First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Publisher's note Osprey, an imprint of Reed Consumer Books Ltd. Readers may wish to study this title in conjunction with Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road. the following Osprey publications: London SW3 6RB MAA 198 British Army on Campaign (3) 1856-81 and Auckland, Melbourne, Singapore and Toronto MAA 212 Victoria's Enemies (1) Southern Africa © Copyright l995 Reed International Books Ltd. Campaign 14 The Zulu War 1879 Elite 21 The Zulus All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the Elite 32 British Forces in Zululand 1879 purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, Artist's note stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form Readers may care to note that the original paintings or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, from which the colour plates in this book were pre mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or pared are available for private sale. All reproduction otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers. copyright whatsoever is retained by the publisher. All enquiries should be addressed to: ISBN 1 85532 474 1 Scorpio Gallery PO Box 475 Filmset in Great Britain Hailsham Printed through World Print Ltd,. Hong Kong E. Sussex BN27 2SL The publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter. If you would like to receive more information about Osprey Military books, The Osprey Messenger is a regular newsletter which contains articles, new title information and special offers. To join free of charge please write to: Osprey Military Messenger, PO Box 5, Rushden, Northants NN10 6YX ZULU 1816-1906 HISTORICAL board of southern Africa, from the Umzimvubu river in the south to the Phongolo in the north, in the late 18th BACKGROUND century. All of them spoke the same language, allowing for differences in regional dialects, and possessed a culture based on polygamy and cattle. The people lived in largely The Zulu kingdom in its independent form existed for a self-contained homesteads, and owed political allegiance surprisingly short time. It emerged during a period of to a hereditary chieftain. About the turn of the century, conquest in the 1820s, and was broken by the British in the however, the Zulu society collapsed into violence, and a Anglo-Zulu war of 1879. However, in the same way that new, more sophisticated political order emerged. In its the line of the Zulu Royal House has continued, unbroken, most developed form, this new order found expression in into modern times so the ethos of the old Zulu military the Zulu kingdom. system continued to dominate the thought-patterns of the Zulu-speaking peoples long after the Zulu army itself had Influence of King Shaka been dispersed. Indeed, the repercussions of the rise and fall of the old Zulu kingdom continue to influence events The reason for the change is a matter of debate. Certainly in the post-apartheid Republic of South Africa today. the late 18th century was a time of drought and famine, It is one of the many ironies of this saga that the and it is possible that chiefdoms banded together or successes of the Zulu kingdom have led to the name Zulu conquered their neighbours in an attempt to control a being applied indiscriminately to the language and culture wider range of natural resources. Equally, the change may have corresponded with an intensive trading drive by the of many broadly similar African groups, only some of Portuguese enclave at Mozambique, which upset the which ever acknowledged their allegiance to the Zulu neighbouring African economic status quo and led to kings. The Zulus were originally just one of a number of chiefs attempting to dominate lucrative trade routes. For extended social units — called for convenience' sake 'clans' whatever reason, it was out of this violence that the Zulu - who inhabited the northern sector of the eastern sea Daily life: a group of Zulus outside a typical hut, photographed some time in the 19th century. As this picture suggests, it was the lot of unmarried girls to carry food for their fathers and brothers. 3 Mfolozi river in the north and the Thukela in the south, although significant areas outside this region either ac knowledged King Shaka's authority or were depopulated as the groups who inhabited them retired out of his reach. Administration The Zulu kingdom was by no means politically mono lithic. It remained a conglomerate of clans; some of these had been defeated by Shaka and incorporated by force, but others had joined as allies, and retained a good deal of local autonomy. The latter retained their chiefly lines, which in turn provided a level of regional administration, with the apparatus of the Zulu state grafted over the top. The regional chiefs - the so-called izikhulu (sing. isikhulu), or 'great ones' of the nation - were entitled to sit on the ibandla or national council which advised the king; so powerful was the ibandla that it could - and sometimes did - oppose the king's wishes, and the king could only take direct action against an isikhulu at the risk of alienating his support in the outlying areas. Thus effective administra tion of the Zulu kingdom was the result of a careful balancing act, characterised by an underlying tension between the king's need to centralise power and the regional chiefs' desire to see power revert to them. Military and political systems One significant force for centralisation was the military system. In the pre-Shakan clans it had been common for An insizwa or unmarried fantastic shapes such us young men to give a period of service to their chiefs, until man in the 19th century. this, with tallow and clay. Fashionable young