Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika

"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" ("Lord Bless Africa" in Xhosa), was originally composed as a hymn by a Methodist mission school in Johannesburg teacher, Enoch Sontonga in 1897, to the tune 'Aberystwyth' by Joseph Parry. The song became a pan-African liberation anthem and was later adopted as the national anthem of five countries in Africa including Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia and Zimbabwe after independence. Zimbabwe and Namibia have since adopted new national anthems. The song is currently the Mungu ibariki Afrika, Zambia and since 1994, a part of the joint national anthem of South Africa.

History

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, was originally composed as a hymn in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a teacher at a Methodist mission school in Johannesburg, using the tune 'Aberystwyth' originally composed by Joseph Parry in 1879. The words of the first stanza were originally written in Xhosa as a hymn. In 1927 seven additional Xhosa stanzas were added by the poet Samuel Mqhayi.

Words and translation

Original hymn as composed by Enoch Sontonga, but not as used in the National anthem of South Africa, in which the first two lines of the stanza are sung in Xhosa and the last two in Zulu.

In Xhosa

Nkosi, sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakamis'upondo lwayo
Yizwa imithandazo yethu
Nkosi sikelela, Thina lusapholwayo.

Chorus:
Yehla Moya, Yehla Moya,
Yehla Moya Oyingcwele

In English

Lord, bless Africa
May her horn rise high up
Hear Thou our prayers And bless us.

Chorus:
Descend, O Spirit,
Descend, O Holy Spirit.

Current national anthem

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika

Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,

Yizwa imithandazo yethu,

Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,

O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,

O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,

Setjhaba sa South Afrika – South Afrika.

Uit die blou van onse hemel,

Uit die diepte van ons see,

Oor ons ewige gebergtes,

Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

Sounds the call to come together,

And united we shall stand,

Let us live and strive for freedom,

In South Africa our land.

South Africa

The song was the official anthem for the African National Congress during the apartheid era and was a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement.^[1] For decades during the apartheid regime it was considered by many to be the unofficial national anthem of South Africa, representing the suffering of the oppressed. In 1994 after the fall of apartheid, the new President of South Africa Nelson Mandela declared that both "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the previous national anthem, "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" ("The Call of South Africa") would be national anthems. While the inclusion of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" celebrated the newfound freedom of many South Africans, the fact that "Die Stem" was also kept as an anthem even after the fall of apartheid, signified to all that the new government under Mr Mandela respected all races and cultures and that an all-inclusive new era was dawning upon South Africa. In 1996, a shortened, combined version of the two anthems was released as the new South African National Anthem under the constitution of South Africa.

Zambia

The hymn is the national anthem of Zambia.

Tanzania

The hymn 'Mungu ibariki Afrika' is the national anthem of Tanzania.

Retired national anthem

Zimbabwe

'Ishe Komborera Africa' is the Shona version of 'God Bless Africa' and was Zimbabwe's first national anthem, adopted after gaining independence in 1980.

Namibia

The song was the former national anthem of Namibia.

Other countries and organisations

In other African countries throughout southern Africa, the song was sang as part of the anti-colonial movements. It includes versions in Chichewa (Malawi and Zambia). Outside of Africa, the hymn is perhaps best known as the long-time (since 1925) anthem of the African National Congress (ANC), as a result of the global anti-Apartheid movement of the 1970s and 1980s, when it was regularly sung at meetings and other events. It became part of South Africa's national anthem in 1994, following the ANC's victory in the country's first multi-racial elections.

In Finland the same melody is used as the children's psalm Kuule Isä Taivaan (Hear, Heavenly Father). The first part of the hymn has appeared in the hymnbook of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland since 1985 with lyrics by Jaakko Löytty.

Recordings

Solomon Plaatje, one of South Africa's greatest writers and a founding member of the ANC, was the first to have the song recorded in London, 1923. A Sotho version was published in 1942 by Moses Mphahlele. Rev. John Langalibalele Dube's Ohlange Zulu Choir popularised the hymn at concerts in Johannesburg, and it became a popular church hymn that was also adopted as the anthem at political meetings.

In Kenya, Mang'u High School uses a translation, Mungu Ibariki Mang'u High, as it's school anthem.

It has also been recorded by Paul Simon and Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Boom Shaka, Osibisa, Oliver Mtukudzi (the Shona version that was once the anthem of Zimbabwe) and the Mahotella Queens. Boom Shaka, a prominent South African kwaito group, performed the anthem in kwaito style, a popular South African genre influenced by hip-hop. The interpretation was controversial, and viewed by some as a commercial subversion of the anthem; Boom Shaka counter that their version represents liberation and introduces the song to younger listeners.

Public Performance Controversy

The singing of the anthem has been a public disaster on two occasions - both occasions related to rugby. Ras Dumisani performed the South African national anthem at a rugby test match between France and South Africa in November 2009, singing off-key and not knowing all the words. On the 23rd of August 2011, Ard Matthews suffered a similar fate on national television, when he was asked to perform the anthem at the announcement of the Springbok World Cup team. He posted a public apology and vowed to go forward and continue to sing the anthem correctly whenever opportunity arises.

See also

• Die Stem van Suid-Afrika
• National anthem of South Africa
• National anthem of Zambia
• Ishe Komborera Africa (Zimbabwe)

References

1. ^ "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AFRICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE. VOLUME IV - THE COLONIAL ERA (1850 TO 1960)". Scribd.com. http://www.scribd.com/doc/33888026/ENCYCLOPEDIA-OF-AFRICAN-HISTORY-AND-CULTURE-VOLUME-IV-THE-COLONIAL-ERA-1850-TO-1960. Retrieved 2011-02-15. 

External links

• Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika lyrics at the African National Congress (ANC)
• Thomasmesse Iserlohn (#18: Nkosi sikelel' i Afrika, mp3 sung by a German church choir)
• BBC Rhythms of the Continent: Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika in kwaito style
• Ard posts official apology