NANDI Reigned c.1816-27
Queen Mother of the Zulu Kingdom
Nandi was born into the Langeni tribe in what is now South Africa. Much of what is known about her life has been recorded in oral histories, with a few written sources from people who encountered her also providing information. As a young woman, Nandi is said to have engaged in an illicit relationship with Senzangakhona, the chief of the Zulu kingdom in Southern Africa. The relationship was controversial, not only because the pair were not married, but also because Nandi and Senzangakhona were considered to be too closely related to each other. As a result of their affair, Nandi became pregnant and gave birth to a son she named Shaka. Once Shaka was born, Senzangakhona married Nandi, and she and her son became part of the Zulu royal family, with Nandi holding the lowly position as the chief’s third wife. During this time, Nandi gave birth to a second child, this time a daughter. With a reputation for being bad-tempered and difficult, Nandi and her children never felt welcomed in the Zulu kingdom and so left, taking refuge with the Mthethwa people. There Shaka, encouraged by his mother and the Mthethwa chief Dingiswayo, rose through the ranks and became a skilled warrior. Upon the death of Senzangakhona in 1815, Shaka returned to take the chieftainship of Zulu by force from his elder brother. He was also named as the successor of Dingiswayo before his assassination in 1817. As chief, Shaka helped the Zulu kingdom to thrive. Nandi, as mother of the chief, held an incredibly influential position, acting as an advisor to her son. When she died in 1827, she was given a funeral fit for a queen and Shaka enforced a period of public mourning. Her resilience and determination to provide for her son, despite the hardships she went through, has seen her revered as a great figure of the Zulu kingdom.