Emperor Shaka the Great: A Zulu Epic

by Mazisi Kunene

Book Overview

Tells how the Zulu's themselves view their empire, both in the past and the present.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0435902113
• ISBN13: 9780435902117
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.7" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

An epic worthy of a towering leader

Sadly, this work is out of print. But if you can find a copy, it is well worth your time, particularly if you enjoy epic poetry. While it is not equal to Homer, Virgil, or Ovid, Emperor Shaka the Great: A Zulu Epic is easily superior to such works as The Song of Roland or The Nibelungenlied, and it deserves a much wider audience. The introduction provides an informative summary of Shaka's life, ambitions, military innovations, and political achievements. It also provides a brief discussion of the Zulu oral tradition in transmitting stories. Unfortunately, the introduction lacks a technical discussion of Zulu poetry. For example, we don't know how the original epics were constructed. Where they songs, rhyming couplets, blank metered verse, or what? It would have been nice to learn how the stories were structured in their original language, how Kunene rendered them into Zulu, and what challenges the he had in translating them to English. The story itself covers Shaka's entire life, including the prophecy of his birth and rise to greatness; his illegitimate birth; his lonely childhood in exile; his rise as a creative and innovative soldier; his eventual kingship; his numerous battles to rid his lands of outlaws, to build an empire, and to stabilize Zululand; his dealings with white settlers; his internal struggles with jealous familial rivals; and his tragic assassination. Kunene's language is superb. It is artful, colorful, and lively. The imagery is always strong, and the characters are vivid and memorable. Kunene is as his finest when he meditates on the nature of ambition, power, obligation, and doubt. These reflections on human nature are what elevate the poem from a cultural artifact to a story of universal importance. Kunene really knows his craft. Like all good writers, he shows us that people have the same cares and motivations everywhere, regardless of time, place, and culture. There is one thing I didn't like. This is where my cultural bias comes in. To me, the work suffers considerably from its frequent "praise poems." Hardly a page goes by where someone isn't "singing Shaka's epics" or "reciting poems of Shaka's excellence." They add little to the work, except to emphasize their importance to Zulu culture. Perhaps sensing how they bog down the story, Kunene's introduction mentions that praise poems are an essential part of Zulu culture, and their inclusion was necessary to preserve the flavor of the original Zulu oral epics. He also points out that he edited them liberally to make them more accessible to Western readers. Be that as it may, the praise poems easily add 100 pages of filler without greatly enhancing the story. If you find yourself skimming through them, don't worry. You won't miss much. I read all of them carefully, thinking some of them were important to the story. Only a few were, and they were near the end of the book. A pronunciation guide of some of the key names and places would have been nice, too. I don't

Masterpiece!!!!

Mazisi Kunene's penchant for history is alive in this collection. As a scholar of Zulu literature, it is no surprise that Kunene is able to present the story/legend of Shaka in poetic language that is both engaging and skillfully constructed. Also, Kunene's brilliant execution of folklore, myths, images and metaphors affords the reader a rare opportunity of experiencing his virtuoso and visionary commitment. Inspiring!! --Dike Festus Okoro Milwaukee, WI USA

Excellent Read and Highly Dependable

Mazisi Kunene, the great Zulu Poet, relates the story of Emperor Shaka from various oral sources. This is an excellent read and very enlightening account of the Shakan times.

Inside the Time of Shaka

This book is unique among many others in African history. This is the story of Shaka translated directly from Zulu oral history into English. I felt as if I were in the time of Shaka in a way that I never felt from reading other histories of Africa. This book made me realized that my perception of Africa needed looking into. I always approached books about African history as if I were going to a place and time that is inherently alien. Then I read "Shaka," and because it was the current events, or at least recent history, to the historians of the day, the events and characters are reported as the stories of men and women, and I realized that I was not reading "African" history -- I was reading World history, and there is only one history.This story stands shoulder-to-shoulder with other great first-hand accounts of history and warfare for military accuracy (not that I've attempted to re-trace the route of Shaka's campaigns for accuracy!): the Pelopennesian War, the Punic Wars, the campaigns of Napoleon.This history, insofar as it is verbal and just happened to be transcribed, is also a very long poem, and the instances of poetic adornment are many, but bear them! for they are as much a part of the story as what they describe. And don't skip over the reflections on the application of the power of the king and political philosophy. For the non-African, these are essential to beginning to understand African (or at least Zulu) aesthetics and philosophy.A must-read (not just a must-OWN, by the way) for the casual student or scholar of history, African or otherwise.