InDuna

InDuna "(plural: izinDuna)" is a Zulu title meaning "advisor", "great leader", "ambassador", "headman", or "commander" of group of warriors. It can also mean "spokesperson" or "mediator" as the izinDuna often acted as a bridge between the people and the king. [ [https://www.up.ac.za/dspace/bitstream/2263/2597/1/Masango_African(2006).pdf African spirituality that shapes the concept of Ubuntu] , by M J S Masango, page 6] The title was reserved for senior officials appointed by the king or chief, and was awarded to individuals held in high esteem for their qualities of leadership, bravery or service to the community. [ [http://www.balegasports.com/lesedi/induna-award.html Induna Award] ] [ [http://africanhistory.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-inDuna.htm About.Com] ] The izinDuna would regularly gather for an indaba to discuss important issues.

Amongst the Ndebele the term was also used to collectively refer to a group of elite soldiers operating under a specific inDuna. [See [http://www.geocities.com/cdferree/history/conquest/Matabeleob.htm Ndebele/Shona Rebel Armies of 1896] by Dennis Bishop for examples]

The term has found widespread use in South African English and Afrikaans, and it is a common reference to "boss" or "lead person". [ [http://www.crisisstates.com/download/wp/wp53.pdf Post-Colonial Workplace Regimes in the Engineering Industries of South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe] , by Andries Bezuidenhout] In modern times the terms "Chairperson" and "inDuna" are sometimes used interchangeably. [See [http://etd.rau.ac.za/theses/available/etd-08252004-125457/restricted/MAMiniDiss.pdf Social Assessment of the Amangwane Community Campsite Project] , by Priscilla Wendy Grimster Maud for examples.]

Notable izinDuna in History

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* Leander Starr Jameson, a British physician, was awarded the title of "inDuna" by the Matabele chief Lobengula after he had successfully treated the chief’s gout.
* Mbopa was an "inDuna" serving under Shaka. He was one of the main conspirators in Tshaka’s assassination by his half-brothers Dingane and Umhlangana.
* Ndlela kaSompisi was a key general to Zulu Kings Tshaka and Dingane, and also served as Dingane's "inDuna" - his chief advisor. Ndlela' repeatedly defied Dingane's request that he assassinate Mpande, half-brother of Tshaka and Dingane. By this refusal he had preserved the blood line of the Zulu monarchy, as all subsequent Zulu kings were from Mpande’s blood line. He was strangled to death for his insubordination.
* Ntshingwayo kaMahole was the second in command ("inDuna") of King Cetshwayo's Army. He was the commanding general who defeated the encamped British Army at the Battle of Isandlwana.
* Nathaniel Isaacs, a British adventurer, was awarded the title "inDuna Incoola" (Principal Chief of Natal) by Shaka and was granted large tracts of land.
* Tinos Rusere, nicknamed the "Rhodesian Induna", was an elected trade union representative of the Rhodesian miners in South Africa. In 1977 he became the trade union "inDuna" for all Southern African countries.
* Joseph Leabua Jonathan worked as a "mine inDuna" (foreman) at Brakpan and eventually became the first Prime Minister of Lesotho.
* The Sudwala Caves was named after the Swazi "inDuna" Sudwala.

Induna used as Name

The word "Induna" is regularly used as a name to indicate something large ("the big one") or important:

* [http://www.indunaaviation.com"Induna" Aviation Inc ] - Leaders in Private Jet Travel and Corporate Aviation Trip Management.
* "Ntabazinduna" (Mountain of the Chiefs) is the name of a hill north of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. [ [http://land.worldcitydb.com/thabas_induna_3191173.html Thabas Induna] on the [http://www.worldcitydb.com/ World City Database] ] The name stems from the practice of throwing izinDuna who ran afoul of the king down it. [ [http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-african-adventures-11-rhodesia.htm African Adventures] , by Lord Baden-Powell]
* "Induna" was the name of a racehorse that won the 1930 South Australian Derby.
* Canada's largest crocodile (14 feet long, weighing more than 1000 pounds) is called "Induna". It resides at the Reptilia (zoo) in Vaughan, Ontario.
* In 1899 Winston Churchill (a young war correspondent at the time) escaped from a prison in Pretoria and rode the "Induna" [ [http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/4/4/2/14426/14426.htm London to Ladysmith via Pretoria] , by Winston S. Churchill] (a weekly steamer, built in 1891 [ [http://www.shf.org.au/yLibraryDB/Vessels_F_K.html Sydney Heritage Fleet Records and Research Centre] ] at Aberdeen, UK) from Delagoa Bay to Durban. [ [http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/rennie.htm The Ships List] ]
* The "SS Induna" was the name of a British merchant steamboat (5086BRT) that was sunk during WW2. It was built in 1925 by A. Stephen & Sons Ltd. of Glasgow and torpedoed by the German U-Boat "Friedrich-Karl Marks" (U-376) en route from Reykjavík to Murmansk. Of the 50 people on board, 23 survived and were picked up by a Soviet minesweeper. [ [http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/1483.html Allied Ships hit by U-boats] ] [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/08/a2112508.shtml Through Fire and Ice] , by Austin Byrne]
* The "MV Induna Star" was an 81-ton Australian steel ketch. [ [http://www.amazon.com/Darkest-Hour-Australias-Military-Disaster/dp/0760323496 Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul - Australia's Worst Military Disaster of World War II] , by Bruce D. Gamble, page 80] It was captured by the Japanese during WW2 and the men aboard were incarcerated. Some of those men would later die in the infamous sinking of the prison ship, the Montevideo Maru by a US submarine. [ [http://www.users.bigpond.com/battleforaustralia/Theyalsoserved/Coastwatchers/LionelVeale.html A Coastwatcher Mission off the coast of Papua] ] [ [http://www.jje.info/lostlives/exhib/potp/japaneseinvasion.html People of the Plaque] , by Jim Ridges]

ee also

* Zulu (Ethnic Group)
* Languages of South Africa
* [http://www.indunaaviation.com Induna Aviation Inc]

References