Here, however, I will be highlighting the song praises of the mighty King Shaka kaSenzangakhona of the Zulu nation. The song praises will be written in both Zulu and English for ease of understanding.
The song praises of Shaka Zulu goes as follows:
UDlungwane You
Dlungwane
KaNdaba, Son
of Ndaba,
UDlungwane You
Dlungwane
WoMbelebele, Of
Mbelebele regiment,
Odlung’ Are rending big
Emanxulumeni, Homesteads
apart,
Kwaze kwas’ amanxulum’ Until homesteads fall
Esibekelana. One upon
the other.
UShaka ngiyesab’ I’m scared of
calling
Ukuthi nguShaka, Shaka by name,
Ngob’ uShaka kwakuyinkosi For Shaka was once a king
Yas’eMashobeni. At Mashobeni.
UMjokwane You Mjokwane
KaNdaba, Son of Ndaba,
Usalakutshelwa He who is never
whispered a tip
Usala kunyenyezelwa. Off without acting upon
it.
USishaka You’ re Sishaka
Kasishayeki, Who’ll
never be vanquished,
UNodumehlezi You are
Nodumehlezi
KaMenzi. Son of Menzi.
Igawu bazawuliluma A young pumpkin they’ll
bite
Bazawuliphimisa, And spit out of
their mouths,
Bekhumbul’ Being reminded of
Amagaw’ abebesi. Bitter tasting ones.
Ilemb’ eleq’ amany’ The sharp hoe sharper
Amalembe ngokukhalipha. Than other hoes.
Uteku lwabafazi A big joke by
the wives
BakaNomgabhi, Of Nomgabhi,
Betekula behlez’ Passing it seated
Emlovini, Whiling away time,
Beth’ uShaka kayikubusa Saying Shaka will never rule
Kayikubankosi, Will never be a
king,
Kanti yilaph’ Yet that
very moment
Ezakunethezeka. He was about to
enjoy it all.
Inkom’ ekhal’ The
bull that bellows
EMthonjaneni, At
Mthonjaneni,
Izizwe zonke ziyizwil’ ukulila. All nations’ heard it
bellowing.
Izwiwe wuDunjwa Dunjwa from Yengweni
WasoYengweni, Heard it,
Yezwiwa wuMangcengeza Mangcengeza from Khali
WakwaKhali. Heard it.
UDlondlwane*, You are like
an old Mamba,
Luya luhlezi luya ludlondlobele, Even seated you spread fear,
Luyadla lubek’ During your
meals you have
Izihlang’ emadolweni. Weapons upon your knees.
Isidlukula dlwedlwe, You
forcefully took the staff,
Uhlany’ olusemehlwen’ Challenging the mad man
Amadoda. Whom men watched and
feared.
Umlilo wothathe The fire set on
bramble
KaMjokwane, By
Mjokwane,
Umlilo wothathe The fire set on
bramble
Wubuhanguhangu, Turning into a
conflagration,
Ushis’ izikhova Had burnt the
owls
ZaseDlebe, At Dlebe,
Kwaye kwasha Even those at
Mabedlane
NezaseMabedlane. Could not be spared.
Ungezwa bethi: Never hear them
say:
“Valela
njalo “Always
keep it indoors
Solunjalose;” Solunjalose;”
Abasho kuwe They
are not referring it to you
Wena kaNdaba, Son of Ndaba,
Bash’ unyok’ They refer
it to Mbulazi
UMbulazi, Your grandmother,
Ovalel’ ingonyam’ Who has kept a lion
Endlini. Inside her hut.
Odabule You who have crossed
KuNdima noMgovu, Ndima and Mgovu,
Abafaz’ abanendeni And pregnant women
Baphuluza, Suffered miscarriage,
Imikhubulo
bayishiy’ izinqindi, They left their hoes broken
Imbewu yasal’. And their
seeds
Emanxiweni. Were left on the sites
Odabule kuBhuzane You who have
crossed
Phezulu, Bhuzane
from the top,
Wakhethelwa And
came upon a flock
Wudwendwe lwamaza, Of bucks moving in a line,
Wadlula kuMcombo You passed Mcombo when
Zigoduka, Cattle were heading home,
Wabuz’ izindlela And asked Dunjwa
KuDunjwa, For directions,
Kanti ngabezibuza Instead of asking
KuMbozane, Mbozane,
Owandulel’ ukuya Who had led the way
KuNomagaga, To Nomagaga,
Lafik’ iqhude Where he
was
Lamvimbela. Stopped by
a cock.
Ilang’ eliphume You, the sun
Linsizwa, That rose without rays,
Lathi liphezulu But at midday
Lansasa. Shone most brightly.
