The Birth of Shaka
His baby cry
was of a cub
tearing the neck
of the lioness
because he was fatherless.
The gods
boiled his blood
in a clay pot of passion
to course in his veins.
His heart was shaped into an ox shield
to foil every foe.
Ancestors forged
his muscles into
thongs as tough
as water bark
and nerves
as sharp as
syringa thorns.
His eyes were lanterns
that shone from the dark valleys of Zululand
to see white swallows
coming across the sea.
His cry to two assassin brothers:
“Lo! you can kill me
but you’ll never rule this land!”
by Oswald Mtshali (b. 1940)
Shaka was a Zulu chief of the 19th Century who built such a giant empire in what is now South Africa that he became known in Europe as the Black Napoleon. He was eventually killed by his half brothers, but the Zulu empire crumbled soon after when the British Army took it on.
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In the Dark 
August 3, 2013 at 11:50 am
A very beautiful piece this is. I’ll be using it as an extra aid in my history lessons on Shaka. I just love it.
August 22, 2013 at 4:35 am
How could the half brothers of shaka do this to him#sad#
October 14, 2013 at 7:46 pm
hey i jst looooove dis piece nw i knw a lil bit smthn abt shaka atleast i cn write questions reffering to the poem with knowledge.
April 30, 2014 at 11:17 pm
[…] The Birth of Shaka […]
June 12, 2014 at 5:04 am
i didnt c the sumary of the poem
August 22, 2014 at 9:02 pm
summary abt dr birth of shaka
December 13, 2014 at 10:47 am
I love this poem it is the reason why I passed my matric English FAL with flying colours.<3
February 11, 2015 at 9:59 pm
I like a poem BuT I have few questions what is the theme of this poem? 2 what is the tone of this poem?
November 4, 2015 at 9:34 am
what is the tone of the poem
September 20, 2016 at 2:06 pm
WHAT AN EMOTIONAL POEM
February 24, 2017 at 11:26 am
im so inspired by this poem…..one of the reasons i write poetry
February 24, 2017 at 11:28 am
can someone who writes poems inbox me via Whatsapp:0764763059
August 23, 2017 at 8:49 am
Where is the analysis?
August 23, 2017 at 8:50 am
Even the summary of the poem is not there
April 30, 2018 at 7:02 pm
i like that but whats the central idea in this poem
May 2, 2018 at 7:37 pm
this poem is very deep in language I think it need a genius to consider this…
October 21, 2020 at 1:22 pm
In stanza 1,shaka is compared to the lion.what does this reveal about him?
October 21, 2020 at 3:16 pm
That he’s the Mane Man?
May 19, 2022 at 10:45 pm
[…] referred to in the song is none other than the famous Zulu king Shaka Zulu (the subject of this famous poem) who acquired legendary status after his death. Rather like King Arthur, there was a folk belief […]