Podcasts about Zululand

Sir Bartle Frere's ultimatum to Cetshwayo kaMpande of 11 January 1879 was about to expire. Last episode I explained the reasons behind Frere's fevered decision, egged on as he was by Sir Theophilus Shepstone whose shadow looms large over the history of Natal - and South Africa. Cetshwayo's diplomacy had relied on the British supporting him against the claims of the Boers to his territory to the north west, already volatile by Mpande's reign, now it was going to set off one of the most unique wars of the colonial period. The Boers, Swazi and the Zulu all claimed this zone, rich as it was in reddish deep soil, around Phongola, Ntombe, Mkhondo. Beautiful territory too, it must be said, the deep riverine bush, open plains between, flat topped high mountains. In summer its warm, in winter, waterless, cold. The Zulu relied on seasonally moving their cattle up to these highlands in spring, and down to lower reaches of the hills in autumn. The Swazi would do the same if they could, and conflict over this land extended way back before the Boers rolled onto the landscape. Because the Disputed Territory was so far north, Natal authorities found it impossible to control any movement here, and as you heard last episode, their Border Commission report ruled that the land belonged to the Zulu and that the Boers had no legal status there. But Shepstone who was now Administrator of the annexed Transvaal, wanted to curry favor with the Boers and Frere wanted the various colonies and republics of South Africa to form a confederation. Cetshwayo was standing in his way, along with Pedi chief, Sekhukhuni. The last Eastern Cape Frontier War had ended, the amaXhosa were thought of as a defeated nation, while by now the British also regarded the Basotho as benign, so the industrialised military might of the British empire swiveled increasingly towards Zululand. Cetshwayo was walking a delicate line through the 1870s, frustrated internally by having no glorious campaign to prove he'd bloodied his men in a fantastic war, although defeating the Swazi, sort of, seizing a few mountain fortresses in the Lubombo range. These were on the margins of the Boer and Swazi, it was where Zibhebhu of the Nyawo lived. It was where Dingane had died if you recall — so the capture of the territory was a feather in Cetshwayo's cap. While Cetshwayo brooded about his northern reaches, it was the murder of two Zulu women I mentioned last episode that was seized upon by the Natal Authorities as a part of the many pretexts to go to war. Cetshwayo was well aware of the value of firearms and horses. By 1878 there were 20 000 muskets in Zululand, but these were used like a throwing spear, and the stabbing spear was still the preferred method of dispatching your opponent. The stabbing was the principle of washing the spear, soaking it in your enemies blood, thus entering the hallowed portal of manhood. If your regiment did enough washing, then the King would announce that the amabutho had permission to marry and the man could don a hearing. So in a sense, successfully wielding a spear led directly to a sanctioned marriage, and the ability to create sons and daughters. The spear was a symbol of procreation if you like. Such a system had global resonances. In the homesteads of Zululand in 1878 as the build up to war took place, the senior commanders and chiefs were aware of the tide of colonialism washing up against their military system. It was in terms of tactics that the coming war that would be the greatest undoing of the Zulu system. All of these were overtaken by a more modern state or the machinery of empire and the pressure of time. The Spartans lost their supremacy after Leuctra (LOO-ktruh) in 371 BCE, their military culture fading under Macedonian and then Roman rule. The Aztec Empire was obliterated by the Spanish conquest in 1521. The Mongol empire fractured within a century of Genghis Khan's death, its unity dissolved into regional khanates.

Sir Bartle Frere's ultimatum to Cetshwayo kaMpande of 11 January 1879 was about to expire. Last episode I explained the reasons behind Frere's fevered decision, egged on as he was by Sir Theophilus Shepstone whose shadow looms large over the history of Natal - and South Africa. Cetshwayo's diplomacy had relied on the British supporting him against the claims of the Boers to his territory to the north west, already volatile by Mpande's reign, now it was going to set off one of the most unique wars of the colonial period. The Boers, Swazi and the Zulu all claimed this zone, rich as it was in reddish deep soil, around Phongola, Ntombe, Mkhondo. Beautiful territory too, it must be said, the deep riverine bush, open plains between, flat topped high mountains. In summer its warm, in winter, waterless, cold. The Zulu relied on seasonally moving their cattle up to these highlands in spring, and down to lower reaches of the hills in autumn. The Swazi would do the same if they could, and conflict over this land extended way back before the Boers rolled onto the landscape. Because the Disputed Territory was so far north, Natal authorities found it impossible to control any movement here, and as you heard last episode, their Border Commission report ruled that the land belonged to the Zulu and that the Boers had no legal status there. But Shepstone who was now Administrator of the annexed Transvaal, wanted to curry favor with the Boers and Frere wanted the various colonies and republics of South Africa to form a confederation. Cetshwayo was standing in his way, along with Pedi chief, Sekhukhuni. The last Eastern Cape Frontier War had ended, the amaXhosa were thought of as a defeated nation, while by now the British also regarded the Basotho as benign, so the industrialised military might of the British empire swiveled increasingly towards Zululand. Cetshwayo was walking a delicate line through the 1870s, frustrated internally by having no glorious campaign to prove he'd bloodied his men in a fantastic war, although defeating the Swazi, sort of, seizing a few mountain fortresses in the Lubombo range. These were on the margins of the Boer and Swazi, it was where Zibhebhu of the Nyawo lived. It was where Dingane had died if you recall — so the capture of the territory was a feather in Cetshwayo's cap. While Cetshwayo brooded about his northern reaches, it was the murder of two Zulu women I mentioned last episode that was seized upon by the Natal Authorities as a part of the many pretexts to go to war. Cetshwayo was well aware of the value of firearms and horses. By 1878 there were 20 000 muskets in Zululand, but these were used like a throwing spear, and the stabbing spear was still the preferred method of dispatching your opponent. The stabbing was the principle of washing the spear, soaking it in your enemies blood, thus entering the hallowed portal of manhood. If your regiment did enough washing, then the King would announce that the amabutho had permission to marry and the man could don a hearing. So in a sense, successfully wielding a spear led directly to a sanctioned marriage, and the ability to create sons and daughters. The spear was a symbol of procreation if you like. Such a system had global resonances. In the homesteads of Zululand in 1878 as the build up to war took place, the senior commanders and chiefs were aware of the tide of colonialism washing up against their military system. It was in terms of tactics that the coming war that would be the greatest undoing of the Zulu system. All of these were overtaken by a more modern state or the machinery of empire and the pressure of time. The Spartans lost their supremacy after Leuctra (LOO-ktruh) in 371 BCE, their military culture fading under Macedonian and then Roman rule. The Aztec Empire was obliterated by the Spanish conquest in 1521. The Mongol empire fractured within a century of Genghis Khan's death, its unity dissolved into regional khanates.

