ukufa kukashaka grade 10 essay

Ukufa KukaShaka

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History Grade 10 - Topic 4 Essay Questions and Answers

Shaka Zulu Legacy

Essay questions on Shaka Zulu’s legacy will be asked as 8-mark questions where students have to use sources to answer the question. The following article will discuss the major points of the question and refer to supporting evidence for these points.

TIP: See our technical skills pack on answering source-based paragraphs.

The above statue portraying Shaka Zulu was removed in 2010, due to difference in opinion about the portrayal of Shaka Zulu. [1] Discuss the legacy of Shaka Zulu by explaining ways in which he has been portrayed, and why he has been portrayed this way.

How has Shaka been remembered?

A myth and legacy around Shaka Zulu emerged in the early 19th Century in South Africa. It was initially believed that Shaka was the main cause of the Mfecane. [2] This has since been debated by historians, who claim that Shaka was one of many leaders that played a role in influencing South Africa during this time. This discussion shall look at different portrayals of Shaka and why he was depicted in this way.

TIP: Questions on Shaka and the Mfecane are examinable. See additional article on the historiography of the Mfecane.

How Shaka has been portrayed?

The late Winston S. Churchill , former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, once stated that, “History is written by victors.” [3] A victor is a winner and by incorporating only the winner’s interpretation into history it leads to biased representation of history. One see’s traces of the victor’s history in common portrayals of Shaka Zulu : [4]

• Some historians portray Shaka as a “military genius” who consolidated a powerful Zulu military and society resulting in the defeat of other chiefdoms. [5] Shaka was obsessed with military tactics and employed new techniques on the battlefield that allowed for the defeat of rival kingdoms.
• Shaka is also portrayed as a cruel tyrant who caused the destruction and misery of African societies during the Mfecane as he had firm control over his subjects. [6] Shaka would order the execution of those who he deemed a threat or disloyal to him or the Zulu kingdom.
• Shaka is also portrayed as a nation builder and an admirable leader who consolidated and strengthened the Zulu nation. [7]

Information or knowledge on Shaka comes from different types of sources. Historical research methodology requires that the reliability of sources has to be assessed. Questions of who produced the sources and why sources were produced can give one a better understanding of the angle taken in the information’s portrayal.

The Military Genius

Oral history and praise poems portray Shaka as a “military genius.” Here is an extract from a praise poem titled Shaka: [8]

“Dlungwana son of Ndaba! Ferocious one of the Mbelebele brigade, Who raged among the large kraals, So that until dawn the huts were being turned upside down. He who is famous without effort, son of Menzi, He who beats but is not beaten, unlike water, Axe that surpasses other axes in sharpness; Shaka, I fear to say he is Shaka, Shaka, he is the chief of the Mashobas. He of the shrill whistle, the lion; He who armed in the forest, who is like a madman, The madman who is in full view of the men. He who trudged wearily the plain going to Mfene; The voracious one of Senzangakhona, Spear that is red even on the handle… The attacker has been long attacking them: He attacked Phungashe of the Buthelezi clan, He attacked Sondaba of Mthanda as he sat in council, He attacked Macingwane at Ngonyameni, He attacked Mangcengeza of the Mbatha clan, He attacked Dladlama of the Majolas, He attacked Nxaba son of Mbhekane, He attacked Gambushe in Pondoland, He attacked Faku in Pondoland.”

In African societies, oral tradition was the main way to pass on information where speaking about history would passed down from one generation to the next. [9] Praise poems or izibongo, a Zulu word referring to praises intoned in honour of a person, are generally long. Oral tradition has accumulated accounts of people who lived through the events or who heard of these events. The following quote comes from an interview in 1903 that a Natal administrator, James Stuart, had with Jantshika Nongila whose father was a spy for Shaka : [10]

“At Dukuza, while Tshaka was sitting in company, he pointed to the cattle in the kraal and said, “No ordinary man will inherit those cattle; none but a great man will get them. The day I die the country will be overrun by locusts; it will be ruled by white men. The stars will be bright in the sky. While I am still taking care of you.”

The Cruel Tyrant

Accounts which portrayed Shaka as a cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant were based on written accounts. The only written accounts of Shaka produced during his lifetime were by British traders who visited the Zulu kingdom in the 1820s. Lots of historians based their views of Shaka on the diary of Francis Fynn, a British trader. [11] The credibility of the source is problematic as the diary did not provide an accurate daily account, but was written down from what Fynn could still remember. In addition, the British trader called Nathaniel Isaacs encouraged Fynn to write negatively about Dingane and Shaka . In a letter addressed Fynn, Isaacs said: [12]

“Make them seem as bloodthirsty as you can, and try to give an estimation of the number of people they have murdered during their reign.”

