Shaka's Time in the Mthethwa Army

Collectively the tribes of South East Africa (Kwa-Zulu Natal today) were called the Nguni.

The Nguni language group is defined as a group of languages having clicks in it, unlike other Bantu languages like Shona.

The Zulu were Nguni, as well as the Mthethwa and all other groups we will look at under this topic.

Traditional Nguni warfare was very different to warfare we might imagine.

The aim was not to kill the enemy and it was more ceremonial that strategic.

Lines of soldiers would meet on a field and try to scare away the enemy with war cries and dances.

If the enemy refused to flee then long throwing spears would be thrown at each other.

Only then, if the enemy did not retreat, would both sides engage in hand to hand fighting with axes and knobkerries.

Villages would come out and spectate theses battles. Often they did not end in bloodshed and talks usually solved disputes.

The two most powerful Nguni tribes were the Mthethwa and the Ndwandwe ruled by a king called Zwide.

Dingiwayo's Mthethwa and Zwide's Ndwandwe were almost always at war and Shaka fought many battles against the Ndwandwe.

But to Shaka... this method of fighting was a waste of time and did not achieve results.

He began to develop his own tactics and was given command of his own regiment to test them out.

Shaka did away with the long throwing spear and replaced it with a short stabbing spear called an assegai or iklwa.

He replaced the short shield with a long cowhide shield

He emphasised hand to hand combat and physical fitness in his soldiers.

He developed a new battle tactic called the "Horns of the Bull" to surround and destroy an enemy.

For Shaka, an enemy that was not destroyed, was not defeated. The enemy had to be killed so he could not live to fight another day

While Shaka's military ideas may seem basic to us they were radical to the Nguni and especially the Mthethwa.

The Nguni people were not bloodthirsty, and did not see war as a solution to their disputes.

Warfare was a final resort and both sides hoped to settle things peacefully.

Shaka would turn this all on it's head and transform the Zulu people specifically into some of the most famous warriors in the world.