In this episode, I'm joined by the legendary Elsa Pooley, one of the co-authors of the stunning new coffee table book, South African Indigenous Garden Plants – The Gardener's Guide.This fascinating episode was recorded outdoors in Pennington, on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, with a beautiful soundtrack of local bird songs in the background. While recording on location comes with a few audio challenges, it adds an authentic touch that makes this conversation all the more special.If you're a birder wanting to bring more birds into your garden—no matter how big or small—this episode is packed with practical, experience-based advice. Elsa shares tips on what to plant, how to create a garden that works in harmony with nature, and how indigenous gardening can support biodiversity.We also dive into Elsa's incredible journey—from her early years in the heart of Zululand to her deep-rooted connection with the KwaZulu-Natal landscape. You'll get a glimpse of the passion and knowledge that went into creating this beautiful book—and why it's a must-have for every South African birder and gardener.Visit our online store to get your birding related merchandise at great prices https://www.thebirdinglife.com/online-storeIntro and outro music by Tony ZA https://soundcloud.com/tonyofficialzaLinks from show:Order your copy of South African Indigenous Garden Plants – The Gardener's Guide from our online store

Episode 247 launches us into an intense period. We're going to travel to the border between the Zulu kingdom and the Transvaal because there's trouble brewing. When you hear what shenanigans were planned by British Governor Sir Bartle Frere, you probably won't believe it. His partner in crime was Sir Theophilus Shepstone who in 1877, had just completed thirty years service as Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal. For the Zulu, the transformation of the Native Affairs Secretary into the Administrator of the newly annexed Transvaal was a serious development. As historian Jeff Guy points out, it destroyed the diplomatic link forged between Cetshwayo kaMpande and Shepstone at a particularly sensitive moment in history. Previously, Shepstone had been sympathetic to the Zulu in their border dispute with the Boers, but once the Natal official took office in the Transvaal, that sentiment shifted. The pressure of trying to reconcile the Boers to their newly annexed state was too much for Shepstone — he did not have the emotional courage nor the courage of his convictions to balance the needs and wants of both the Boers and the Zulu. “He turned his coat in the most shameless manner…” one Colonial Office official by the name of Fairfield is quoted as writing in a minute to Edward Stanley the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs after the War. Sir Bartle Frere the British High Commissioner in Cape Town, was determined to eradicate what he thought of as the Zulu threat. He was still busy sorting out the Ninth Frontier War against the Xhosa, and watching the Pedi battle the Boers in the north Eastern Transvaal. While that irritating side-show .. at least in Frere's mind .. continued, here was Cetshwayo openly defying his Native Affairs man in Natal. Cetshwayo approached Natal's lieutenant Governor Sir Henry Bulwer — after whom the town of Bulwer is named. By now it was clear the Zulu relationship with Shepstone was done. Bulwer had monitored what was going on and he was deeply disturbed by developments. It was ironic that the Zulu chief was turning to a British official as a mediator of sorts. Bulwer appointed a boundary commission to probe the dispute between the Boers and the Zulu.To Frere's surprise, the commission found that the Boers of the Transvaal had no right to be in Zululand. Bulwer's next dispatches concluded that Natal could maintain a peaceful policy towards the Zulu nation because it hadn't violated any agreements with Natal and the Transvaal. Frere was dumbstruck, and so dumbstruck, he was struck dumb. He kept the report a secret for five months.

Episode 247 launches us into an intense period. We're going to travel to the border between the Zulu kingdom and the Transvaal because there's trouble brewing. When you hear what shenanigans were planned by British Governor Sir Bartle Frere, you probably won't believe it. His partner in crime was Sir Theophilus Shepstone who in 1877, had just completed thirty years service as Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal. For the Zulu, the transformation of the Native Affairs Secretary into the Administrator of the newly annexed Transvaal was a serious development. As historian Jeff Guy points out, it destroyed the diplomatic link forged between Cetshwayo kaMpande and Shepstone at a particularly sensitive moment in history. Previously, Shepstone had been sympathetic to the Zulu in their border dispute with the Boers, but once the Natal official took office in the Transvaal, that sentiment shifted. The pressure of trying to reconcile the Boers to their newly annexed state was too much for Shepstone — he did not have the emotional courage nor the courage of his convictions to balance the needs and wants of both the Boers and the Zulu. “He turned his coat in the most shameless manner…” one Colonial Office official by the name of Fairfield is quoted as writing in a minute to Edward Stanley the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs after the War. Sir Bartle Frere the British High Commissioner in Cape Town, was determined to eradicate what he thought of as the Zulu threat. He was still busy sorting out the Ninth Frontier War against the Xhosa, and watching the Pedi battle the Boers in the north Eastern Transvaal. While that irritating side-show .. at least in Frere's mind .. continued, here was Cetshwayo openly defying his Native Affairs man in Natal. Cetshwayo approached Natal's lieutenant Governor Sir Henry Bulwer — after whom the town of Bulwer is named. By now it was clear the Zulu relationship with Shepstone was done. Bulwer had monitored what was going on and he was deeply disturbed by developments. It was ironic that the Zulu chief was turning to a British official as a mediator of sorts. Bulwer appointed a boundary commission to probe the dispute between the Boers and the Zulu.To Frere's surprise, the commission found that the Boers of the Transvaal had no right to be in Zululand. Bulwer's next dispatches concluded that Natal could maintain a peaceful policy towards the Zulu nation because it hadn't violated any agreements with Natal and the Transvaal. Frere was dumbstruck, and so dumbstruck, he was struck dumb. He kept the report a secret for five months.

