Shaka Zulu: The Story of a Ruthless Ruler

The Zulu monarch Shaka was a contemporary of the French emperor Napoleon, and has even been dubbed the ‘African Napoleon’ by some. However, apart from their reputation as great military leaders, history has remembered these two men quite differently. On the one hand, Napoleon, despite the wars he waged across Europe, has been considered by some as an enlightened despot. Shaka, on the other hand, has been remembered more negatively as a ruthless and bloodthirsty madman.

His Name and a Parasite – Shaka’s Beginnings

Those seeking an explanation for Shaka’s brutality may begin with his childhood. According to popular belief, Shaka was an illegitimate child of Senzangakhona kaJama, a minor Zulu chief, and Nandi. It is said that Shaka was conceived when the two engaged in uku-hlobonga, a form of sexual foreplay without penetrative sex that was allowed to unmarried couples.

This was meant to release sexual tension between young people, and prevent pregnancies from happening. In the case of Senzangakhona and Nandi, however, the rules were broken. When Nandi’s pregnancy was discovered, a formal indictment was sent to Senzangakhona. The chief, however, dismissed the news, and said that Nandi’s menstrual irregularity was caused by an intestinal parasite known as the iShaka. Nevertheless, Nandi gave birth several months later, and Senzangakhona was told to collect Nandi and her son. The child was called Shaka, a corruption of the parasite’s name.