The Nation Builder

The negative depictions of Shaka by British traders were not the only colonial written records, but there were also colonial administrators in Nata l who portrayed Shaka as a nation builder. [13] In the early 1900s a Natal administrator, James Stuart, collected many oral testimonies from people who heard of stories of Shaka . For example, in 1903, Stuart interviewed Jantshika Nongila, the son of Shaka’s spy. [14] The following extract comes from original documents written by Stuart from the interviews he conducted and these original documents are currently held in the Killie Campbell Africana Library in Durban: [15]

“Almost at the same time as that of Napoleon in Europe, the career of Shaka in South Africa, instead of being full of failure, met with success and that in a truly remarkable manner. Beginning with a small and little known tribe he by degrees lifted it together with many surrounding tribes within a five hundred mile radius into becoming a great nation.”

During the twentieth century written records were produced by Zulu leaders who admired Shaka’s leadership skills. [16] The former  African National Congress (ANC)  Leader,  Albert Luthuli , wrote of Shaka in his autobiography, “Let My People Go”. [17] Luthuli wrote of Shaka as a formidable leader, but also as a leader who displayed dangerous characteristics as a dictator.

Why was Shaka portrayed in this way?

Different sources provide different perspectives and theories of Shaka’s role and influence as a leader of the Zulu kingdom . Sources display bias when they focus on one aspect of Shaka , either as a nation builder or a cruel tyrant. [18] Sources that depict Shaka as a cruel tyrant have dominated the historical narrative of the Zulu leader. These sources also place a lot of emphasis on the traditional view that Shaka Zulu was one of the main causes for the Mfecane. [19] However, from the 1980s many historians rejected the one-sided view of Shaka as merely a bloodthirsty tyrant, but placed more emphasis on his positive role as a Zulu leader.

Remember that one has to ask who and why a source was produced. Negative portrayals of Shaka by British colonial traders were written when the British saw him as a threat to their colonial influence in Natal . [20] By portraying Shaka as a threat, it could justify their subjugation of the Zulu kingdom . However, by the early 1900s Shaka had long passed on and was no longer a threat to the British colony. [21] In the early 1900s the Natal administrator, James Stuart, wanted to produce accounts of Shaka as a proficient administrator, because he wanted to provide evidence to the British colony of good African administrators so that African leaders could administer areas reserved for African land use. [22] Thus, the pool of information about Shaka provided more positive accounts of his leadership. From the 1980s, more historians rejected the biased notion of Shaka as a bloodthirsty tyrant, but have integrated different perspectives which acknowledge his intelligible leadership, without ignoring his dictatorial tendencies. [23]

This content was originally produced for the SAHO classroom by Ilse Brookes, Amber Fox-Martin & Simone van der Colff

[1] C. Ndasilo. “King Shaka statue still causing trouble”. News24. 23 August 2013. Available at: https://www.news24.com/news24/Travel/South-Africa/King-Shaka-statue-still-causing-trouble-20130823

Accessed 15 October 2020.

[2] J. Wright. “Political Mythology and the Making of Natal’s Mfecane,” Canadian Journal of African Studies. (23), (2), 1989. p. 272.

[3] History News Network. “The History of “History is Written by the Victors,” available at: https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/173752 . [online] Accessed 25 November 2020.

[4] N. Worden, J. Bottaro, P.  Visser, P. “In Search of History: Grade 10 Learner’s Book”.

[8] Ibid.”.

[9] SA History Online, “Oral Tradition and indigenous knowledge.”[online] Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/oral-tradition-and-indigenous-knowledge . Accessed 25 November 2020.

[10] Testimony from the James Stuart Archive. Available at:  https://fhya.org/baleka-ka-mpitikakazi-testimony-from-the-james-stuart-archive-of-recorded-oral-evidence-relating-to-the-history-of-the-zulu-and-neighbouring-peoples-volume-1-ant-lyl [online]. Accessed 25 November 2020.

[11] H.F. Fynn. D. McK. Malcolm, J. Stuart. (eds.).  The Diary of Henry Francis Fynn. Compiled from Original Sources . (Shuter & Shooter: Pietermaritzburg, 1950.)

[12] N. Worden, J. Bottaro, P.  Visser, P. “In Search of History: Grade 10 Learner’s Book”.

