Shaka

Shaka was a strong muscular man. Though, much is not known about his physical structure, it is believed that he was of medium height and had no fat on his body. He was strong and agile.

Historical sources prove that he was ugly and that he had a big nose and two big front teeth. It is also believed that he suffered from speech impediment.

Shaka was believed to have been killed by three assassins sometime in September 1828.

Shaka kaSenzangakhona was born in 1787 near the present day Melmoth, KwaZulu Natal province. His birth is historic as he was born out of a ritual called the ukuhlobonga, which is a form of sexual foreplay that was allowed to unmarried couples and didn’t allow penetration. It is believed that his parents got carried away in the ritual. However, his father Senzangakhona claimed that his mother had an intestinal infection by the bee uShaka and wasn’t pregnant really.

However, after Shaka’s birth, he was named after the same insect and thus a great ruler was born. As his birth was illegitimate, he was sent to spend his childhood in his mother’s settlement where he was trained in a fighting unit.

His birth was a quite a subject of jokes in those days and all the teasing and taunting hardened young Shaka into a dangerous and fearless warrior.

He was trained as one of the ‘ibutholempi’, a term used for fighters. He fought valiantly under the mentorship of Dingiswayo. He slowly went on to acquire prominence that later helped him gather small settlements as alliances to build a huge empire as his own.

Shaka’s father, Senzangakhona, accepted Nandi (mother of Shaka) as his third wife years after the birth of Shaka but Shaka was still treated as an illegitimate son.

After Senzagakhona’s death, Shaka’s younger half-brother, Sigujana assumed control of the throne by birthright. However, Shaka got him assassinated in a rather bloodless manner and took the throne. This was accomplished with the help of Dingiswayo. Thus, Shaka claimed the throne of the Zulu empire. However, he was still a servant to the Mthethwa emperor, Dingisayo.

However, Dingiswayo was killed by Zwide, a powerful leader of Ndwandwe, which led to war between the two kingdoms. However, Ndwandwe overcame Mthethwa and this led to a political vacuum. Shaka took advantage of this situation and started uniting these scattered forces.

Shaka successfully defeated Zwide in the Zulu civil wars of 1820. However, Zwide managed to escape. Shaka killed Zwide’s mother in a gruesome manner by letting hyenas and jackals in her house and burning the house the next day. However, he wasn’t settled on his revenge until he met Zwide in 1825 near Phongola, near the border of present day KwaZulu Natal province.

Shaka proved better in the battle although suffering some heavy casualties, including the death of his military commander and close confidante, Umghobozi Ovela Entabeni.

Shaka’s first revolutionary move in the army strategy of Zulu was replacing the traditional long spear with the short, large bladed spear. This weapon was implemented in the Zulu army which gave them an advantage of countering the hand to hand attacks of the enemy. The spear was called iklwa.

Young boys as well as girls aging 6 or more were allowed to join the army as apprentices. They were allowed to accompany light forces on tribute missions or scouting. They were usually engaged with supply maintenance in the army. Stewarding and other duties were common for apprentices.

The bull horn formation was a great invention by Shaka and it is given prominence in the history of warfare tactics. The bull horn formation was a simple formation comprising of a main body of senior veterans called the chest who were supposed to pin the enemy into melee attacks. The horns attacked the enemy units from both the sides, while the loins remained as a backup for the chest, attacking anything that broke through the chest formation.

Shaka revolutionized the traditional defensive methodology of minimum life loss in the southern Africa. He changed it to gruesome manslaughter.