South Africa’s largest tribe paid tribute to its fallen king on Wednesday when Zulus gathered with leopard skins and multicolored pearls in mourning.
King Goodwill Zwelithini died early Friday at the age of 72 in the eastern city of Durban after weeks of treatment for a diabetes-related illness.
He was the longest-serving monarch in Zulu history and ruled for half a century through years of apartheid and democratic transition.
His remains have been taken back to his birthplace, the small southeastern town of Nongoma in Kwa-Zulu Natal province, where he will be laid to rest after midnight.
The intimate ceremony, which is performed behind closed doors, is called “planting” rather than a funeral.
Bare-breasted women in elaborate necklaces and headbands danced and sang as they marched to the funeral home where Zwelithini’s body was held.
Men known as “amaButho”, or the Zulu regiment, followed the maidens in traditional leopard skins and ostrich feathers – floating spears, shields and clubs called “knobkerries”.
The mourners marched behind a banner with the text “Thank you for being the shining light of hope.”
They stopped for a short guard outside the town hall where they were joined by the locals, some still in work uniforms.
“We feel extremely naked, we feel that someone has stripped us, deprived us of the blanket that covered us,” said Mayor Albert Mncwango.
A select group of about 50 amaButho were let into the morgue, along with family members in black Range Rovers and Mercedes.
The Zulu regiments, also known as amaButho, form a guard of honor as they escort a hearse carrying the king of Goodwill Zwelithini from a morgue in Nongoma, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, March 17, 2021. (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)
The carriage arose shortly afterwards, flanked by the regiments shouting “we mourn our king.”
Residents stood in the streets as the procession slowly made its way to KwaKhethomthandayo’s royal residence under a menacing sky.
As the dark clouds thickened, historian Khaya Ndwandwe said the rain was “a symbol of our planting a king.”
‘Forgiving Discipline’
Although Zwelithini’s title did not confer executive power, the charismatic king had moral influence over more than 11 million Zulus, almost one-fifth of the country’s population.
“He was a symbol of respect, unity and he loved his people,” said Mazwi Zulu, 31, a distant cousin of the king.
“He did not want to see anyone begging.”
Zwelithini ascended to the throne during apartheid in 1971, just 23 years old, three years after his father died.
He returned from hiding over fears of assassination and was crowned the eighth Zulu monarch.
Zwelithini basked in the legacy of famous and defiant Zulu kings, his ancestors, who inflicted one of the worst defeats of the British Empire in 1879.
Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini (DHA)
An elderly resident named “Grandpa Fanyana” said he remembers the king as a little boy who enjoyed collecting honey in the bush.
“Ever since I heard the news, I’ve been too weak to do anything,” he told Agence French-Presse (AFP), wearing traditional animal skins and wearing a cowhide shield.
“I remember him as a forgiving disciple.”
But Zwelithini was also accused of playing into the hands of the apartheid system’s struggle against the then-banned African National Congress Party, which opposed the white minority’s rule.
After his death, a local newspaper described him as a “guardian of Zulu culture” but also as a “useful idiot in the hands of the apartheid government.”
Dancing with presidents
The nation’s traditional leaders have been constitutionally recognized since the end of apartheid and continue to play important symbolic and spiritual roles. South Africa also expects to crown its first official queen in a few years, when she is old enough.
They advise legislators and have a say in culture, land management and the judiciary in their territories.
The Zulu king is still the most influential of all these leaders.
Zwelithini spoke to powerful political leaders during his reign and appeared in public with Nelson Mandela.
He was also visited by President Cyril Ramaphosa and former President Jacob Zuma during which they were seen performing a gripping Zulu war dance called “umzansi”.
Ramaphosa himself is expected to deliver the praise on Thursday and has ordered that all flags be flown halfway until the evening for the funeral service.
Zwelithini’s successor has not yet been revealed.
The monarch had six wives and 28 children.
But his first son, who traditionally would have inherited the throne, was murdered in his Johannesburg home in November last year at the age of 50.
The circumstances of his death are still unclear.
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