Jim's'. The house at Rorke's Drift is called by the Zulus 'Kwa Jim' (at Jim's, after the original settler, 'Jim Rorke'. 21. 'it dies at the entrance', 'it', i.e. the regiment; at the entrance 'iguma', 'little spot fenced in with reeds before the entrance of a hut' (Colenso's Dict.). 22. they, i.e. the dead. 23. 'you will be trodden', lit. 'you have been trodden', &c. 24. 'Good day', the literal Zulu is 'We have seen you'. 25. 'the fighting', lit. 'the army'. 26. 'Umzila', better known, I think, to English readers as the 'robber-chief' Umbelini. 27. 'Report says', possibly referring to the 'hedge of steel'. 28. 'They ran the finger', &c., i.e. to signify that they wanted to speak with a 'head-ring' man, a grown-up warrior. 29. 'Amehlo kaZulu', a son of Sihayo, whose lawless conduct is said in a great measure to have brought on the war. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 1 Emahlabatini (emaHlabathini), on the middle reaches of the White umFolozi, was. where many of the principal royal homesteads and military settlements were established. 2 Sihayo kaXongo, Qungebeni chief and one of Cetshwayo's principal izinduna, lived close to the Buffalo (umZinyathi) river near Rorke's Drift. A raid by certain of his sons to capture women who had fled into Natal was one of the 'incidents' for which the British High Commissioner, Sir Bartle Frere, demanded reparation in the ultimatum presented to the Zulu on 11 December 1878. The fight at Sihayo's took place on 12 January 1879, and was the first engagement in which Chelmsford's centre column was involved after the commencement of hostilities on 11 January. About 30 of Sihayo's men were killed, and a large number of cattle seized by the invaders. Chelmsford lost three men of the Natal Native Contingent. (See: Sir Reginald Coupland, Zulu Battle Piece, London 1948, pp. 60-1) 3 Ma1agata (Malakatha) mountain lies south of Isandhlwana (isAndlwana), between the confluence of the emaNgeni and umZinyathi rivers. 4 Esipezi (isiPhezi) mountain lies to the east of isAndlwana. 5 This is the only known reference to the 'Bongoza' regiment. Thc name may be a corruption by Swinny of an expression referring to a contingent of armed men of the Mpungose people, who Jived just to the south of the upper reaches of the umHlatuze river, i.e. in the locality to which the informant and Ihis companions had moved. 6 The Equdeni (eQudeni) hills lie in the angle formed by the confluence of the umZinyathi and Thukela rivers. 7 Matshana (Matyana) kaMondise, Sithole chief, lived near umSinga on the Natal side of the umZinyathi until 1858, when he fled to the Zulu kingdom after resisting arrest by a force under J. W. Shepstone. In 1879 he was Jiving in the emaNgeni valley south-east of isAndlwana. On January 21. the day before the battle of isAndlwana, Chelmsford gave orders for a reconnaissance in Matshana'.s territol1:, and a skirmis!J followed in which some 80 of Matshana's men were kIlled. It IS probably thIS incident that is here referred to. (See: Donald R. Morris, The Washing of the Spears, London 1966, p. 340) 8 Iziqosa {iziGqoza) was the name used to identify the supporters of Mbuyazi, Cetshwayo's half-brother and rival in the succession dispute that came to a head at the battle of enDondakusuka, fought near the Thukela mouth in 1856. The triumph of Cetshwayo's uSuthu forces in that resulted in large of iziGqoza fleeing to Natal. Thereafter, the name IZlGqoza tended to be applied to any Zulu who had 'gone over' to the white people or had settled in Natal. 9 Amangwana may be a reference to the Natal Native mounted levy by the ernaNgwaneni chief, Zikhali. Colonel A. W. Durnford of the Royal Engmeers was given command of the 1st Regiment of the Natal Native Contingent, which included Zikhali's Native Horse. 10 The Kandempemvu (uKhandempemvu) was formed c. 1868 of men born c. 1848. 11 Usikota (Sikhotha) kaMpande, a half-brother of Cetshwayo and a full brother of the latter's rival, Mbuyazi, was one of the Tzigqoza who fled to Natal after the battle of enDondakusuka. 20 A Zulu Boy's Recollections 12 The 'neck' refers to the col between isAndlwana and the stony hill to its south. 13 Capt. George Shepstone, fourth son of Sir T. Shepstone, was killed while trying to keep open a line of retreat for the troops surrounded at isAndlwana. (See: R. E. Gordon, Shepstone, Cape Town 1968,p. 279) 14 The incident here described is the return to isAndhlwana in the late evening of January 22 of Chelmsford and the troops who had been deployed to the south while the battle was being fought. (Cf. the descriptions of this incident in Coupland,. op. cit., pp. 99-100, and in A. F. Hattersley, Later Annals of Natal, London 1938, pp. 148-9) 1.5 Cf. Coupland, op. cif., pp. 100-01 and 111, and Hattersley, op. cit., p. 149. 