The year is1878 - and Cape Governor Sir Sir Bartle Frere is throwing the empire's weight around South Africa. Let's put ourselves in his shoes because some historians say he had a formidable Machiavellian personality, full of fatal overconfidence, too used to having his own way and to ignoring the magnitude of obstacles confronting him. One of those perceived obstacles was Zulu king, Cetshwayo kaMpande. Crowned in 1873 after the death of his father, Mpande kaSenzangakhona, Cetshwayo presided over a squabbling nation. His great place, Ondini, is close to where Ulundi is today. It was vast, elliptical in shape, stretching from 650 metres in one axis, to 507 in another. The outer circumference of his ikhanda, the royal residence, was over two kilometers long. The second part of his great place was a smaller group of ikhanda, and called emaNgweni. The unusual point about emaNgweni is that the principal hut was actually a western style house. The Norwegian missionaries at Empangeni had helped build this, consisting of three rooms with glass windows, along with wooden doors and whitewashed walls, under a thatched roof. Cetshwayo went a step further at Ondini, where his special residence was build out of sun dried bricks burned black. These materials were given to Cetshwayo by Norwegian Mission Society's Reverend Ommund Oftebro. Ommund sounds like the uMondi, the Zulu word for a sweet, aromatic herb. This is a herb used to treat flatulance, ie farting, so there's some irony in the fact that Reverend Ommund Oftebro's mission station was acalled uMondi. It's on the outskirts of Eshowe. This black bricked building at Ondini was larger than his other retreat, four wallpapered rooms, glazed windows and verandahs at the back and the front. It also had two outside doors with locks. The rooms contained European furniture, a washstand and a large mirror. King Cetshwayo would hold court in this house, tending to the affairs of state, consulting his councillors. At night, the doors would be locked and guarded by two women, armed with guns. Yes folks, women with guns. Cetshwayo's chief gun-runner and a chief himself, John Dunne the English trader, personally trained Zulu VIP guards in how to shoot. The bodyguards would be instructed in musketry and were armed with short carbines, ideal for close quarter bodyguarding. Dunn took the women into the veld every day in the late afternoon, and target practice would follow which included peppering the local aloes. This echelon of women bodyguards accompanied Cetshwayo when he visited his chiefs ikhanda around Zululand with the intention of protecting him when the male amabutho were away. One of his maids in waiting, Nomguqo Dlamini, told of her life in the ikhanda in a rare book called Servant of Two Kings by Paulina Dlamini - she became a Christian and changed her name. The book is full of information about day to day life in the late 1870s, how the gatekeeper at onDini woke everyone by calling out the king's praises, Cetshwayo would emerge after the women of the isigodlo had swept up the yard, then he often went off his sporting guns to hunt birds. Later, the king would head off to a small enclosure in the Royal Kraal where he would stand on a stone and be washed with water from the Mbilane stream, and rubbed down. The young men who attended the king were trusted sons of senior chiefs of the Xulu line, as well as other sons of Mnyamana. At the meeting of amabutho warriors in 1875, Cetshwayo had granted permission for the INdlondlo ibutho to put on their headrings and marry. These were men in the 40s, the iNdlondlo regiment had been formed way back in 1857, and these men had waited patiently for their turn to take wives. The problem was, he gave them permission to seek brides from the iNgcugce ibutho, where the girls there had been born between 1850 and 1853. They were far younger than the grizzled warriors seeking their hands in marriage.

The year is1878 - and Cape Governor Sir Sir Bartle Frere is throwing the empire's weight around South Africa. Let's put ourselves in his shoes because some historians say he had a formidable Machiavellian personality, full of fatal overconfidence, too used to having his own way and to ignoring the magnitude of obstacles confronting him. One of those perceived obstacles was Zulu king, Cetshwayo kaMpande. Crowned in 1873 after the death of his father, Mpande kaSenzangakhona, Cetshwayo presided over a squabbling nation. His great place, Ondini, is close to where Ulundi is today. It was vast, elliptical in shape, stretching from 650 metres in one axis, to 507 in another. The outer circumference of his ikhanda, the royal residence, was over two kilometers long. The second part of his great place was a smaller group of ikhanda, and called emaNgweni. The unusual point about emaNgweni is that the principal hut was actually a western style house. The Norwegian missionaries at Empangeni had helped build this, consisting of three rooms with glass windows, along with wooden doors and whitewashed walls, under a thatched roof. Cetshwayo went a step further at Ondini, where his special residence was build out of sun dried bricks burned black. These materials were given to Cetshwayo by Norwegian Mission Society's Reverend Ommund Oftebro. Ommund sounds like the uMondi, the Zulu word for a sweet, aromatic herb. This is a herb used to treat flatulance, ie farting, so there's some irony in the fact that Reverend Ommund Oftebro's mission station was acalled uMondi. It's on the outskirts of Eshowe. This black bricked building at Ondini was larger than his other retreat, four wallpapered rooms, glazed windows and verandahs at the back and the front. It also had two outside doors with locks. The rooms contained European furniture, a washstand and a large mirror. King Cetshwayo would hold court in this house, tending to the affairs of state, consulting his councillors. At night, the doors would be locked and guarded by two women, armed with guns. Yes folks, women with guns. Cetshwayo's chief gun-runner and a chief himself, John Dunne the English trader, personally trained Zulu VIP guards in how to shoot. The bodyguards would be instructed in musketry and were armed with short carbines, ideal for close quarter bodyguarding. Dunn took the women into the veld every day in the late afternoon, and target practice would follow which included peppering the local aloes. This echelon of women bodyguards accompanied Cetshwayo when he visited his chiefs ikhanda around Zululand with the intention of protecting him when the male amabutho were away. One of his maids in waiting, Nomguqo Dlamini, told of her life in the ikhanda in a rare book called Servant of Two Kings by Paulina Dlamini - she became a Christian and changed her name. The book is full of information about day to day life in the late 1870s, how the gatekeeper at onDini woke everyone by calling out the king's praises, Cetshwayo would emerge after the women of the isigodlo had swept up the yard, then he often went off his sporting guns to hunt birds. Later, the king would head off to a small enclosure in the Royal Kraal where he would stand on a stone and be washed with water from the Mbilane stream, and rubbed down. The young men who attended the king were trusted sons of senior chiefs of the Xulu line, as well as other sons of Mnyamana. At the meeting of amabutho warriors in 1875, Cetshwayo had granted permission for the INdlondlo ibutho to put on their headrings and marry. These were men in the 40s, the iNdlondlo regiment had been formed way back in 1857, and these men had waited patiently for their turn to take wives. The problem was, he gave them permission to seek brides from the iNgcugce ibutho, where the girls there had been born between 1850 and 1853. They were far younger than the grizzled warriors seeking their hands in marriage.