[14] Testimony from the James Stuart Archive. Available at:  https://fhya.org/baleka-ka-mpitikakazi-testimony-from-the-james-stuart-archive-of-recorded-oral-evidence-relating-to-the-history-of-the-zulu-and-neighbouring-peoples-volume-1-ant-lyl [online]. Accessed 25 November 2020.

[15] N. Worden, J. Bottaro, P.  Visser, P. “In Search of History: Grade 10 Learner’s Book”.

[17] A. Luthuli. Let My People Go. (Mafube: Tafelberg, 1960).

[18] N. Worden, J. Bottaro, P.  Visser, P. “In Search of History: Grade 10 Learner’s Book”.

[19] J. Wright. “Political Mythology and the Making of Natal’s Mfecane,” Canadian Journal of African Studies. (23), (2), 1989. p. 272.

[20] N. Worden, J. Bottaro, P.  Visser, P. “In Search of History: Grade 10 Learner’s Book”.

[22] Testimony from the James Stuart Archive. Available at:  https://fhya.org/baleka-ka-mpitikakazi-testimony-from-the-james-stuart-archive-of-recorded-oral-evidence-relating-to-the-history-of-the-zulu-and-neighbouring-peoples-volume-1-ant-lyl [online]. Accessed 25 November 2020.

[23] J. Wright. “Political Mythology and the Making of Natal’s Mfecane,” Canadian Journal of African Studies. (23), (2), 1989. p. 272.

• Henry Francis, F. Stuart, J. & McK. Malcolm D. (eds.).  The Diary of Henry Francis Fynn. Compiled from Original Sources . Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter, 1950.
• History News Network. “The History of “History is Written by the Victors,” available at: https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/173752 . [online] Accessed 25 November 2020.
• Luthuli A.  Let My People Go. Mafube.  Tafelberg, 1960.
• SA History Online, “Oral Tradition and indigenous knowledge.”[online] Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/oral-tradition-and-indigenous-knowledge . Accessed 25 November 2020.
• SA History Online, “The Mfecane.”[online] Available at: Insert link. Accessed tbc.
• Testimony from the James Stuart Archive. Available at:  https://fhya.org/baleka-ka-mpitikakazi-testimony-from-the-james-stuart-archive-of-recorded-oral-evidence-relating-to-the-history-of-the-zulu-and-neighbouring-peoples-volume-1-ant-lyl [online]. Accessed 25 November 2020.
• Wright, J. “Political Mythology and the Making of Natal’s Mfecane,” Canadian Journal of African Studies. (23), (2), 1989.
• Worden, N., Bottaro, J. Visser, P. “In Search of History: Grade 10 Learner’s Book”.

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• Ukufa kukaShaka

In this Book

• Njabulo Manyoni, Mpume Zondi, Elliot Zondi, Elliot Zondi
• Published by: Wits University Press

Ukufa kukaShaka is a historical drama by Elliot Zondi,first published in 1960 in the Bantu (later, African) Treasury Series by the University of the Witwatersrand Press. Its plot is based on the events surrounding the assassination of Shaka, the mighty Zulu king, by his two half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, aided and abetted by his paternal aunt, Mkabayi, in 1828. The play explores the classic theme of the tragic hero’s fatal flaws: hubris and overconfidence. Shaka’s ruthless ambition led him to overstep human boundaries, kill with impunity, bar his warriors from having families and force them into endless wars. His blind spot seems to have been to put the survival and expansion of the Zulu kingdom first and the welfare of his subjects second. Against this backdrop Mkabayi, whose ambitions for a remarkable Zulu nation were more tempered, played a decisive role in his downfall. Zondi explores arguments both in favour of and against Shaka’s assassination in a way that allows the reader to sympathise with his greater vision and his thwarted plan to fight impending colonialism. His dramatisation of the conflict between Shaka and Mkabayi highlights questions of leadership and nation-building that continue to be relevant today.

Ukufa kukaShaka is a historical drama by Elliot Zondi. Its plot is based on the events surrounding the assassination of Shaka, the mighty Zulu king, by his two half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, aided and abetted by his paternal aunt, Mkabayi, in 1828. The play explores the classic theme of the tragic hero’s fatal flaws: hubris and overconfidence. Shaka’s ruthless ambition led him to overstep human boundaries, kill with impunity, bar his warriors from having families and force them into endless wars. His blind spot seems to have been to put the survival and expansion of the Zulu kingdom first and the welfare of his subjects second. Against this backdrop Mkabayi, whose ambitions for a remarkable Zulu nation were more tempered, played a decisive role in his downfall. Zondi explores arguments both in favour of and against Shaka’s assassination in a way that allows the reader to sympathise with his greater vision and his thwarted plan to fight impending colonialism. His dramatisation of the conflict between Shaka and Mkabayi highlights questions of leadership and nation-building that continue to be relevant today.