16 Mbozankomo appears to be a cognomen for the uThulwana or amaMboza regiment (formed c. 1854 of men born c. 1834) which was part of the uNdi corps at isAndlwana. The main body of the uNdi lagged behind the other Zulu regiments when the battle began. During the course of the fighting, they circled around isAndlwana and moved on to Rorke's Drift. (See: Morris, op. cif., pp. 363 and 399-400) 17 The Encome (iNcome) river was crossed on 10 January 1879 by the left flanking column under Brig. Gen. H. EvelYll Wood. 18 Ezungeni (eZungeni) is the most westerly of a chain of three prominent flat-topped mountains in north-western Zululand. 10 Ubisi may be a cognomen for the amaQungebe, whose name, according to A. T. Bryant, derived 'from the trick amongst their men of making their amaSi (sour curds) out of other people's milk'. (See: A. T. Bryant, Olden Times in Zulu/and and Natal, London 1929, p. 130). uBisi is the Zulu word for milk. 20 The action here referred to was probably the skirmishing of the left flanking column under Wood, which, after encamping at Nkambule hill some 25 kilometres southwest of Zungeru at the end of January 1879, spent much of its time harassing the Zulu in the neighbourhood. 21 Hlobane is one of the Zungeni chain of flat-topped hills. The 'march to Hlobane' probably refers to the advance of a large Zulu impi which Cetshwayo despatched against Wood's column towards the end of March 1879. 22 A force under the command of Major Redvers Buller 'ascended Hlobane on the night of 27-28 March. During the ascent there was a thunderstorm. 2:l Umzila (Mbilini) kaMswati, a Swazi prince, had settled south of the Phongolo in the reign of Mpande. From this position he raided his Boer and Swazi neighbours. One of Frere's demands in the ultimatum of 11 December 1879 was that Mbilini should be surrendered for trial by the British authorities. When the war commenced, Mbilini was joined by the sons of Sihayo, whose surrender had also been demanded in the ultimatum. On the night of 27-28 March, the Zulu army was encamped to the south-east of Hlobane, which was one of Mbilini's strongholds. "I Untshingwayo (Ntshingwayo) kaMahole, Khoza chief, was one of Cetshwayo's principal izinduna; Umnyamana (Mnyamana) kaNgqengelele, Buthelezi chief, was Cctshwayo's premier induna. eo During the reign of Shaka the lands in the vicinity of Hlobane had been placed under the authority of Shaka's Junt, Mnkabayi, whose homestead was named ebaQulusini. Thereafter, it was customary to refer to the people of the locality as the abaQulusi. 26 The action here referred to was the battle fought at Wood's camp at Nkambule on 29 March 1879. 27 Cf. the brief account of Trooper Henri Grandier's experiences in D. Morris, op. cit., pp. 504-5. "8 The narrative in the preceding paragraphs seems to be based on a conflation of two separate incidents. The first occurred in the early hours of the morning of 12 March 1879, when a small British force encamped at Myer's Drift was attacked by Mbilini and suffered heavy losses. The second incident occurred four weeks later, on 5 April, when Mbilini and his men were surprised while raiding cattle near Luneberg. In the ensuing skirmish Mbilini was fatally wounded. According to C. Vijn, the son of Sihayo who was killed while fighting with Mhilini was Nkumbikazulu, but this is disputed by I. W. Colenso. (See: C. Vijn, Cetshwayo's Dutchman, London 1880, pp. 40 and 124) 29 The Emtonjaneni (emThonjaneni) ridge lies to the south of the middle reaches of the White urnFolozi. It was occupied by Chelmsford's 2nd Division on 28 June 1879. 30 Dabulamanzi kaMpande was Cetshwayo's ful! brother. 3 [ Ondini (uluNdi), on the emaHlabathini plain north of the middle reaches of the White umFolozi, was Cetshwayo's principal residence. 32 Nodwengu, situated on the emaHlabathini plain about 5 kilometres from uluNdi, was one of Cetshwayo's major military settlements. 33 The battle of uluNdi commenced at approximately 8.45 a.m. on 4 July 1879. By 10.00 a.m. the Zulu lines had broken, and a series of running battles were in pror,ress in which the retreating Zulu were harried by Chelmsford's forces. By midday, the fighting was over. 21 A Zulu Boy's Recollections 34 The legend that the British fought at uluNdi behind a fortress of sheet iron spread widely through Zululand after the war. It may derive from stories about the 'band of steel' that appeared to encircle the British lines after the order to fix bayonets had been given. 35 uluNdi and the other principal royal homesteads and military settlements on the emaHlabathini plain were burnt by the British after the battle. 