While he was exiled to Saint Helena, she kept him updated and cooperated with the prime minister of the Zulu, Mankulumana kaSophunga.
For example, Novimbi okaMsweli advised her son Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo in the wake of the Zulu civil war that followed the British annexation of Zululand. Royal women defended the Zulu monarchy during times of assault and civil war.
The izibongo of Queen Nandi present her as a strong-willed and protective mother who advocated for her son Shaka’s ascendancy. She was responsible for enforcing customs and advising kings Shaka kaSenzangakhona and Dingane kaSenzangakhona as part of a military council. Regent Queen Mkabayi operated as a senior member of the Zulu kingdom during its height in the early 19th century.
Perhaps most famous of the powerful Zulu women are Regent Queen Mkabayi kaJama, regent for Senzangakhona kaJama, and the Queen Mother Nandi. Reinforcing customs, fighting succession battles The prefix “so” depicts a male figure (versus “no” to refer to a female). This praise positions her as “the tough and uncompromising one”. The izibongo of Queen okaMsweli, who was the mother of King Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo, describe her as “uSomakoyisa”. As Ndlovu points out, some of the praises of royal women masculinise them. This does not mean gender did not come into play. Men, too, were required to show deference to senior women - including mothers, mothers-in-law and royal women.Īs historian Sifiso Ndlovu has argued, among royals “the primary principles of social organisation were seniority, defined by lineage and relative age”. Women carried many responsibilities in showing respect for men. In the historical polities of southeastern Africa, gender and generation shaped a person’s status and access to power. But Zwelithini’s passing provides a starting point for reflection on the role of senior royal women in Zulu history. The isiZulu language, izibongo (praises) and place names are among the sources still to be mined in depth. Historians still have much to explore on this topic. As we noted in the roundtable, this necessary attention to Zwelithini and his forefathers has obscured the agency exerted by royal Zulu women in state-building. As scholars of traditional authority in the region that is now KwaZulu-Natal, we convened a roundtable after Zwelithini’s passing with historian Jabulani Sithole to reflect on how historians have written about the king.
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