The Lost Kingdoms of Africa by Gus Casely-Hayford

Author:Gus Casely-Hayford
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781446487617
Publisher: Transworld
Published: 2016-09-29T04:00:00+00:00

Before Shaka, most inter-ethnic conflict was conducted with long-handled spears, which were thrown from a distance. Shaka introduced this shorter wide-bladed stabbing spear, perfect for close-quarter fighting. He called it the ikwla, a name which is meant to sound like the sucking noise the spear makes when it is withdrawn from the flesh of its victim.

In the hand, the craft and love involved in creating these objects becomes obvious. The weapon is perfectly weighted for holding two-thirds of the way up its length. The lozenge-shaped blade is like a jewel, and where it is bedded into the handle it is woven with beads. It is the result of hundreds of years of use and refinement and it simply feels right. The shield is light and only cardboard thin but it has been tautened and toughened to almost a Kevlar hardness. They are made from cattle hide stretched along a tall frame, interwoven with strips of leather. Shaka introduced large shields that were nearly the height of a man. The size of the shield was dictated by the height of the soldier. In the days of Shaka shields remained the property of the king to enforce loyalty. The colour of the shield indicated the age and regiment of the soldier. They are easy to hold, but clearly not as easy to use well.

Simon thrusts his blade towards me. I try to parry with my shield, but he twists his blade and rams it into the surface of the shield. The vibration of the impact judders through the shield sending jolts of pain into my wrist. I know the shield is meant to be used offensively as well as defensively. Shaka taught his warriors to hook its left side around the left side of their opponent’s shield, exposing their opponent’s left side, which could then be attacked with a thrust from the short stabbing spear. Simon smiles. ‘Lesson one,’ he says. ‘Force the blade away from you with your shield. Don’t meet it head on, push it away from you, and while they are disarmed, use your spear thrust!’ As he says the word ‘thrust’ he presses the cold steel of his blade against my chest. We are very close. I look into his eyes. Inside a deep brown iris is an inner circle of pale, cold grey that surrounds a polka-dot pupil. In that moment he is not joking. But then suddenly Simon drops the blade, begins to laugh, and walks away.

For a few moments I’m not quite sure what has just happened. Then the world beyond the hair-raising incident begins to filter back into my consciousness. First the sound of the young soldiers laughing, then the vision of ranks of young men looking on. It is not the laughter of bullies, they are looking and laughing with me – I have passed an initiation. I begin to understand the Zulu sense of camaraderie.

It is hard to overestimate the impact of Shaka’s military reforms on Zulu society. The biggest transformation was the creation of these regiments that placed the military at the heart of Zulu society.

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