Ilang’eliphandl’ The sun that
outshone
Elinye ngemisebe, The other sun with
rays,
Ngoba liphandle For it outshone
ElaseMthandeni. That from
Mthandeni.
Ozulu* lizayo You the
advancing storm,
Khwezan’ abantwana, They have to care for
kids,
Ngabadala bodwa It’s only the adults
Abazozibalekela. That’ll run for
themselves.
UDunjwa yena yedwa It is only Dunjwa who
Limkhandanisile, Is caught up in it
Oye wakh’ amanxiw’ For he has rebuilt
homes
OThukela, At Thukela Valley,
Lapho kucushw’ Where there are
traps
Isilo ngomwowane. Set out for the
leopard.
Ohamb’ ebas’ You
who keep on making
Amakloba, Big fires,
Imamb’ edl’ umuntu The mamba that kills a
person
Bath’ iloyelwe. As if
bewitched.
Ondande You
who moved freely
Ngankalo, In
the valley,
Ondande You
who moved freely in
Ngokhal’ olude, An
expanse of the valley,
Wadabul ’emathanjen’ And crossed the valley of
AbantabakaTayi, The
bones of Tayi’s children,
Ebebegodola beya Who
died shivering on
KuMacingwan’ Their
way to Macingwane
ENgonyameni. At
Ngonyameni
OZihlandlo kaGcwabe I strongly suspect
Ngibasolile, Zihlandlo
son of Gcwabe,
Abasokoci, He
is indeed a sorcerer,
Inkosi kabayitshelang’ He could not tell the king
Izibuko, Where
to cross the river,
Bayiweze ngelisacons’ But told him to cross
Amathe, Where
the river was still bloody,
Ebelisasuk’ ukuphel’ Ntube from the Majola clan
UNtube wakwaMajola. Had just been murdered there.
Amanz’ omthombo The
water from
WakwaNobamba, Nobamba
fountain,
Engiphuze kuwo Which
I drank from
Ngagangatheka, Then
I craved for more,
Ngaphos’ ukudliwa And
I was nearly eaten up
Zimamba. By
the mambas.
Umlunguzi You
the one who looks
Wezingoje. Down
the precipices.
Inyath’ ejame You
the buffalo that stared
Ngomkhonto Holding
a spear
Phezu koMzimvubu, Upon
Mzimvubu River,
AmaMpond’ ayesaba All
the Mpondo people feared
Nokuyehlela. To
attack it.
Nani boGambushe, You
Gambushe people,
Nani boFaku, Even
you the Fakus,
Ningamhlabi, Dare
not stab him,
Ukuba nimhlabile, For
once you stab him,
Koba senihlab’ uPhunga You would have stabbed Phunga
Nahlab’ uMageba. You
would have stabbed Mageba.
Wahlangana nodwendwe He came across a line
Lwamankankane, Of
cranes,
Mhla eyakudl’ amaMpondo, On his way to defeat
Iziphukuphuku. The
silly Mpondos.
Intab’ emahwaqa You
the shady mountain
KaMjokwane, Of
Mjokwane,
Ebingadli mihlambi Where
no herds
Yazinkomo, Of
cattle graze,
Ebidl ’imihlambi Only
the flocks
Yezinyamazane. Of
wild animals.
Obesixhokolo singamatsh’ You were a heap like
AseNkandla, The
stones of Nkandla,
Abekad’ ephephel ’izindlov’ The shelter for elephants
Ukuba liphendule. On
stormy weather.
ULusiba gojela You,
the long feather
Ngalaphaya kweNkandla, Hanging over Nkandla,
Lugojela njalo As
it hangs that way
Ludl’ amadoda, It
devours men,
Indlondlo* yakithi Our
old mamba
KwaNobamba. From
Nobamba.
UNdab’ ocaba You
Ndaba, who clears
Ngomkhonto, The
land using a spear,
Amany’ amakhos’ While
other kings
Ecaba ngamazembe. Use
axes to clear theirs.
Ubhiyoze kuNomangci You danced with excitement
Phezulu, At
the top of Nomangci,
Eyakunqumel’ umbango On your way to settle
WakwaNyuswa. Nyuswa
conflict.
Kwakungabangwa Nothing
of substance had
Nalutho kwaNyuswa, Started
the conflict at Nyuswa,
Kwakubangw’ izinhlakuv’ It was over castor-oil seeds
Emanxiweni, At
the deserted kraals
Bethi nteke! nteke! As
they screamed and shouted
Lindan’ amajuba. Driving
away doves
Wen’ ophekwe You
Ndaba, who were cooked
Ngembiz’ enkulu Ndaba, In the biggest pot,
Wen ’ophekwe ngembiz’ You who were cooked
Ebiphek ’amakhos’ In
the pot that was used
AkwaNtombazi, By Ntombazi to cook the kings,
Kodwa wena kawavuthwa. But you remained raw.