36 Inhlazatshe (iNhlazatshe) mountain lies to the west of the emaHlabathini plain. 37 i.e. had their homes at isAndlwana in Sihayo's area of jurisdiction. 38 Isihlungu (isiHlungu) lies to the south-west of iNhlazatshe near the upper reaches of the umHlathuze river, and is within a day's walking distance of isAndlwana, where the informant's home was situated. 39 Cetshwayo was captured in the eNgome forest on 28 August 1879. 40 For a different assessment see J. Y. Gibson, The Story of the Zulus, Pietermaritzhurg 1903, p. 128. ' 22 Pre-Shakan age-group formation among the northern Nguni l In seeking to explain the emergence of the Zulu kingdom in the early 19th century, students of northern Nguni history have so far generally focussed their attention on the development of what they call the Zulu 'military' system. They argue, or more often assume, that central to the socio-political transformations which were taking place in the Thukela-Phongolo region in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the establishment in certain chiefdoms of new forms of 'regimental' organisation and new methods of waging warfare. Most historians have accepted without argument Bryant's assertions that these processes of reorganisation hinged on a change in the northern Nguni system of buthaing," for forming young men and, in some cases perhaps, women into groups (amabutho) constituted on the basis of age-differences and having specific social functions to perform. Where male amabutho had previously served primarily as circumcision sets, Bryant maintains, by the early 19th century, at least, they had been transformed into units with a wider range of socially important duties expected of them. The buthaing of young women, if it had not previously existed, was established in the Zulu kingdom after Shaka's accession to power.3 If historians have - perhaps too uncritically - accepted Bryant's conclusion that major changes in the organisation and functioning of amabutho were taking place in the decades before and after 1800, they have tended to lose sight of two related points that he makes: first, that these changes were widespread among the northern Nguni chiefdoms, and second, that the reconstituted amabutho came to be used for 'general state purposes'.4 In what can be termed the conventional view of northern Nguni history, as expressed in the publications of scholars such as Gluckman, Omer-Cooper, and Thompson,5 the emphasis is on developments in the Mthethwa and Zulu kingdoms, and on the military functions of the male amabutho. The initial stages of these developments are associated with the rise of Dingiswayo and the Mthethwa kingdom, and its later stages with the rise of Shaka and the Zulu kingdom. Dingiswayo is seen as having abolished the practice of circumcision and, with it, the old circumcision schools, and as having conscripted the young men under his authority into an army organized into age-regiments, each of which would be called up to serve the king for part of every year. Shaka's contribution, it is commonly supposed, was to have introduced, firstly, full-time military service for all men until they had reached the age of 35 or 40; secondly the quartering of age-regiments in specially built barracks; thirdly, the conscription of young women into a parallel set of age-regiments; and fourthly, strict prohibitions on marriage outside the compass of conditions prescribed by the king, whereby men's age-regiments were successively released from fulltime service as they reached the age of 'maturity', and given permission to take wives from designated women's regiments. 23 Pre-Shakan age-group formation Two features of this image of the system of buthaing as developed by Dingiswayo and Shaka need to be noted. In the first place, as far as the functioning of the system is concerned, the men's amabutho are seen primarily as military formations. They represent groups of 'warriors' who have been 'conscripted', 'recruited', or 'enrolled' into 'regiments', housed in 'barracks', and are used mainly for fighting purposes, whether against external enemies or internal dissidents. Where other functions of the amabutho are recognised they usually receive only passing mention. The social significance of the forming of women's age-groups receives virtually no attention, and the restrictions on marriage are seen as serving primarily to increase the efficiency of the younger men as soldiers by bringing them under stricter discipline. In the second place, as far as the impulse behind the transformation of buthaillg is concerned, the conventional accounts have little to say. The idea propagated by Europeans in the 19th century that Dingiswayo learnt the basics of regimental organisation from some or other