Here in South Africa, today, September 24th, is a variety of holidays. Most celebrated/known is Heritage Day, which is the national holiday. Next to that is the more informal Braai day, which is basically using the public holiday as an excuse to drink and eat meat (braai = bbq - sauce + beer). The least known but most historical holiday today is--Shaka Day!
Named after the (in)famous King of the Zulus, Shaka Zulu, Shaka Day is celebrated mostly in KwaZuluNatal, aka KZN, aka the province where you find Durban (which is known for delicious Indian food, nice beaches, sharks, and that time my friend got arrested). Shaka Zulu is famous for uniting the Zulu kingdom into a terrorizing war machine and asserting its dominance over all of the other tribes. Insult Shaka, or bring up the British stories of how when his mother died he banned all farming and sex for six months and brutally killed all pregnant women and their husbands, and you are asking for major trouble from Zulu people, even today.
The current King of the Zulus, Zwelithini, is a character on his own. Lately in the press for receiving preferential treatment from the government and wanting to build his sixth wife an enormous palace, it seems like today is as good a time as any to remind others of the legacy his famous bloodline brings.
Random Kate Thoughts: The Great Man Theory of History is famous for ignoring context and historical background in favor of "then X came along and changed everything. Wow, he was such a fantastic/brilliant/insane leader/general/unifier." Napoleon, George Washington, Charlemagne, Genghis Khan, and Shaka Zulu are all examples of this theory. Yes, these men were clearly one of those adjectives, but also just in the right place at the right time with the right friends and not killed of cholera at age three.
Also there is a Shaka-themed amusement park in Durban! Haha!
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| Happy Heritage Day, everyone |
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