Ungangencumbe You
filled the pot like millet
Yamabele engakadliwa. Porridge not yet served.
Umxoshi womuntu He
who chases a person
Amxoshele futhi, And chases him
relentlessly,
Ngimthand’ exosh’ uZwide I loved him more chasing
Ezalwa nguLanga. Zwide
the son of Langa.
Emthatha lapha liphuma ngakhona, Taking him from the east,
Emsingisa lapha lishona ngakhona, Driving him towards the west,
UZwide wampheq’ Grabbing
Zwide by shoulders
Amahlonjan’ omabili. And breaking them both.
Izindaba ngazizwa An
old woman told me
Ngesalukazi, These
tidings,
Sona simasala The
one always left
Emanxiweni, In
desolate homesteads,
Izindaba ngazizwa An
old man told me
Ngexhegu, These
tidings,
Lona limasala The
one always left
Emzileni. Following
on the trail.
UMaswezisela wakithi The Destitute Maker from our place
KwaBulawayo. At
Bulawayo,
Oswezisel’ uZwide Turned
Zwide into a destitute,
Ngamangqangula. Defeating
him with brisk warriors.
USishayandlondlo The
Old Mamba conqueror
KaMjokwane. Of
Mjokwane
Ubusika nehlobo bahlukene Winter differs from summer,
NobakwaNtombazi, As the seasons of both
Ntombazi
NobakwaLanga. And
that of the son of Langa.
Inkonyan’ ekhwele phezu The calf that climbed up to
Kwendlu kwaNtombazi The roof of Ntombazi’s hut,
Bath’ iyahlola, They
swore was inviting trouble,
Kanti yibona But
it was them who
Bezaz’ ukuhlola. Would
experience trouble.
Indlov’ ethe imuka, The elephant that Langa people
Babeyilandel’ abakwaLanga; Paid homage to on its departure;
Ibuyis’ inhloko Had
turned its head
Yadl’ amadoda. And
devoured men.
USilwane helele You
are the scary Beast
Emizini yabantu, At
people’s homesteads,
USilwane ubengelutho, The Beast had been nothing,
Ubeyinduna kwaDibandlela. Only a headman at Dibandlela.
Uthi lwempundu You
were a gate’s pole,
Oluhlal’ izikhova. Upon
which owls perched.
Oluhlal’ uPhungashe Upon which Phungashe
WakwaButhelezi. Of
Buthelezi clan rested.
Mgengi phez’ izitha Mgengi stop making enemies
Kusehlobo, It’s
summer time,
Utshani bude The
grass is tall
Buzokugibanisa. Will
cripple you.
Ukleb’ engimbon’ The
eagle which
Ukwehla I
saw descending
KwezikaMangcengeza, Upon the Mangcengeza’s,
Kwathi kwezikaPhungashe On reaching the place of
Wanyamalala. Phungashe
it disappeared.
Okhangel’ ezansi He
who looked down
NamaDungela, At
the place of Dungela people,
Izinkomo zawoSihayo zabuya, And Sihayo cattle were returned,
Kwaye kwalandela Even
those of Mfongosi
NezikaMfongosi, Followed,
Ebezisengwa yindiki An amputee from Mavela
YakwaMavela. Had
been busy milking them.
Kwakungasakhali nkomo The lowing of cattle came to an end
KwaNtombazane, At
Ntombazane’s kraal.
Inkomo yayisikhala The
lowing of cattle was heard
Kithi kwaBulawayo. Home
at Bulawayo.
UGasane The
relentless attacker ever
Kade lubagasela, Attacking
them unabatedly,
Lugasele uPhungashe Has attacked Phungashe
WakwaButhelezi, Of
the Buthelezi clan,
Lugasel’ Sondaba And
attacked Sondaba
WoMthand’ ehlez’ ebandla At Mthandeni, Khondlo’ place,
Lwagasel’ uMacingwane And attacked Macingwane
ENgonyameni, At
Ngonyameni,
Lwagasel’ uGambushe And attacked Gambushe
EmaMpondweni, Of
the maMpondo tribe,
Lwagasel’ uFaku And
attacked Faku
EmaMpondweni. Of
the maMpondo tribe.
Oth’ esadl’ ezinye Busy
conquering these,
Wadl’ ezinye. You
conquered those.
Wath’ esadl’ ezinye And busy conquering those,
Wadl’ ezinye. You
conquered these. This is how the song praises of the mighty king of the Zulus were.