white men has almost, if not quite, disappeared,6 though an explanation of the same genre, that he may have copied the idea of age-regiments from some or other Sotho peoples, still survives.7 Currently more popular are the various mutations of Gluckman's 'population pressure' thesis, which in essence sees population growth in the northern Nguni area as having brought local chiefdoms into increasing competition with one another for land by the end of the 18th century, leading in the early 19th century, by a process which is never fully explained, to the emergence of conquest states such as the Mthethwa kingdom of Dingiswayo and the Ndwandwe of Zwide.8 An alternate hypothesis sees these conflicts as arising rather from the attempts made by certain chiefdoms to seize for themselves as large a share as possible of a supposedly growing trade with Europe through Delagoa Bay." In either case the development of the age-regiment system is seen primarily in terms of the need increasingly felt by rival political leaders for larger and more efficient fighting forces, Though historians writing within the orthodox would have noted that chiefdoms such as the Ndwandwe, the Dlamini-Ngwane, and perhaps others, seem to have been developing age-regiment systems at much the same time as were the Mthethwa, they have made little attempt to account for this phenomenon except through vague statements such as exemplified in the comment that these systems 'arose naturally out of the stress of circumstances'.lo Where any more specific explanation is ventured, these developments are usually seen as responses to the same conditions of general unrest that produced the Mthethwa system. Thus, in default of any more incisive analysis, Dingiswayo and Shaka still tend to be seen as the 'innovators' of the age-regiment system, and the socio-political factors involved in its development are never properly considered. The limitations of the conventional viewpoint are partly a function of paucity of source material on northern Nguni history before 1824, when the presence of literate observers on the scene first became a permanent reality, but also - and more important - of the perspectives so far adopted by most historians of the period,l1 Until very recently, writers of 'Zulu' history have been concerned more with chronicling political and military events than with analysing social change: hence the image of the amabutho as essentially military formations organized primarily for conducting warfare. In the last few years, however, a number of scholars have begun to open up new perspectives 24 Pre-Shakan age-group formation on northern Nguni history by focussing On aspects of change in the regional political economy, that is, on changes in the means by which successive powerholding groups in the local chiefdoms sought to reproduce the material conditions which enabled them to maintain their positions of dominance. The pioneering work in this field has been done by Jeff Guy, who, in a series of as yet unpublished papers on the rise of the Zulu kingdom, introduces a new dimension into analysis of the position occupied by the amabutho in the Zulu social formation. In terms of his argument the male amabutho are not simply military formations, but also units performing labour for the state and effecting crucial reproductive functions. 'The basis of the king's power,' Guy writes, 'lay in the surplus labour (which) he extracted from every homestead within the kingdom, by means of the military system ... Through the "military system" the king was able to draw on the labour of all Zulu men for perhaps a third of their productive lives'.'2 In similar vein, the restrictions imposed by the king on marriage 'not only allowed the king to divert labour power from the homestead into his service but also gave the king control over the process of reproduction within the kingdom ... By delaying marriage ... the king was able to delay the whole process of homestead formation within the kingdom. This sanction not only gave him dominance over the production process within each homestead but also had significant demographic implications ... "3 In brief, 'the Zulu military system gave the king the means to control the process of reproduction and production within the Zulu kingdom'.14 Although Guy does not attempt to detail the processes by which the Zulu 'military' system developed, his introduction of a new line of argument serves to sharpen the debate on the subject. His thesis is that the origins of more systematic and larger-scale buthaing among the chiefdoms of northern Nguniland should be seen as a response to a socio-economic crisis that was developing in the region by at least the later 18th century, a