Gugs Mhlungu speaks to Bea Mthethwa, General Manager at Ghost Mountain Inn, about this enchanting hotel nestled at the foot of the legendary Ghost Mountain in Mkuze, Northern KwaZulu-Natal. With its rich family heritage spanning over 60 years, Ghost Mountain Inn offers an authentic Zululand experience, blending history, culture, and natural beauty. 702 Weekend Breakfast with Gugs Mhlungu is broadcast on 702, a Johannesburg based talk radio station, on Saturdays and Sundays Gugs Mhlungu gets you ready for the weekend each Saturday and Sunday morning on 702. She is your weekend wake-up companion, with all you need to know for your weekend. The topics Gugs covers range from lifestyle, family, health, and fitness to books, motoring, cooking, culture, and what is happening on the weekend in 702land. Thank you for listening to a podcast from 702 Weekend Breakfast with Gugs Mhlungu. Listen live on Primedia+ on Saturdays and Sundays from 06:00 and 10:00 (SA Time) to Weekend Breakfast with Gugs Mhlungu broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/u3Sf7Zy or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/BIXS7AL Subscribe to the 702 daily and weekly newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special episode, I'm joined once again by my good friend Calvin Harris — not the DJ, the birder! This time, we're recording from a deck at Ndumo Game Reserve, surrounded by the sounds of the African bush. You might even hear a Wood Owl or Nightjar calling in the background as we chat.Ndumo has long held legendary status in South African birding circles, often spoken about as one of the best reserves in the country for bird diversity. But in recent years, its reputation has become mixed — with stories of decline, poor access, and safety concerns.In this honest and unfiltered episode, we ask the big question: Is Ndumo still worth visiting as a birder in 2025?We talk about:Our real-time experiences in the reserve — the birds we saw (129 species in winter!), the walks, the staff, the accommodation, and the challenges.Why this is truly a birder's reserve — raw, wild, and rewarding for those who are willing to go the extra mile.What kind of birder will thrive here (and who might find it frustrating).The incredible birding highlights — from Verreaux's Eagle-Owls to swarms of Openbills and magical moments in fig forests and floodplains.Whether you're planning a trip to Zululand, looking for your next birding adventure, or simply want to be inspired to visit underappreciated places, this is a must-listen.Visit our online store to get your birding related merchandise at great prices https://www.thebirdinglife.com/online-storeIntro and outro music by Tony ZA https://soundcloud.com/tonyofficialza

Send me a messageBesieged by the Zulus: Eshowe 1879Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.Ways You Can Support My Channel:Become A PatronMake A DonationWhile the world knows about Rorke's Drift from the famous 1964 film "Zulu," another British garrison faced an even longer ordeal during the Anglo Zulu War of 1879. This is the story of the Siege of Eshowe - 71 days of isolation, disease, and determination deep in Zululand.Following the catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22nd January 1879, Colonel Pearson's Number 1 Column found itself cut off at Eshowe Mission Station. While Lord Chelmsford's centre column had been destroyed and the defenders of Rorke's Drift earned immortality in a single night's fighting, Pearson's 1,400 men faced over two months surrounded by Zulu warriors.Support the show

Episode 241 and we're back with the diamond miners and their Kaias and Cocopans. More about this in a minute. A big thank you to Donald Paterson who's great-great-great grandfather founded Standard Bank, he's sent a couple of pictures I'm going to use in my next newsletter. And to Rob Bernstein who's producing a photo-book and who's asked me to write an epilogue, thanks for the coffee chat and the opportunity. Last we heard about plans for South African Confederation, this episode ties up with the momentum building towards the invasion of Zululand by the British, and almost simultaneously, the first Anglo-Boer War. We've entered the mid-1870s where all manner of momentums are also building up globally as the European powers jostled for African land in order to feed their industrial centres, and their geopolitical ambitions. The panic on the Vienna Stock exchange in May 1873 caused shares to decline worldwide and ushered in the 1873-1879 Great Depression. The Suez Canal was also close to bankcruptcy because there weren't enough steam ships in the world and the canal was better adapted to steam. The Khedive of Egypt was forced to sell his shares in the Suez Canal Company to the British Government with help from bankers and the Rothschild family. In Britain the downturn was going to last until much later - the late 1890s, and diamond prices were also falling. Despite this, South Africa was in a bit of a boom period. In the diamond fields, the diggers were facing a problem and it was about geology. They had been digging in what they called yellow ground which was kimberlite rock. Over millions of years, the kimberlite in the top part of the volcanic pipe was exposed to the surface and weathered by the elements, including water and air. This process oxidized the iron-rich minerals in the rock, giving it a soft, friable, yellowish-brown color. Because it was so soft, it was easy for the early diggers to excavate with simple picks and shovels and to sieve for diamonds. But as they dug deeper by 1873 they passed through the weathered yellow ground and hit the un-oxidized, fresh kimberlite rock below. This rock, which they called "blue ground" due to its hard, bluish-gray color, was much more compact and difficult to mine. Its hardness led many early prospectors to abandon their claims, mistakenly believing they had reached the end of the diamond-bearing ground. The discovery that the blue ground contained even richer deposits of diamonds was a pivotal moment that led to the development of the large-scale industrial mining operations at Kimberley. And Cecil John Rhodes returned from his failed attempt at obtaining a law degree in England to rejoin his brother on the diamond fields to take advantage of all these changes. Jerome Babe wrote in his journal how he rose at the break of day, then dug until 9am. Breakfast was taken until 10am, when the diggers reconvened. Most diggings had two white men and five black men who could get through fifteen cart loads a day. The black workers would wash enough gravel in four hours for the mainly white diggers to sort through in ten hours. At 1pm they all knocked off for lunch until two pm, then washing would end at four pm. That wasn't the end of the day. The washers, the black labourers, would head back to the mining area to gather material for the next day's washes and many miners continued working when there was moon, carrying the gravel to the river for the next day's washing. The diggers committees which had managed these mines was now an unsustainable way to administrate claims. Claim-jumping which took place when a mine was unworked for more than three days had increased instability and litigation was accelerating. It looked chaotic because the rights to small-claim ownership was being circumented by monopolies using fronts, straw men as they were known. Another very old South African tradition. Griqualand West Lieutenant Governor Richard Southey wanted state regulation.