Table of Contents

• Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
• Okuphakathi
• pp. vii-viii
• Mpume Zondi
• pp. ix-xviii
• Introduction
• pp. xix-xxvi
• Isishayelelo
• pp. xxvii-xxviii
• Inkundla Yokuqala
• Inkundla Yesibili
• Inkundla Yesithathu
• Inkundla Yesine
• Inkundla Yesihlanu
• Inkundla Yesithupha

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Ukufa kukaShaka

Ukufa kukaShaka ( Zulu for "The death of Shaka") by E. Zondi .

• 1 The original text
• 2 Translations and adaptations
• 3 Performance history in South Africa
• 5 Return to

The original text

A play about the death of the legendary Zulu King Shaka. Published by Wits University Press in 1960.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in south africa.

N.N. Mathonsi . 2006. Tragic undertones in Elliot Zondi's Ukufa Kukashaka ‘The death of Shaka’—1960, South African Journal of African Languages , Volume 26, 2006 - Issue 2: Pages 90-97 (Published online: 24 Oct 2012).

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Ukufa kukaShaka

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With an introduction by Mpume Zondi

Ukufa kukaShaka is a historical drama by Elliot Zondi,first published in 1960 in the Bantu (later, African) Treasury Series by the University of the Witwatersrand Press. Its plot is based on the events surrounding the assassination of Shaka, the mighty Zulu king, by his two half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, aided and abetted by his paternal aunt, Mkabayi, in 1828. The play explores the classic theme of the tragic hero’s fatal flaws: hubris and overconfidence. Shaka’s ruthless ambition led him to overstep human boundaries, kill with impunity, bar his warriors from having families and force them into endless wars. His blind spot seems to have been to put the survival and expansion of the Zulu kingdom first and the welfare of his subjects second.

Against this backdrop Mkabayi, whose ambitions for a remarkable Zulu nation were more tempered, played a decisive role in his downfall. Zondi explores arguments both in favour of and against Shaka’s assassination in a way that allows the reader to sympathise with his greater vision and his thwarted plan to fight impending colonialism. His dramatisation of the conflict between Shaka and Mkabayi highlights questions of leadership and nation-building that continue to be relevant today.

Ukufa kukaShaka is part of Wits University Press’ African Treasury Series.

African Treasury Series The African Treasury Series, published from the 1940s onwards, consists of texts written by pioneers of South African literature in African languages. It provided a voice for the voiceless and celebrated African culture, history and heritage. The re-issue of these foundational texts with new introductions supports ongoing efforts to highlight the importance of writing in indigenous languages, and to remember and celebrate these early giants of African literature. The African Treasury Series is now available in ebook and print formats.

Key words : Play, play script, theatre, Shaka Zulu.

Elliot Zondi (1930-2005) was a human resources manager for a multinational company, and subsequently a lecturer in the isiZulu Department at the University of Natal. He wrote two dramas focusing on different periods in the history of the Zulu nation.

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Ukufa kukaShaka

by Elliot Zondi

Introduction by Mpume Zondi

Published by: Wits University Press

Imprint: Wits University Press

54 Pages , 4.72 x 7.48 in

• 9781776140718
• Published: October 2021
• 9781776145478

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• Description

Ukufa kukaShaka is a historical drama by Elliot Zondi, first published in 1960 in the Bantu (later, African) Treasury Series by the University of the Witwatersrand Press. Its plot is based on the events surrounding the assassination of Shaka, the mighty Zulu king, by his two half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, aided and abetted by his paternal aunt, Mkabayi, in 1828. The play explores the classic theme of the tragic hero’s fatal flaws: hubris and overconfidence. Shaka’s ruthless ambition led him to overstep human boundaries, kill with impunity, bar his warriors from having families and force them into endless wars. His blind spot seems to have been to put the survival and expansion of the Zulu kingdom first and the welfare of his subjects second. Against this backdrop Mkabayi, whose ambitions for a remarkable Zulu nation were more tempered, played a decisive role in his downfall. Zondi explores arguments both in favor of and against Shaka’s assassination in a way that allows the reader to sympathize with his greater vision and his thwarted plan to fight impending colonialism. His dramatization of the conflict between Shaka and Mkabayi highlights questions of leadership and nation-building that continue to be relevant today.

Elliot Zondi (1930–2005) was a human resources manager for a multinational company, and subsequently a lecturer in the isiZulu Department at the University of Natal. He wrote two dramas focusing on different periods in the history of the Zulu nation.