crisis which he sees specifically as resulting from an increasing scarcity of good grazing and good agricultural land. Under these conditions, he argues, 'there would be advantages in assuming political control over a larger area of land and an increased number of people; in societies where human energy is the main source of social strength, there is a considerable degree of correlation between demographic magnitude and coercive potential ... Moreover, an extension of territory would give members of the group access to a greater range of grazing and arable land . . . "5 Operating from a different starting point, Henry Slater has in his recently completed doctoral thesis reached conclusions similar in many respects to Guy's about the functions which amabutho were performing in northern Nguni society by the late 18th or early 19th century. 16 He sees the crisis affecting northern Nguniland from the mid-18th century onward as resulting not so much from a deterioration in the quality of the environment, as Guy has argued, as from a growing labour shortage in the local trading states that were, in his view, already in existence before 1750. From about the mid-18th century, the power-holders in these states were, in response to an increase of European trade through Delagoa Bay and Port Natal, more and more concerned to expand their production of commodities intended for exchange, and hence to gain direct control over the labour-power of the 'peasantry' (to use 25 Pre-Shakan age-group formation Slater's term) over whom they ruled. In the later 18th and early 19th centuries, therefore, previously 'feudal' societies were in the process of being transformed into 'absolutist' states, with the power-holders taking greater and greater powers for themselves at the expense of the peasantry. Though few historians of south-eastern Africa are likely uncritically to accept Slater's new proposal of an old theme, namely that the dynamic for the rise of state systems in northern Nguniland was provided primarily by the impact of European trade, the materialist framework which he uses enables him to throw fresh light on the processes by which centralized kingdoms were established in the area. He sees the crucial developments in the process of centralization as being those by which power-holding groups extended their control over the labour-power of the peoples subordinate to them. In each developing state the political leaders sought to force the active adult males under their authority out of the business of producing for their own homesteads and into the business of performing labour for the state. The institutional framework necessary for the co-ordination of the activities of large numbers of men was provided by reorganisation of the army, which became an instrument to be used in attempts to expand the area of territory under its respective king's authority, and thus to enlarge the quantity both of natural resources and of labour-power at his command. In addition to their military duties, the men of the army herded the king's cattle, worked in his fields, and built his homesteads. Hence, as Bryant first pointed out nearly fifty years ago,17 'the male regiments were essentially multi-functioned organized labour gangs rather than regiments of professional soldiers'.ls Extension of control of the female labour force also took the form of 'regiment' formation, although women still spent most of their time in their homesteads, where their prime functions were to produce grain to feed the army, and, by rearing children, produce more labour-power for the state. The thrust of these more recently developed arguments is, then, that the amabutlzo which were being formed in some, at least, of the northern Nguni chiefdoms from the late 18th century onward should not be seen simply as 'regiments' used by the leaders of emergent states as instruments of military aggression; rather, they were formations performing labour and reproductive functions, control of which was vital for power-holders who, for whatever reason, were seeking to expand both the scope and the span of their political authority. From this standpoint, state formation among the northern Nguni cannot be explained simply in terms of military conquest, but must also be understood as encompassing a major social transformation, central to which was the forming of these multi-functional amabutlzo. The question of how such amabutlzo came into being is thus crucial to any analysis of Nguni state formation. The empirical data needed for essaying an answer to this question are minimal, but on the basis of information available in Bryant's works, in James Stuart's published Zulu readers, and in the Stuart Collection itself, some