Episode 241 and we're back with the diamond miners and their Kaias and Cocopans. More about this in a minute. A big thank you to Donald Paterson who's great-great-great grandfather founded Standard Bank, he's sent a couple of pictures I'm going to use in my next newsletter. And to Rob Bernstein who's producing a photo-book and who's asked me to write an epilogue, thanks for the coffee chat and the opportunity. Last we heard about plans for South African Confederation, this episode ties up with the momentum building towards the invasion of Zululand by the British, and almost simultaneously, the first Anglo-Boer War. We've entered the mid-1870s where all manner of momentums are also building up globally as the European powers jostled for African land in order to feed their industrial centres, and their geopolitical ambitions. The panic on the Vienna Stock exchange in May 1873 caused shares to decline worldwide and ushered in the 1873-1879 Great Depression. The Suez Canal was also close to bankcruptcy because there weren't enough steam ships in the world and the canal was better adapted to steam. The Khedive of Egypt was forced to sell his shares in the Suez Canal Company to the British Government with help from bankers and the Rothschild family. In Britain the downturn was going to last until much later - the late 1890s, and diamond prices were also falling. Despite this, South Africa was in a bit of a boom period. In the diamond fields, the diggers were facing a problem and it was about geology. They had been digging in what they called yellow ground which was kimberlite rock. Over millions of years, the kimberlite in the top part of the volcanic pipe was exposed to the surface and weathered by the elements, including water and air. This process oxidized the iron-rich minerals in the rock, giving it a soft, friable, yellowish-brown color. Because it was so soft, it was easy for the early diggers to excavate with simple picks and shovels and to sieve for diamonds. But as they dug deeper by 1873 they passed through the weathered yellow ground and hit the un-oxidized, fresh kimberlite rock below. This rock, which they called "blue ground" due to its hard, bluish-gray color, was much more compact and difficult to mine. Its hardness led many early prospectors to abandon their claims, mistakenly believing they had reached the end of the diamond-bearing ground. The discovery that the blue ground contained even richer deposits of diamonds was a pivotal moment that led to the development of the large-scale industrial mining operations at Kimberley. And Cecil John Rhodes returned from his failed attempt at obtaining a law degree in England to rejoin his brother on the diamond fields to take advantage of all these changes. Jerome Babe wrote in his journal how he rose at the break of day, then dug until 9am. Breakfast was taken until 10am, when the diggers reconvened. Most diggings had two white men and five black men who could get through fifteen cart loads a day. The black workers would wash enough gravel in four hours for the mainly white diggers to sort through in ten hours. At 1pm they all knocked off for lunch until two pm, then washing would end at four pm. That wasn't the end of the day. The washers, the black labourers, would head back to the mining area to gather material for the next day's washes and many miners continued working when there was moon, carrying the gravel to the river for the next day's washing. The diggers committees which had managed these mines was now an unsustainable way to administrate claims. Claim-jumping which took place when a mine was unworked for more than three days had increased instability and litigation was accelerating. It looked chaotic because the rights to small-claim ownership was being circumented by monopolies using fronts, straw men as they were known. Another very old South African tradition. Griqualand West Lieutenant Governor Richard Southey wanted state regulation.

Die polisiekommissaris van KwaZulu-Natal, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, het sy teleurstelling uitgespreek met die optrede van die voormalige minister van Polisie, Bheki Cele. Mkhwanazi, wat by die Madlanga-kommissie van ondersoek in Pretoria getuig, sê Cele het na bewering probeer inmeng in 'n dissiplinêre saak teen misdaadintelligensiehoof, Feroz Khan deur druk op die distrikkomissaris van Zululand, Jabulani Khumalo, te plaas om hom te kry om te bedank sodat hy nie oor die verhoor sou lei nie. Mkhwanazi sê Cele se optrede was onbehoorlik en het hom baie ongemaklik gemaak:

What a treat! David ‘Qadasi' Jenkins and Maqhinga Radebe brought the magic of Maskandi straight into studio with Carol Ofori, performing live and sharing the powerful sounds that have taken Qadasi from Zululand to the world.