men (Killie Campbell Africana such time as they married and assumed family responsi worked their hair up into Library) bilities. Shaka extended this system so that the young men from across the kingdom gave service directly to the king, kingdom was born, largely through the military skills of rather than to their local chiefs, regardless of their regional one of the most important and controversial figures allegiances. This effectively concentrated the single most obvious military and economic resource directly in the in black southern African history, King Shaka king's hands, and provided one of the strongest bonds kaSenzangakhona. tying the nation together. Making use of existing struc So much myth has accrued about the life and times of tures, Shaka called young men together by means of guilds King Shaka that it is actually quite difficult to discern the called amabutho (sing. ibutho) which were recruited on the thread of truth which links his achievements. He came to grounds of their common age. The amabutho were ex power about 1816, and was, it is generally agreed, an pected to provide service for the king whenever he de aggressive individual who gained a fierce reputation in his manded it over a period of 15 or even 20 years; at the end youth as a warrior. He is credited with two crucial military of that time, they were allowed to marry and disperse, innovations: the invention of a broad-bladed spear for use although the king might still call upon them in extreme in hand-to-hand combat, and the creation of a deadly circumstances. battlefield tactic, the 'beast's horns' encircling formation. It is apparently on the strength of these that the Zulu King Shaka was probably able to exert a tighter began their ascendancy. Certainly the Zulu rise was rapid; control over his subjects than any of his successors simply they steadily overcame other contenders for regional because there were no viable alternative political systems dominance, and by about 1820 a recognisable Zulu king within his orbit. Even before his assassination, in 1828, dom had emerged. Its heartland lay between the Black however, the first white adventurers had arrived on the 4 Zulu borders, and had established a trading settlement at regime there. Hungry for land, they presented a direct Port Natal (now Durban). Shaka's successor, King challenge to the Zulu kingdom, and a brutal war broke out. Dingane, effectively abandoned the area south of the It was only resolved in 1840 when king Dingane was Thukela River— which was known to Europeans as Natal - overthrown by his brother, Mpande kaSenzangakhona, to the whites. Throughout the 1830s Natal's black popula with Boer help. The Boers claimed a huge reward for tion increased dramatically as refugees from the Zulu helping Mpande, but the Zulu kingdom was spared the kingdom 'crossed over', either fleeing political friction or full cost by the timely arrival of the British who, exercising simply freeing themselves from the more irksome aspects a prior claim to Natal, sent troops in 1842 to drive the of the obligations imposed by the amabutho system. The Boers out. The British formally claimed Natal as a colony, full repercussions of this drain in resources became appar and the boundary between it and the Zulu kingdom was ent in 1838, when the arrival of a new element upset the fixed as the Thukela river. balance still further, and led to the first direct conflict The struggles of 1838-40 seriously weakened the between the Zulu kingdom and the emerging settler-state internal position of the Zulu king, as the regional izikhulu in Natal. In that year, Boer farmers - the descendants of traded their support for increased regional autonomy. the original European settlers at the Cape - arrived in King Mpande's reign was characterised by a struggle to Natal, trekking away from the newly established British restore the power of the monarchy in the face of internal Two Zulu boys, of about cadet-age, in 'dancing costume', pictured next to a grain store, by the artist Angas in the 1840s. (British Museum Collection) 5 army had been defeated, the centres of royal authority destroyed, and the king himself driven from the throne. However, the framework of the old military system continued to dominate the minds of the Zulu people throughout the remainder of the 19th century - a time of bitter internecine strife between those who wanted the king's power restored and those who were opposed to it and welcomed a neo-colonial system. The royalist faction never succeeded in reuniting the nation, however, and the short-lived royalist rebellion was suppressed by British redcoats in 1888. In 1906 a rebellion directed against the more obvious symbols of Colonial rule - notably taxation - began in Natal, and gained some support amongst adher ents of the old Zulu kingdom in the border regions. It was, however, ruthlessly put down, proving for the final time that the 19th century Zulu military outlook had little to offer in the face of the 20th century quick-firing artillery, Maxim-machine guns and magazine rifles. CHRONOLOGY c.1790 First conflict between the clan groups in the Zululand area. c.1816 Shaka succeeds as chieftain of the Zulu clan. c.1816—1824 Main period of Zulu expansion, defeating local rivals, incorporating neighbouring groups A Zulu man wearing the adult status. It was a isicoco head-ring, the common practice to through alliance or conquest. Emergence of Zulu sign of a married man shave the head around kingdom. which symbolised full the ring, like this. 1824 Arrival of first white adventurers at Port Natal. 