preliminary points can be formulated. The base-line for any discussion of the history of butlzaing is, and will probably remain, Bryant's statement that before the emergence of the centralised states of the later 18th and early 19th centuries, northern Nguni age-groups functioned primarily as circumcision sets.l9 Unless further documentary information on the history of this period comes to light, which is unlikely, historians have no way of testing how far 26 Pre-Shakan age-group formation this assertion is true. Its corollary is that in the chiefdoms of the 'pre-state' period fighting men were organised not as age-groups but on some other basis, presumably a territorial one. But even before Dingiswayo had become king, 'military regiments were the universial Nguni custom', states Bryant in a passage which later writers have too often overlooked.20 He makes clear that he is writing about age-regiments; hence, according to his line of reasoning, the transformation of circumcision age-groups into 'military' age-groups would have been well under way before 1800, not only in the Mthethwa sphere of influence as is commonly supposed, but in all Nguniland. This time a certain amount of evidence bearing on the issue is available from other sources. In Stuart's records, Phakathwayo of the Qwabe, who died c. 1818 according to Bryant's reckoning, is described as having butha'd according to age.21 He had at least five 'regiments', two of which may have been formed by his father Khondlo.22 His contemporary, Macingwane of the Chungu, apparently had at least four regiments formed on an age-group basis.23 Other chiefs of the time who are said to have had 'regiments' are Magaye of the Cele, who had five whose names are known, Zwide of the Ndwandwe who had four, and Matiwane of the Ngwane who had three.24 To the extent that chiefs other than Dingiswayo and Shaka were buthaing 'military' age-groups in the early 19th century, Bryant's statement can be borne out, but his assertion that before Dingiswayo's time the formation of such regiments had become a 'universal' practice is questionable. In the Thembu chiefdom of Ngoza (d. in early 1820s), for instance, father and son are said to have fought in the same regiment.25 This would indicate that in the early stages of Shaka's reign some independent chiefs were continuing to organize their fighting men as territorial rather than as age-based units. Shaka himself seems to have formed at least two territorial groups of warriors.26 It is likely that before Shaka firmly established it in the Zulu kingdom the practice of but/wing militarized age-groups had been taking root in different northern Nguni chiefdoms at different times, and that in the early 19th century the transformation of circumcision sets to multi-functional 'regiments' was still, in some areas, an on-going process. Thus Phakathwayo's fighting men, after being butha'd into age-regiments, as indicated above, were then incorporated into a larger body consisting of men of different ages. And thus the Hlubi chief Bhungane, who died c. 1800, apparently had no 'regiments', whereas his successor Mthimkhulu formed at least one!' The dynamic underlying the transformation of the system of buthaing can perhaps best be understood in terms of the concepts formulated by Meillassoux, Terray, Dupre and Rey, and other scholars concerned with developing a materialist analysis of the structures of pre-capitalist African societies.28 From this point of view the change in organization and function of the amabutho can be seen as part of a major social upheaval, which involved a restructuring not only of relationships between chiefdoms but also of the institutionalised relationships between elders and juniors, and between men and women. It can be argued that in a time of social crisis, such as seems to have affected northern Nguniland by at least the later 18th century, the male elders, who almost certainly formed the dominant element in Nguni society, would have sought to tighten their control over the means by which their position of dominance was reproduced through time. This would have entailed their taking firmer control over the labour-power of the society's primary producers, 27 Pre-Shakan age-group formation that is, the women and the younger men, and also over the means by which that labour-power was reproduced, that is, over human reproduction. In the process, pre-existing institutions through which social control of young men was exercised, and through which access of unmarried men to unmarried women was regulated, were transformed. The final products of this transformation were the men's and women's amabutho formed in the Zulu kingdom under Shaka. One indication of the extension