This is episode 238 and it's going to be full of legal back and forth, all about the Langalibalele Rebellion, another little war as the London times called it — it's action at Bushman's River Pass after which British engineers will be sent to blow up bits of the Drakensberg. In 1873 Benjamin Chilly Campbell Pine was reappointed as Lieutenant-Governor of Natal. Pine was a career officer in the British Colonial Services, and this was the second time he was taking up the post of Lieutenant Governor in Natal. His first stint was logged between April 1850 to March 1855 and Pinetown on the hills above Durban is named after him. Then he spent time in the Gold Coast in Ghana, then the West Indies, as Governor of the Leeward Islands and Antigua. His second stint was cut short largely because of how he was going to deal with the Langalibalele affair. Two other colonials will feature through our story this episode, one being Theophilus Shepstone the Secretary of Native Affairs in Natal, and the other was Bishop John Colenso who was a liberal humanist and the implacable enemy of most British settlers. Pine's administration had to contend with the "Shepstone System," a policy of indirect rule developed by Theophilus Shepstone. This controversially separated African and European populations and was a dominant force in Natal's governance during Pine's tenure. While Pine and Shepstone collaborated, their administrations also faced criticism from white settlers over issues of land, labor, and the financing of native policy. The other main character of our tale today was Langalibalele, the hereditary chief of the Hlubi tribe from around 1836. After fleeing Zululand in 1849, he and his fellow refugees were granted land by the colonial authorities in the Escourt District, west of the town along the Msuluzi and Mtshezi Rivers. The town was laid out by Colonel Estcourt In 1847 and named after the British officer. The land the amaHlubi were handed was technically not for free, their obligations included protecting the colony from the San Raiders some galloping in from as far away as the Maluti Mountains. Langalibalele and his people were part of the Shepstone System, granted their own territory seperated from white farms. Ten years after arriving in their fertile rolling hills, Langalibalele headed off to Iswatini, Swaziland, where he'd fetched his head wife, uMzamose in 1857. There was some confusion about what the amaHlubi were expected to do. Essentially, their role was to form a buffer zone in the region and were even presented with some guns for that purpose, and once jobs opened up on the diamond mines, hundreds of amaHlubi men headed off to labour in Griqualand West, returning with valuable goods like horses, and more guns. The people flourished through the 1860s and into the early 1870s and were at peace with the colonial farmers, growing from 7 000 to 10 000 souls, with 15 000 head of cattle. The original 364 square kilometres of their land extended to more than 700 square kilometres. But the relationship with the British was riven by confusion and distrust. Natal was isolated from the hinterland by the formidabble Drakensberg Mountains, and was surrounded by black nations, thus increasing the paranoia of the settlers. The amaThembu and Xhosa to the south were respected, not to mention the amaZulu to the north East. Communication with the Cape was slow along the few roads and by sea, there were also few transport corridors in Natal itself which engendering a feeling of insecurity among the colonists.In Early March 1873 John Macfarlane singled Langalibalele and the amaHlubi out and demanded the registration of their guns in terms of Law 5. Langalibalele said he was too busy and suffering from an illness, and could not be expected to head off across such as vast area looking for his 2000 men and counting their guns. A war was brewing.

This is episode 238 and it's going to be full of legal back and forth, all about the Langalibalele Rebellion, another little war as the London times called it — it's action at Bushman's River Pass after which British engineers will be sent to blow up bits of the Drakensberg. In 1873 Benjamin Chilly Campbell Pine was reappointed as Lieutenant-Governor of Natal. Pine was a career officer in the British Colonial Services, and this was the second time he was taking up the post of Lieutenant Governor in Natal. His first stint was logged between April 1850 to March 1855 and Pinetown on the hills above Durban is named after him. Then he spent time in the Gold Coast in Ghana, then the West Indies, as Governor of the Leeward Islands and Antigua. His second stint was cut short largely because of how he was going to deal with the Langalibalele affair. Two other colonials will feature through our story this episode, one being Theophilus Shepstone the Secretary of Native Affairs in Natal, and the other was Bishop John Colenso who was a liberal humanist and the implacable enemy of most British settlers. Pine's administration had to contend with the "Shepstone System," a policy of indirect rule developed by Theophilus Shepstone. This controversially separated African and European populations and was a dominant force in Natal's governance during Pine's tenure. While Pine and Shepstone collaborated, their administrations also faced criticism from white settlers over issues of land, labor, and the financing of native policy. The other main character of our tale today was Langalibalele, the hereditary chief of the Hlubi tribe from around 1836. After fleeing Zululand in 1849, he and his fellow refugees were granted land by the colonial authorities in the Escourt District, west of the town along the Msuluzi and Mtshezi Rivers. The town was laid out by Colonel Estcourt In 1847 and named after the British officer. The land the amaHlubi were handed was technically not for free, their obligations included protecting the colony from the San Raiders some galloping in from as far away as the Maluti Mountains. Langalibalele and his people were part of the Shepstone System, granted their own territory seperated from white farms. Ten years after arriving in their fertile rolling hills, Langalibalele headed off to Iswatini, Swaziland, where he'd fetched his head wife, uMzamose in 1857. There was some confusion about what the amaHlubi were expected to do. Essentially, their role was to form a buffer zone in the region and were even presented with some guns for that purpose, and once jobs opened up on the diamond mines, hundreds of amaHlubi men headed off to labour in Griqualand West, returning with valuable goods like horses, and more guns. The people flourished through the 1860s and into the early 1870s and were at peace with the colonial farmers, growing from 7 000 to 10 000 souls, with 15 000 head of cattle. The original 364 square kilometres of their land extended to more than 700 square kilometres. But the relationship with the British was riven by confusion and distrust. Natal was isolated from the hinterland by the formidabble Drakensberg Mountains, and was surrounded by black nations, thus increasing the paranoia of the settlers. The amaThembu and Xhosa to the south were respected, not to mention the amaZulu to the north East. Communication with the Cape was slow along the few roads and by sea, there were also few transport corridors in Natal itself which engendering a feeling of insecurity among the colonists.In Early March 1873 John Macfarlane singled Langalibalele and the amaHlubi out and demanded the registration of their guns in terms of Law 5. Langalibalele said he was too busy and suffering from an illness, and could not be expected to head off across such as vast area looking for his 2000 men and counting their guns. A war was brewing.

Pierre Barau is a dog handler from Réunion (a former French colony), an island off the coast of Southern Africa. He currently serves as a dog handler for anti-poaching efforts in the Mkuze Falls area of Zululand, South Africa. Robbie met Pierre while filming the first installment of a rhino docuseries in South Africa. Pierre and Robbie sit down to talk about the stark realities of rhino poaching, what Pierre and his team are up against, and much more! Get to know the guest: https://www.instagram.com/_pierre_barau_/?hl=en Do you have questions we can answer? Send it via DM on IG or through email at info@theoriginsfoundation.org  Support our Conservation Club Members! Glendene Hunting: https://glendenehunting.com/  Julian & Sons: https://julianandsons.com/  Panyame Cheetah Project: https://theoriginsfoundation.org/conservation-projects/panyame-cheetah-project/ See more from Blood Origins: https://bit.ly/BloodOrigins_Subscribe Music: Migration by Ian Post (Winter Solstice), licensed through artlist.io This podcast is brought to you by Bushnell, who believes in providing the highest quality, most reliable & affordable outdoor products on the market. Your performance is their passion. https://www.bushnell.com  This podcast is also brought to you by Silencer Central, who believes in making buying a silencer simple and they handle the paperwork for you. Shop the largest silencer dealer in the world. Get started today! https://www.silencercentral.com  This podcast is brought to you by Safari Specialty Importers. Why do serious hunters use Safari Specialty Importers? Because getting your trophies home to you is all they do. Find our more at: https://safarispecialtyimporters.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mission was simple. Stand firm and hold the line. Don't advance. Don't retreat. Guard the camp. Don't let the enemy overtake you. It was January 1879. The Battle of Isandlwana . British soldiers had been ordered to defend their position in Zululand . Their camp was well-supplied. Their position was…

