| English: Lord Bless Africa | |
|---|---|
 | |
Former co-national anthem ofSouth Africa Former national anthem ofZimbabwe,Namibia andZambia | |
| Lyrics | Enoch Sontonga, 1897 (1897) |
| Music | Enoch Sontonga, 1897 (1897) |
| Adopted | 10 May 1994 (1994-05-10) (by South Africa) 21 March 1990 (1990-03-21) (by Namibia) 24 October 1964 (1964-10-24) (by Zambia) |
| Relinquished | 10 October 1997 (1997-10-10) (by South Africa) 17 December 1991 (1991-12-17) (by Namibia) 14 September 1973 (1973-09-14) (by Zambia) |
| Preceded by | "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" (South Africa & Namibia) "God Save the Queen" (Zambia & Zimbabwe) |
| Succeeded by | "National anthem of South Africa" (South Africa) "Namibia, Land of the Brave" (Namibia) "Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free" (Zambia) "Simudzai Mureza wedu weZimbabwe" |
| Audio sample | |
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" (instrumental) | |
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" (Xhosa pronunciation:[ŋkʼɔsisikʼɛlɛl‿iafrikʼa],lit. 'Lord Bless Africa') is aChristian hymn composed in 1897 byEnoch Sontonga, aXhosa clergyman at aMethodistmission school nearJohannesburg.
The song became a pan-African liberation song and versions of it were later adopted as the national anthems of five countries in Africa includingZambia,Tanzania,Namibia andZimbabwe after independence, andSouth Africa after the end ofapartheid. The song's melody is still used as thenational anthem of Tanzania and thenational anthem of Zambia (Zimbabwe and Namibia have since changed to new anthems with other melodies).
In 1994,[1]Nelson Mandela decreed that the verse of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" be embraced as a jointnational anthem of South Africa; a revised version additionally including elements of "Die Stem" (the then co-state anthem inherited from the previous apartheid government) was adopted in 1997. This new South African national anthem is sometimes referred to as "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" although it is not its official name.
The hymn is also often considered the unofficial African "national" anthem. According to anthropologist David Coplan: " "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" has come to symbolize more than any other piece of expressive culture the struggle for African unity and liberation in South Africa."[2]
| National anthems of South Africa | ||||||||||||||
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"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was composed in 1897 byEnoch Sontonga, a teacher at aMethodist mission school nearJohannesburg. It consisted of a single stanza in Xhosa and was intended to be sung as ahymn.[3] Written in B-flat major, it had a four-part harmony supporting a repetitive melody characteristic of "both Western hymn composition and indigenous South African melodies."[4] It was first publicly sung at the ordination of John Hlengani Mboweni as a pastor in 1899.[3] Rev. Mboweni made first translation to Xitsonga in the same year.[citation needed] In 1927 seven additional Xhosa stanzas[5] were added by the poetSamuel Mqhayi.[3] The hymn was taken up by the choir ofOhlange High School, whoseco-founder served as the first president of theSouth African Native National Congress. It was sung to close the Congress meeting in 1912, and by 1925 it had become the official closing anthem of the organisation, now known as the African National Congress.[6] "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was first published in 1927.[6] The song was the official anthem for theAfrican National Congress during the apartheid era and was a symbol of theanti-apartheid movement.[7] For decades during theapartheid regime it was considered by many to be the unofficial national anthem of South Africa, representing the suffering of the oppressed masses. Because of its connection to the ANC, the song was banned by the regime during the apartheid era.[8]
In 1994, after the end of apartheid, the newPresident of South AfricaNelson Mandela declared that both "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the previous national anthem, "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" (English:"The Call of South Africa") would be national anthems. While the inclusion of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" celebrated the newfound freedom of most South Africans, the fact that "Die Stem" was also retained even after the fall of apartheid, represented the desire of the new government led by Mandela to respect all races and cultures in an all-inclusive new era dawning upon South Africa. During this period, the custom was to play "Die Stem" together with "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" during occasions that required the playing of a national anthem.[9][10][11]
In 1996, a shortened, combined version of the two compositions was released as the newnational anthem of South Africa under theconstitution of South Africa and was adopted the following year. This version uses several of the official languages of South Africa. The first two lines of the first stanza are sung inXhosa and the last two inZulu. The second stanza is sung inSesotho. The third stanza consists of a verbatim section of the former South African national anthem, "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika", and is sung inAfrikaans. The fourth and final stanza, sung in English, is a modified version of the closing lines of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika".
The South African National Anthem is often incorrectly called "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" but the correct name is "The National Anthem of South Africa".
