Thomas Mofolo (1876–1948)

Chaka by Lesotho writer Thomas Mofolo was originally published in 1925 and first translated into English in 1931. This is a mythic retelling of the life of Chaka Zulu the first king of the Zulu empire who lived from 1787 to 1828, ruling from 1816 to 1828. He is credited with inventing the assegai, the short stabbing spear that enabled his warriors to repeatedly attack instead of just throwing one spear.

Chaka had a difficult life as one of the sons of a warrior chief. There was jealousy and plots among both the chief’s many wives and the sons who jostled for position. At one point Chaka and his mother were forced to leave, and Chaka was constantly bullied and tormented. According to this legend, Chaka became involved with a sorcerer who practised black magic and showed Chaka the path to power. Upon the death of his father, one of his brothers comes for him, but Chaka defeated him and became chief. At this point his ambition grew and he continued to overtake tribes and band them together into the newly formed Zulu nation. He was physically imposing and had witchcraft helping him but his personality changed and he was responsible for the deaths of thousands, including that of his mother and the love of his life.

Chaka reads like a classic story of blind ambition that turns a young man into a power-hungry monster. He is originally described as tall, handsome, brave and hardworking but as his craving for control and dominance grows he changes and becomes distrustful of all, willing to sacrifice whoever is closest to him. Although at times the writing can be a little stilted, this is an engaging and tragic story that certainly held my interest.… (meer)

Shaka has always been a controversial figure: a strong, successful African leader and innovative general who created a powerful new nation at the moment when Europeans were beginning to dominate the continent, or a psychotic dictator and mass-murderer who provided colonialists with a convenient stereotype of African depravity?

Mofolo exploits this tension by putting him into the centre of a tragic epic, entirely African and pre-Christian in its idiom, but also heavy with what look like biblical, Homeric and Shakespearean accents. We meet Chaka as a brave, talented, but persecuted youth whose enemies are trying to deny his royal blood. He's driven out into the wilderness, where he meets a mysterious sorcerer-figure, Isanusi, who offers him dominion over the kingdoms of this world: Chaka only pauses to ask "where do I sign?"

With the help of Isanusi's assistant demons, Ndlebe and Malunga, he is able to defeat his half-brothers and inherit his father's kingdom, and then that of his suzerain Dingiswayo. And before we know where we are, he's rebranded the nation. According to Mofolo — who may be letting his Basotho prejudices slip in here — they were previously called "People of the male organ of the dog". MaZulu, "People of the sky," does seem to have a classier touch. And he's built a capital, reformed the army, altered military tactics, killed tens of thousands of his own people and his enemies, and conquered most of the known world. Then Isanusi comes round to collect his fee, and it all starts going horribly wrong.

Kunene's translation has a very stately, Authorised Version sort of feel about it, and he has an odd kind of insistence on keeping out Afrikaans words, even when they are very familiar. Veld slips in a couple of times, but that's about it. This is the only Southern African book I've ever read in which a livestock enclosure is called a "fold" instead of a kraal. This perhaps comes from Mofolo's insistence on keeping the presence of Europeans completely out of the story until Chaka's reference to them in his ominous last words. In real life, Chaka had a few Europeans in his entourage, and his strategic situation was very strongly affected by the advancing Afrikaners pushing the Xhosa back towards his territory.

A fabulous epic, which would make a great opera...… (meer)

Chaka is a novel that tells the fictionalized account story of the Zulu hero, Chaka. It is considered to be one of Africa’s first contributions to classic literature. It takes the reader through the entire life of Chaka from his birth and through his rise to power and ultimately to his decline.

I found this to be an engaging and interesting read. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the style of the novel makes you feel like you are listening to someone tell a story rather than reading a book. The story has a morale too, warning readers about the dangers of striving for power.

There is a fair amount of violence in the book but this is expected since the bulk of his life is about fighting and war and dominating his enemies.
… (meer)