While Robbie was in Zululand starting to film a docu-series on rhinos, sustainable use of rhinos and all of the controversy around the trade in rhino horns, the team was fortunate enough to witness a couple of Rhino dehornings. The vet that performed the dehornings was Mike Toft, a wildlife veterinarian out of Kwazulu, Natel. A 30-year vet (no pun intended) of the wildlife veterinarian game, he has seen it all when it comes to rhino conservation. Robbie and Mike got together right after a recent dehorning by Mike of two rhinos that he'd darted from a helicopter less than an hour before the recording began. Mike recalls dehorning over 4,000 rhinos, and has arguably dehorned more rhino horns than anybody else in the world. Apologies for any shaking you hear in the background because Robbie and Mike recorded the podcast in Mike's vehicle as they were traveling between two dehornings. Get to know the guest: https://www.instagram.com/drmiketoft/?hl=en Do you have questions we can answer? Send it via DM on IG or through email at info@bloodorigins.com Support our Conservation Club Members! Backcountry Africa: https://www.backcountryafrica.com/  Builders Select Stone Company: https://www.buildersselectstonecompany.com/  Cantrell Outdoors: https://www.cantrelloutdoors.com/  See more from Blood Origins: https://bit.ly/BloodOrigins_Subscribe Music: Migration by Ian Post (Winter Solstice), licensed through artlist.io This podcast is brought to you by Bushnell, who believes in providing the highest quality, most reliable & affordable outdoor products on the market. Your performance is their passion. https://www.bushnell.com  This podcast is also brought to you by Silencer Central, who believes in making buying a silencer simple and they handle the paperwork for you. Shop the largest silencer dealer in the world. Get started today! https://www.silencercentral.com  This podcast is brought to you by Safari Specialty Importers. Why do serious hunters use Safari Specialty Importers? Because getting your trophies home to you is all they do. Find our more at: https://safarispecialtyimporters.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cullen Kelly is one of the brothers now in charge of Garry Kelly Safaris. Garry Kelly Safaris (or GKS) is one of the oldest safari companies in South Africa, and Garry Kelly, Cullen's Dad, is one of the original stalwart professional hunters in South Africa (he was involved in the very first Rhino hunt with Ian Player in Zululand). Robbie and Cullen connected on the banks of the Mkuze River, as Robbie and The Origins Foundation team were working on a Rhino documentary. Mkuze Falls is a private, community held conservancy, that has the big five and is a poster child for what wildlife conservation can be like in South Africa. These critical private reserves do amazing things for wildlife conservation, rhinos, lions and more, and the wildlife and communities owning it are all benefitting from it.  Get to know the guest: https://www.youtube.com/c/CullenKelly Do you have questions we can answer? Send it via DM on IG or through email at info@bloodorigins.com Support our Conservation Club Members! Backcountry Africa: https://www.backcountryafrica.com/  Builders Select Stone Company: https://www.buildersselectstonecompany.com/  Cantrell Outdoors: https://www.cantrelloutdoors.com/  See more from Blood Origins: https://bit.ly/BloodOrigins_Subscribe Music: Migration by Ian Post (Winter Solstice), licensed through artlist.io This podcast is brought to you by Bushnell, who believes in providing the highest quality, most reliable & affordable outdoor products on the market. Your performance is their passion. https://www.bushnell.com  This podcast is also brought to you by Silencer Central, who believes in making buying a silencer simple and they handle the paperwork for you. Shop the largest silencer dealer in the world. Get started today! https://www.silencercentral.com  This podcast is brought to you by Safari Specialty Importers. Why do serious hunters use Safari Specialty Importers? Because getting your trophies home to you is all they do. Find our more at: https://safarispecialtyimporters.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the Varsity of Zululand to Vega, Ndabe Zondi’s journey has been anything but ordinary. He’s come heartbreakingly close to the top — not once, but twice. First, he placed second in the ECR Presenter Search, narrowly missing the mic. Then again, as the MTN Superfan, where he almost scored the ultimate dream: traveling with the Boks to Japan. Again, second place. But here’s the plot twist: finishing second never meant falling short. It meant sharpening his voice, growing his hustle, and waiting for the right mic — and now, he’s got it. Joburg, meet your newest 947 presenter: sharp, seasoned, and hungry. And if you're wondering who's sweating the most right now… just ask Msizi James. Another Durban boy? The competition just got real.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have been raised and operate in an environment in which narrations on “migration” and “migrants” are intrinsically racist and colonial. The terms themselves attempt to eclipse and decontextualise Global South mobility within a deeply imbalanced and exploitative postcolonial global system. This allows policymakers to target racialized people by making their movement, stay and activities irregular through reforms focused on excluding them from legality. Public acceptance of these policies is enabled by an often-non-critical media discourse which further dehumanizes migrants”. These othering narratives run deep and without actively seeking to identify and deconstruct them, they will be reproduced even by those acting for the interest of “migrants”. In these circumstances, can we ever talk of “migrants” and “migration” without perpetuating racism and colonialism? How much do narratives matter in efforts for social justice?In this episode, listen to the live recording of an evening event hosted by Hanaa Hakiki from ECCHR's Border Justice team as she is joined by guests to explore how deeply narratives on migration are still trapped in racism and colonialism. Together they discuss knowledge and narrative formation, the pseudo-science of constructed identities and categories, as well as the aliveness of colonization coupled with collective amnesia. Thinking beyond the present, the guests talk about the power of reimagining new futures, of reclaiming language and celebrating amazing human connections.  Hanaa's guests are Aghogho Akpome, Musa Okwonga and Sandra Alloush. Aghogho is a narratives specialist and associate professor from the University of Zululand. Through his project, “The refugee ‘crisis' and European re-imaginings of Africa”, he has analysed the portrayal of black African refugees by authors, filmmakers and playwrights. Musa is a widely published journalist, the author of a number of books including, “In the End It was All About Love” and he hosts a very popular football podcast and Sandra is a Syrian refugee journalist and documentary filmmaker and vice chair of the European Network Against Racism.