ASwahili translation of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" with partially modified lyrics has been used as the national anthem of Tanzania under the name of "Mungu ibariki Afrika" since 1961. This makes it the first national anthem to be based on the tune.[12]
The translation was written to replace the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen" and was first officially performed on 8 December 1961, during a celebration of coming independence ofTanganyika from the British Empire.[13] 75,000 people gathered in the newly constructed national stadium inDar es Salaam on the evening of independence, including first Prime MinisterJulius Nyerere, Governor-GeneralSir Richard Turnbull, andPrince Philip representingQueen Elizabeth. Near midnight, Nyerere and Turnbull walked to a flagpole in the middle of the field and as light were dimmed, the BritishUnion Jack was lowered and "God Save the Queen" played for the final time. Then a spotlight lit the new flag of green, gold and black as it was hoisted and a band played "Mungu ibariki Afrika".
The song was continued to be used as the national anthem after Tanganyika merged withZanzibar in 1964 to become the modern country ofTanzania.[12]
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was the national anthem ofZambia from independence in 1964 until 1973, when the melody was retained but the lyrics replaced by "Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free".[14]
"Ishe Komborera Africa" was the Zimbabwean version of "God Bless Africa" sung in theShona andNdebele languages and was its first national anthem, adopted upon independence in 1980. It was replaced in 1994 by "Ngaikomborerwe Nyika yeZimbabwe/Kalibusiswe Ilizwe LeZimbabwe" (English:"Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe").
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was used as the national anthem of Namibia at time of the country's independence in March 1990, but replaced in 1991 by "Namibia, Land of the Brave".
In other African countries throughout southern Africa, the song was sung by various independence and other movements. It includes versions in Chichewa (Malawi andZambia). Outside of Africa, the hymn is perhaps best known as the long-time (since 1925) anthem of theAfrican National Congress (ANC), as a result of the globalanti-Apartheid Movement of the 1970s and 1980s, when it was regularly sung at meetings and other events.
InFinland the same melody is used as the children's psalm "Kuule, Isä taivaan, pyyntö tää" (English:"Hear, Heavenly Father"). The hymn has appeared inVirsikirja, the hymnbook of theEvangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, with lyrics byJaakko Löytty.[15]
The words of the first stanza and chorus were originally written in Xhosa as a hymn. In 1927 seven additional Xhosa stanzas were added by the poetSamuel Mqhayi.
| Xhosa | English translation |
|---|---|
Nkosi, sikelel' iAfrika | Lord, bless Africa |
| Xhosa | Zulu | English |
|---|---|---|
Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika | Nkosi, sikelel' iAfrika, | Lord, bless Africa |
British musicologistNicholas Cook states:
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" has a meaning that emerges from the act of performing it. Like all choral performance, from singing a hymn to chanting at a football match, it involves communal participation and interaction. Everybody has to listen to everyone else and move forward together. It doesn't just symbolize unity, it enacts it ... Through its block-like harmonic construction and regular phrasing, "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" creates a sense of stability and mutual dependence, with no one vocal part predominating over the others ... It lies audibly at the interface between European traditions of 'common-practice' harmony and African traditions of communal singing, which gives it an inclusive quality entirely appropriate to the aspirations of the new South Africa ... Enlisting music's ability to shape personal identity, "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" actively contributes to the construction of the community that is the new South Africa. In this sense, singing it is a political act.[16]
Solomon Plaatje, author and founding member of the ANC, was the first to have the song recorded in London, 1923. ASotho 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.
A version by theLondon Symphony Orchestra underAndré Previn was featured in the filmCry Freedom (1987).[17]
In Kenya,Mang'u High School uses a translation, Mungu Ibariki Mang'u High, as its school anthem.
It has also been recorded byPaul Simon andMiriam Makeba,Ladysmith Black Mambazo,Boom Shaka,Osibisa,Oliver Mtukudzi (theShona version that was once the anthem of Zimbabwe) and theMahotella Queens. Boom Shaka, a prominent South Africankwaito group, formed the anthem in kwaito style, a popular South African genre influenced by house music. The interpretation was controversial, and it was viewed by some as a commercial subversion of the anthem; Boom Shaka countered by stating that their version represents liberation and introduces the song to younger listeners.
South African Idols-winnerElvis Blue recorded an Afrikaans translation of the song with Afrikaans singerCoenie de Villiers entitled "Seëngebed" ("Lord's Blessing") on his third studio albumAfrikaans.
British a cappella vocal ensembleThe King's Singers released a recording of the song, arranged by Neo Muyanga, on their albumFinding Harmony.
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