The Last Zulu War

The lead induna, or head man, resplendent in hyena tails and impala, monkey and civet skins, carried an Instamatic. Alongside the bare-breasted girls singing for the warriors were some in Maidenform bras. When the newly enthroned Paramount Chief left the party, it was in a new Chrysler. In most respects, however, the crowning of 23-year-old Prince Zwelithini Goodwill Ka-cyprian Bhekuzulu in the Royal Kraal at Nongoma last week was faithful to the folkways of the days when the Zulus were the largest tribe and mightiest warriors in all of Black Africa.

Fully 15,000 Zulus slogged through mud and mist for the ceremony on a hillside in one of the 29 scattered patches of land that make up the Zulu Bantustan, a separate homeland set up by the apartheid government in Pretoria. Warriors rattled their assegais (short, stabbing spears) against oxhide shields. "Si-gi-di [Strength]," they thundered in unison, recalling the classic battle cry of the Zulu armies.

The actual coronation occurred at the moment when South Africa's Minister of Bantu Administration, Michiel Botha, presented letters of appointment to Prince Zwelithini, whose father, Chief Cyprian, died 18 months ago. Standing stiffly in a plain black suit with a leopard-skin sash draped incongruously across it, the Prince wept with emotion. Then the crowd roared a traditional tribute: "Bay-ete wenawendhlovu [Hail, noble elephant]," and Zwelithini took his place on a throne of scented tamboetie wood with arm rests carved in the shape of lions.

At that point, the coronation ceremony was still incomplete, since it signified primarily a title conferred by the white government. To complete the crowning in their own way, the Zulus held another celebration, attended by 50,000 tribesmen and only two whites --a government administrator and an expert on their history and culture. For that weekend-long occasion, 105 oxen, 50 antelopes, seven buffaloes and 20 wildebeests were slaughtered and eaten, washed down with thousands of gallons of tshwala, a native beer.

Evolution. In crowning a king, the Zulus achieved a significant milestone on their way to becoming a nation again. Ironically, the South African government's policy of apartheid or "separate development" has led to a surge of tribal pride among the 4,000,000 Zulus, who account for nearly a quarter of South Africa's black population. The semi-autonomous Bantustans being set up by the government as a means of keeping blacks segregated in their own homelands, have given that pride political expression.

The Zululand Territorial Authority, as yet nothing more than a tribal council, is scheduled to be upgraded to a legislative council and to be chosen by general election some time in 1972. It will then have constitutional power over local matters of justice, finance, education and agriculture, though Pretoria will still retain control of defense, foreign affairs and police. Said Botha to Prince Zwelithini last week: "It can be expected that your reign will see a constitutional evolution of your Zulu nation to a fully fledged self-governing and independent nation."

Ox-Wagon Pace. That may come sooner than Pretoria thinks, because of another reason for Zulu pride: Chief Gatsha Buthelezi, 43, a straight-talking politician who heads the Zululand Council. Buthelezi is likely to become chief minister of the first elected assembly. He has left no doubt of his determination to battle for Zulu national rights. "When man is reaching for the moon," he has said, "the Zulus cannot be expected to move towards self-determination at the pace of an ox-wagon."

Buthelezi has already begun campaigning for more land to connect the various pieces of the Zulu Bantustan. His demands include equal pay for equal work, free compulsory education, and even the right for a real Zulu army.

Prideful Nationhood. More than any other tribe, the Zulus have a sense of prideful nationhood. A fellow tribesman, Chief Albert Luthuli, was awarded the 1960 Nobel Peace Prize (he died in 1967 in an accident while under political restriction on his Natal farm). In 1879, the Zulu army slaughtered 1,500 redcoats at Isandhlwana, one of Britain's most crushing military defeats. The Zulus were subdued later that year.

Today, says Buthelezi, the tribe is fighting "the last Zulu war, in the sense that as long as there is life in us as a people, we will strive toward full realization as a Zulu nation." He adds: "We black people have become used to being disillusioned, all these years in South Africa. But I like to think that the whites are sincere, and are prepared to make some sacrifices." If they are not, says Buthelezi, "they'll be sorry."

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