1828 Assassination of King Shaka; King Dingane aban dissent and the lure of an easier life in Colonial Natal. He dons area south of Thukela to whites. was partially successful, in so far as the kingdom retained 1838 War between Zulus and Boers; successful Zulu its independence and cohesion despite a damaging civil attacks on Boer encampments, sacking of Settle war in 1856 between two of his heirs. This succession ment of Port Natal, but ends in Zulu defeat at crisis was so severe that even after Mpande's death (1872) Ncome (Blood) River on 16 December. his heir, Cetshwayo, remained sufficiently insecure to ask 1840 King Dingane driven out by his brother Mpande for Colonial Natal's recognition at his installation a year kaSenzangakhona, with Boer help. later. The price of this support would cost the kingdom 1842 British defeat Boers at Port Natal, and take over dear, for it was later used by the British to justify their Natal; Natal/Zulu border established at line of invasion in 1879. Thukela and Mzinyathi (Buffalo) Rivers. The kingdom held together quite well throughout the 1856 Civil War in Zululand between rival sons of crisis of 1879. Only two izikhulu defected to the British - Mpande, the Princes Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi. one a white protégé of king Cetshwayo and the army 1872/73 Death of King Mpande; accession of Cetshwayo. look to the field time and again in defence of its homeland 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. Main Zulu army is directed and way of life. On several occasions, notably at against British centre column, and defeats it at Isandlwana on 22 January, it severely defeated British Isandlwana on 22 January, Zulu reserve is checked troops in the field, but in the end the Zulu army's reliance in mopping up operation at Rorke's Drift the same on mass attacks in the open made it acutely vulnerable to day. Zulu forces on coast defeated at Nyezane. the effects of British military technology, and it withered British coastal column digs in at Eshowe. Zulu in the face of concentrated firepower. By July 1879 the army reassembled in March to oppose Eshowe 6 relief column and left flank column; Zulus de The vast majority of people in pre-Colonial Natal and feated at Khambula on 28 March and Gingindlovu Zululand lived in social units centred upon the homestead, on 2 April. British advance continues; Zulu army umuzi (pl. imizi). Each homestead consisted of a married reassembles but is defeated at oNdini (Ulundi) on man (the homestead-head or umnumzana) and perhaps 4 July. Army dispersed. King captured in August three or four wives. The homestead was ruled by a strict and taken into captivity. British divide Zululand social hierarchy which found expression in its physical into 13 chiefdoms. layout: it consisted of a number of neat dome-shaped huts 1881 Violence begins between chiefs; first stages in civil of wattle and thatch, arranged in a circle, with the hut of war between royalist and anti-royalist factions. the chief wife at the top, opposite the entrance, and the 1883/84 King Cetshwayo restored to part of former king remaining huts arranged in order of precedence on either dom; violence intensifies. Cetshwayo defeated and side. In the centre of each umuzi was a cattle-pen, where dies. Royalists recruit Boer help to defeat their the umnumzana's herd (representing his wealth and status enemies. as well as a source of food) were kept at night. The entire 1887 Zululand annexed by Britain. homestead was surrounded by a stout palisade to keep out 1888 Royalist rebellion. Cetshwayo's successor, King predatory wildlife. Dinuzulu, defeated and exiled. In theory each homestead was self-sufficient, drawing 1906/7 Bambatha Rebellion in Natal spreads to Zulu the staple food - milk-curds called amasi - from its herds borders but is ruthlessly suppressed. and growing mealies and pumpkins in fields nearby. Most utensils were produced within the homestead, the prin ciple exception being iron, which was made by specialist RECRUITMENT artisans from clans whose geographic locations provided wood for fuel as well as a plentiful supply of surface deposits of iron ore. There was a strict sexual division of labour: the men supervised the all-important tasks con The Zulu military system was firmly rooted in social cerned with the care of their stock, and the women practices of the Zulu-speaking peoples which pre-dated it supplied the hard physical labour necessary to work the by generations. The Zulu warrior was not a professional, fields. Each homestead acknowledged itself as belonging to full-time soldier living in the world of a self-contained, a wider grouping, which traced its descent from a sup self-regulating institution; he remained, essentially, a ci posed common ancestor, and recognised the line of a vilian, upon whom the state imposed the duty to serve in a dominant family as a hereditary chief. The true Zulus military capacity when circumstances demanded. The believed they were the descendants of a man named Zulu, nature of that service changed little from the time of King whose adherents had taken the name amaZulu (Zulu's Shaka to the collapse of the army, in 1879. people) or abakwaZulu (those of Zulu's place). The ikhanda: a model of King Cetshwayo's oNdini homestead, showing the fenced-off isigodlo area at the top and the huts occupied by warriors on either side. (Zulu Cultural Museum, oNdini) 7 stead. Once he was considered old enough to be entrusted Rites of passage into the care of older boys, however, he became a herd- A man born into this society would discover, as he grew boy, tending first goats and sheep and then the cattle. up, that each stage of his development was recognised by Since cattle were of immense importance in the Zulu protective rituals. The Zulu-speaking peoples believed in world - an exchange of