Uniting around a warrior’s life
‘We have to bury past differences, hostility, prejudice and fear’
Kwadukuza (Stanger) has geared up to welcome more than 35 000 people expected to attend today’s Umkhosi Welembe – the annual commemoration of the life and reign of King Shaka.
The event went to its host town where Shaka’s grave site is. Last year, it was staged at the Moses Mabhida Stadium for the first time, and King Goodwill Zwelithini led the bicentennial celebration of unification of the Zulu nation.
Kwadukuza Municipality spokesman Sphelele Ngobese said that until recently Heritage Day was known and celebrated as King Shaka Day, to commemorate Shaka’s legacy.
“King Shaka played a leading role in uniting incongruent Zulu clans into a cohesive nation. It has since become Zulu tradition each year for people to gather at the late king’s royal homestead to honour him. Therefore, Umkhosi Welembe is hosted in Kwadukuza annually,” he said.
The Kwazulu-natal Department of Arts and Culture has committed to providing more than 100 buses and 21 taxis to transport people from different parts of the province.
Department spokesman Lethukuthula Mtshali said four trains would also be made available from Kwamashu, Kwamnyandu, Dalbridge and umlazi stations.
“The commemoration remains a highlight of the provincial calendar,” said Mtshali. “The programme includes the singing of amahubo (traditional Zulu songs) and a keynote address by Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini.”
He said strict security measures would be enforced to ensure the safety of those attending, therefore the practice of “umgangela”, commonly known as stick fighting, was prohibited.
MEC for Arts and Culture, Bongi Sithole-moloi, urged the people of KZN to preserve all traditional practices, including indigenous games, and celebrate their great diversity of cultures, beliefs and traditions.
Ilembe District’s Siduduzo Gumede said: “With September being both Heritage and Tourism Month, and this year’s Heritage Day coinciding with the centenary birth of Struggle icon OR Tambo, I urge all residents to commemorate our history and celebrate our diversity by celebrating our rich liberation heritage.”
His sentiments were echoed by Premier Willies Mchunu, who said South Africa had come far since apartheid and should observe the occasion “with the honour and dignity we reserve for our forebears, and teach future generations to reconcile with our past and embrace a common future in a peaceful, united, non-racial, non-sexist, prosperous, democratic society”.
“We need to acknowledge that our forbears’ encounters were characterised with hostility and violent clashes,” he said. “But we have to bury those past differences, hostility, prejudice and fear, and embrace the spirit of mutual respect and acceptance that we know constitutes a unique nation on African soil.”