Thousands of people gathered at the Zulu royal palace on August 20th for the coronation of a new king in the country’s richest and most influential traditional monarchy. Misuzulu Zulu, 47, is set to succeed his father, Goodwill Zwelithini, who died in March 2021 after 50 years in charge, but a bitter succession dispute threatened to overshadow the ceremony.
“Today the Zulu nation starts a new chapter,” the new sovereign told well-wishers speaking from a podium in a large white marquee, wearing a traditional leopard skin and a necklace of predator claws. “I promise I will work to unite the Zulu nation.”
Although the title of king does not bestow executive power, the monarchs wield great moral influence over more than 11 million Zulus, who make up nearly one-fifth of South Africa’s population.
Men and women in colourful traditional outfits assembled outside the marble palace on the hills of Nongoma, a small town in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, the Zulu heartland. Tens of thousands more were expected to arrive to honour the new sovereign. “Today, the king will be acknowledged by the whole Zulu Nation,” said Misuzulu’s sister, Princess Ntandoyesizwe Zulu, 46.
Yet, an acrimonious family dispute over the throne raged. On the same day, a court in Pietermaritzburg heard, but eventually struck down, an urgent application by a branch of the royal family to block all ceremonies.
In Nongoma, lines of Zulu warriors, known as Amabuthos and holding spears and shields of animal skin, marched into the palace grounds. Women – in pleated skirts and beaded belts or draped with fabrics bearing the effigy of the sovereign – sang and danced.
On the night before the coronation, Misuzulu entered the palace’s “cattle kraal” where he took part in a secret rite designed to present the new monarch to his ancestors. Only select members of the royal family and Amabuthos were allowed in the enclosure which is protected from curious eyes by a thick fence of tree trunks. “It’s a holy place, we can’t reveal to the world what is happening there,” said Muntomuhle Mcambi, 34, an Amabutho. Earlier in the week, the soon-to-be king also killed a lion at a nearby reserve – in one of the last steps before the coronation.
Zulu kings are descendants of King Shaka, the 19th-century leader still revered for having united a large swathe of the country as the Zulu nation, which fought bloody battles against the British colonisers.
The new monarch’s first name means “strengthening the Zulus” but his path to the crown has not been smooth. King Zwelithini left six wives and at least 28 children when he died last year. Misuzulu is the first son of Zwelithini’s third wife, who he designated as regent in his will. But the queen died suddenly a month later, leaving a will naming Misuzulu as the next king – a development that did not go down well with other branches of the family.
Queen Sibongile Dlamini, the late king’s first wife, backed her son Prince Simakade Zulu as the rightful heir. Some of the late king’s brothers put forward a third prince as their candidate for the throne. Queen Sibongile’s legal bid to challenge the succession was revived on August 19th as she was granted the right to appeal a previous unfavourable ruling. On August 20th, two of her daughters filed an urgent application to stop all rituals pending the appeal. The application was turned down by the court in Pietermaritzburg. “Those who are Zulu and know the traditions know who is the king,” said Themba Fakazi, an adviser to the previous ruler who supports Misuzulu.
The next Zulu monarch will inherit a fortune and tap into a rich seam of income. Zwelithini received some 71 million rand ($4.2m) a year from the government and owned several palaces and other properties. A royal trust manages almost three million hectares (7.4 million acres) of land – an area about the size of Belgium. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who in March recognised Misuzulu as the rightful king, is to formally certify the crowning at a ceremony in the coming months. (Source: © AFP 20/8/2022)
This news report by AlJazeera (20/8) on YouTube visually describes the ceremony and the family dispute.
Misuzulu will have big shoes to fill as he takes over the role of Zulu king, as obituaries of his father on the website of South Africa’s Citizen website (12/3/2021) and the UK’s Guardian demonstrate. In an era of rapid modernisation and change, maintaining traditions and withstanding the pressures of democratic government in a country riven with divisions and insecurity will be challenging.
As historyfiles.co.uk explains, the year 1994, when South Africa emerged into an era of majority rule, was a watershed for the Zulu nation. The new constitution enshrined a wide range of equalities – not just racial equality, but also gender equality and recognition of diverse sexual orientations. It was, and is, highly modern in its range, but nevertheless enshrines the position of traditional monarchs, and thanks to its wide-ranging vision, King Goodwill Zwelithini became part of a modern South Africa, while still representing an old lineage and old practice.
The inclusion in the constitution allayed deep-seated fears that the Zulu could be sidelined by the new regime. Instead the eleven separate enclaves of the province of Natal were reincorporated into South Africa and renamed Kwazulu Natal. The king’s former chief minister (since 1976), Mangosuthu Buthelezi, with whom he had shared a somewhat strained relationship, became minister of home affairs under the first majority rule government.
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