cattle was crucial to the marriage the existence of an afterlife, populated by generations of contract, and cattle represented independence, wealth and ancestral spirits, which at times overlapped the everyday status, as well as providing a means of sacrifice to the life of the living; almost every misfortune that occurred spirits and the physical security of food and hides — this was thought to be the result of a disequilibrium between was a very important position. Cattle were driven out early the two, and great care was taken on all important occa in the morning, and the herd-boys had to keep them safe sions to appease the ancestral spirits and prevent the from accidents and predators, and prevent them from spiritual contamination which resulted from their wrath. straying into the fields and damaging the crops. Life as a Life for Zulus of both sexes was a succession of rites of herd-boy taught the young Zulu the rudiments of the passage, and each stage brought new rights and responsi discipline he would need in his military life: to respect the bilities. Unmarried children were considered subordinate authority of those older than himself; to be responsible; to to their parents, and had little freedom of action; they were be self-reliant and yet function within a group; and to be expected to serve and respect their elders, in gratitude for familiar with the outdoor environment. their birth, upbringing and keep. Only when they married Although young Zulu boys were discouraged from did they move out of their parents' home, establish their playing with spears, their games had an essentially military own imizi, and achieve the full independence implied by nature. This was inevitable in a male-dominated society adult status. This obligation to serve authority provided which defined masculinity in terms of physical courage, the psychological framework for the Zulu army. and where all Zulu men needed to carry weapons for self- For perhaps the first five or six years of his life, the protection against attack and wild animals. From an early Zulu boy had a carefree existence, living in his mother's age, Zulu boys carried sticks, with which they learned to hut, and playing with other children within the home hunt and to settle differences with one another (in duels Part of King Cetshwayo's reconstructed oNdini homestead, showing huts built over the surviving clay floors. These huts are typical both of those in the amakhanda and those in the private homesteads about the country. A contemporary sketch of the oNdini homestead, which included over a thousand huts. Few amakhanda were quite as big as this; most consisted of between 100 and 300 huts. 8 fought according to set rules and conditions). Birds and THE AMAKHANDA rabbits were caught using throwing sticks with a bulbous knob at one end; and a popular game involved throwing sharpened sticks at a rolling tuber called an insema. The The amakhanda - the word translates literally as 'heads' - were centres for the dissemination of royal authority. boys would form two lines on a slope, and the insema Physically, they were built much like ordinary imizi, but would be tossed between them, bouncing down the slope. on a grander scale; most amakhanda contained 200-300 Each boy would throw his stick at the tuber as it passed, huts; and the principal ones, where the king himself spent and the winner was the one who succeeded in transfixing it most of his time, boasted more than 1,000. They were most thoroughly. In a stick fight, each contestant had two arranged in a circle, around a central enclosure which straight sticks, one held about midway in the left hand, for served as both a parade ground for the warriors quartered parrying, and the other held in the right, for striking. Each there and a pen for the royal cattle. At the top of each contestant would try to land a blow on his opponent, using ikhanda was a fenced off area known as the isigodlo, which the stick in his left hand as a shield. Fights were fast and was the king's private quarters when he was in residence. furious, although generally good natured; anyone losing his temper was in any case liable to be at a serious Although each of the kings had a favourite residence - known as the komkhulu, or 'great place' - most of them disadvantage against a cool opponent. The fight ended travelled frequently among the amakhanda, and each was when one contestant struck the head of the other and drew considered his personal property. They were built at blood, and as a gesture of reconciliation the victor was strategic points about the kingdom, to serve as a layer of expected to help wash the loser's wounds. state administration alongside the local administration of From about the age of 11 or 12, the Zulu boy would the district chiefs. Shaka is thought to have had perhaps 13 also be expected to fulfil another occasional duty. When or 14 amakhanda; this grew to 27 in Cetshwayo's time - 13 ever his father or any of his elder brothers who were of them within sight of each other on the Mahlabathini already enrolled in the military system were summoned to plain, in the very heart of the kingdom - according to a undertake a journey, perhaps to attend the king, the young careful count by the British intelligence department on the herd-boy who have to accompany him as his carrier and eve of the 1879 war. servant. Known as izindibi (sing. udibi), they were respon sible for carrying their senior's head-rest, drinking gourd, The amakhanda served as barracks for the Zulu regi food and skin-cloak, all wrapped up in a sleeping mat. All ments when they were mustered for service. As a result, journeys, of course, took place on foot, and the travellers when the regiments were not