of elders' control over young men may be seen in the abolition of circumcision. Conventionally, the disappearance of this practice, which apparently had once been widespread among the northern Nguni;9 is explained in terms of the increasing militarisation of northern Nguni society.30 Small-scale communities, it is argued, would have been especially vulnerable to attack when a large proportion of their potential fighting men were periodically secluded in circumcision schools; hence, in a time of increasing unrest it would have been logical for the practice of circumcision to be dropped. But in terms of the perspective outlined in the previous paragraph, the disappearance of circumcision should be seen as an indicator of the change taking place in the social relationships between older men and younger men. In the days when circumcision was still practised, according to Bryant, males were circumcised when 16-18 years old.31 If, as was presumably the case, circumcision rites functioned to mark the passage from youth to adulthood, young men would thus have attained social maturity comparatively early. In conditions where elders were seeking to extend the scope of their authority over juniors, it would have been to their advantage to abolish circumcision and replace it with another custom, such as the putting on of headrings, which could be carried out at a later stage in a man's life and so prolong the period when he was still regarded as a youth. There is evidence to suggest that this is what was happening among the northern Nguni in the pre-Shaken period, with circumcision falling into disuse in different places at different times. Senzangakhona of the Zulu (born c. 1760) mayor may not have been circumcised; his son Shaka (born in the late 1780s) was not. 32 When Shaka began his reign c. 1816 the older men in his kingdom had apparently been circumcised, while the younger men had not.33 Among the Mabaso, Nongila, father of one of Stuart's informants and a contemporary of Shaka, was circumcised, while among the Thembu, it is said, the practice was discontinued during the reign of Ngoza (d. early 1820s).34 Among the Hlubi subject of the Zulu kingdom circumcision was still being practised well after 1820, as it was in the Swazi kingdom until the 1840s."5 The origins of the practice of wearing headrings are unfortunately impossible to specify. It is said to have existed among the Mthethwa in the time of Dingiswayo's father Jobe, among the Qwabe in the time of Phakathwayo, and among the Thembu in the time of Ngoza.36 But in one area, at least, it was introduced only after 1800, for it did not exist among the Hlubi in the time of Bhungane (died c. 1800), becoming established only during the reign of Mthimkhulu in the early 19th century, when, as has been mentioned above, the first buthaing of Hlubi 'regiments' also took place.3T Documented evidence that elders were also extending their control over young women in the pre-Shakan period is virtually non-existent. One clue is perhaps to be found in the statements recorded by Bryant and Stuart that 28 Pre-Shakan age-group formation izigodlo (sing. isigodlo), or establishments of unmarried women disposable by the chief in marriage, were formed by chiefs such as Senzangakhona of the Zulu, Phakathwayo of the Qwabe, Matiwane of the Ngwane, and Macingwane of the Chunu.38 Bryant sees the formation of large izigodlo in Shaka's Zulu kingdom as a product specifically of the conquest period, and it may be that in the pre-Shakan period other successful leaders were beginning the practice which he continued.39 Under Shaka, the formation, or enlarging, of izigodlo was paralleled by the establishment of women's amabutho. That this development was not restricted to the Zulu kingdom is evidenced by the fact that Mthimkhulu of the IDubi had at least two female amabutho, although this is the only other case that has so far come to light.40 There is some evidence, then, for the argument that Shaka's amabutho can be seen as the products of a process of social and political change that had begun in northern Nguniland decades before he came to power, change which hinged on the increasing exploitation by elders of the labour-power of young men and women through the system of buthaing. In the process of expanding the authority which they exercised within their communities, elders would presumably have come into increasingly sharp conflict with their juniors, conflict which could be contained only through the use of ever more stringent measures of repression, or, in other words, through greater exploitation. The violence, of a degree apparently unprecedented in the northern Nguni experience, which accompanied Shaka's conquests can per