in residence, but living at might easily cover 20 miles a day. One of the famous their family homesteads, an ikhanda might house only a legends about Shaka tells of how he made his warriors handful of people members of the king's household and a discard their hide sandals and go about barefoot; whether caretaker complement of warriors. When the regiments this is true or not, the Zulu were certainly barefoot when were mustered, however, there would be four or five the first white adventurers encountered them in the 1820s, warriors sharing each hut. and they remained so until European clothing became commonplace, in the 20th century. White travellers noted with some fascination that most Zulus had developed a hard layer of horny skin to protect the soles of their feet. All of this travelling was undertaken in a country which had no roads, and still teemed with dangerous wildlife; although Zulu customs of hospitality were such that any traveller could claim a hut and food for the night, journeys remained potentially hazardous. The young udibi learned stamina, how to cope in a dangerous environment, and something of the world outside the immediate confines of his homestead. In particular, it was probably at such an age that he first encountered the obvious symbols of the Zulu state - the royal homesteads known as amakhanda (sing. ikhanda). Male dress at its most minimal - the umncedo. 9 homesteads, the chiefdom and, ultimately, the kingdom as a whole. These izintanga formed the basis of the amabutho system; both males and females were formed into amabutho, although female amabutho were largely an ad ministrative convenience. It was unusual for them to be called together - a woman might be a member of a particular ibutho all her life, and never meet fellow mem bers outside her immediate locality - and they had no particular duties; they did, however, serve as a useful counterpart for male amabutho when the latter were al lowed to marry. The Inkwebane When a Zulu youth reached the age of 17 or 18, he decided To some extent a warrior pumpkins. The grass rings to go, apparently of his own volition and sometimes was dependent on his (bottom right) were worn despite the opposition of his father, to report to the nearest family for food in an as a pad when carrying ikhanda; here Zulu girls things on the head, and are ikhanda to kleza. The term kleza means to drink milk have brought fresh known as inkatha. straight from the cow's udder, and it was meant literally as well as figuratively, for young men would be sustained by When an udibi boy accompanied a relative to an milk from the king's herds, and offer him service in return. ikhanda, his first duty was to dean out the hut, which may Here he would meet other youths of the same group who have been empty for some time. He was then expected to had gathered to offer service for the king. They were fetch and carry, for which he received no reward other known as inkwebane, and were in effect cadet warriors. than a share in the warriors' food. Indeed, he was probably Their duties were not particularly harsh, and varied from subject to some heavy-handed horseplay; in the confused learning the basics of Zulu fighting techniques to perform warren of huts, he might get lost, and if he entered the ing the king's chores, They tended the royal cattle, helped wrong hut he could expect to have a bone thrown at him, keep the homestead in repair, and hoed nearby mealie or be given a clip round the ear and told to take care. fields. They practised stick-fighting, and may have under At the end of his relative's visit to the ikhanda, the taken occasional runs across country to build their endur udibi returned home and resumed his duties as a herd-boy. ance. On the whole, most Zulus who experienced it This pattern characterised the life of a Zulu warrior seemed to enjoy their time as a cadet rather more than they throughout the period of the kingdom's existence. Since in had as an udibi; the work was less onerous, and the bonds theory every Zulu man was expected to fulfil the role of of fellowship they formed would provide the framework warrior in his turn, the Zulu army was therefore nothing for the full-fledged regimental esprit de corps which came less than the manpower of the nation, assembled and later. The period of cadetship perhaps lasted three or four mobilised for war. years, and it is not clear whether the boys lived in the amakhanda for all that time; they were probably allowed frequent time off to visit their families and take part in JOINING A important ceremonies at home. The Inkwebane were supervised in their cadetship by REGIMENT izinduna (sing, induna) attached to the royal homesteads. The izinduna were a layer of administration imposed over Amabutho framework the clan structure - state functionaries, appointed by the It seems to have been up to the individual to determine king, to act as administrators, military commanders and when they entered service to the stak. Even Zulu child, messengers, or to fulfil other specific duties. They were male and female, belonged to an age-group, called an not necessarily men of hereditary rank indeed, some of intanga (pl. izintanga), simply by virtue of having been the Zulu kings appear to have preferred to raise up men born in a particular three- or four-year period. Each whose status in civilian life was otherwise limited, since homestead probably produced two or three children who they then owed their position directly to the king himself. fell within an intanga, and they would play together from Often, however, the most important posts were occupied early childhood. The intanga extended to neighbouring by men of the highest rank; the king's military command- 10