In today's episode I am in conversation with Nqobile Mbatha who is an attorney and also the founder of a digital marketing agency. We spoke about her childhood and she reminisced on having being raised in a loving home but with strict parents. She is grateful for how her parents and later in life her father have always instilled discipline in her and encouraged her to dream big. Nqobile is an admitted attorney, entrepreneur, and founder of SNC Creatives, a personal branding and digital marketing agency dedicated to helping professionals and businesses enhance their visibility and unlock new opportunities.She obtained her LLB from the University of Zululand in KwaZulu-Natal, where she developed a strong foundation in legal principles and a passion for advocacy. Her legal career began in the conveyancing department of a law firm in Rosebank, where she served her articles and gained extensive experience in property transactions and real estate law. Upon her admission as an attorney, she transitioned to a specialist conveyancing firm, further refining her expertise before making a strategic shift into commercial litigation, where she continues to practice.She is currently pursuing her LLM in Human Rights Law at the University of Johannesburg, aligning with her commitment to advocacy and policy reform. Her research and interests focus on strengthening legislative frameworks to advance and protect human rights, ensuring that the law remains a tool for meaningful societal impact.Beyond her legal practice, Nqobile is passionate about personal branding, marketing, and mentorship. She is the founder of SNC Creatives, a digital marketing agency that equips professionals with the tools to build strong, strategic personal brands. She actively mentors young professionals while also seeking mentorship herself, believing that growth is a continuous journey shaped by knowledge, collaboration, and adaptability.Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and follow us on all our social media platforms Sister In Law across all platforms.

It's episode 216 and we are lurching back to the north east, to Zululand. The heat is building up, and the conflicted relationship between King Mpande kaSenzanghakhona and his son, Cetshwayo kaMpande, is growing more complex by the minute. But this being Zululand, that wasn't the only competition in town. There was an older son of Mpande, called Hamu, who was his first-born son by Nozibhuku, who in turn was the daughter of the much respected chief Sothondose of the Nxumalo people. If we turn our thoughts to the succession process of the AmaZulu which has always been a tricky trail, this episode will serve to illuminate the razor-sharp line royal heirs must walk. Sothondose you see was Mbuyazi's brother. And if you recall, Mbuyazi was the man who had been killed along with seven of his brothers and half brothers at the Battle of Nondokasuka by Cetshwayo. King Mpande had publicly referred to Mbuyazi as his heir apparent, and Cetshwayo thought he was a better candidate. The plot thickens. It more than thickens, it congeals like thick red blood, spattered many times this episode. There is a Shakespearian correlation between his epic tales and those of the AmaZulu, where both are interlaced with human truths. This week's tale is a mist-mash of Macbeth, Richard the third, Henry the Sixth Part three. Perhaps you could include others, but let's leave it at that for now. IN Zululand, Mpande was king and he was apt to change his mind about his heir apparent. Cetshwayo had worked himself into the position by dint of killing Mbuyazi, and had begun to refer to Mpande as ixegwana, little-old man. Or Oomie which is why calling some middle-aged men Oomie can get you into trouble. Hamu kaMpande was an insidious man, a persevering leader who wriggled about, an indulgent man according to oral tradition as well as the written descriptions we have of him. Flabby, with the immense thighs of the house of Senzangakhona. Hamu led the Ngenetsheni clan, and had supported Cetshwayo during the recent Civil War, where Mbuyazi had been defeated. That was the case even though his grandfather, Sothondose, was Mbuyazi's brother. In other words Hamu fought against his Great Uncle. Blood, it seems, isn't thicker than water—unless it's pooling in a cauldron of treachery and Macbethian dread. Hamu also resented his bad luck, descended from Nzibe who ranked behind Mpande's other sons. He liked to show off his bling so to speak, and gathered a massive isigodlo of women, 300 in all, and bragged about being quasi-independent of Mpande. Cetshwayo kept a beady eye on these two, and there were confrontations with them, one took place in 1857. But nothing was resolved. Initially, Mbuyazi's remaining brothers turned out to be more of a threat than Hamu and Maphitha, and this is where the Shakespearian blood letting began in earnest. Cetshwayo wanted to kill Mbuyazi's thirteen year old brother Mkhungo. Someone tipped off the teen that the death squad was on its way and he fled to safety in Natal across the Thukela River. Other members of his direct family were already seeling refuge there, his mom Monase and Sikhotha his half-brother. shake

Episode 215 has a rather grandiose title but let us stop for a second and take stock. This southern land, swept by thunderstorms that appear as if by magic, and lash the landscape, rumble across the stubby veld, slinging lightning like a million volt silver sjambok, shaking rocks with their deep growls, bring everything back to life. The air before this denizens of the blue sky pass by is sullen, the horizon hazed over, after the rains everything is crisp, visibility can change in seconds from a few hundred metres to a few hundred kilometres. I was raised in Nkwalini valley in northern Zululand, where the mysterious Mhlathuze River flows powerfully after these storms, the valley is ringed by mountains that rise from 650 feet above sea level feet to over 3000 feet a few minutes drive up around Melmoth. And from these heights, you can see the Indian Ocean 40 kilometres away after one of these refreshing storms. Southern Africa had been drying out substantially throughout the first half of the 19th Century. Historian Charles Ballard notes that climatic research has pointed to opposite extremes of weather patterns in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The climatic regime in southern Africa of dry and warm conditionsin the early nineteenth century was the reverse of the Northern Hemisphere's colder and wetter weather at this time. Some animals, like humans, would not survive this —others like the ostrich were in their element. Turning to Natal, much of the interior was unstable, drought and famine led early white settlers to believe it had always been devoid of people whereas it had been abandoned. There is a difference between the two concepts — never settled or previously settled? Nguni speaking refugees, not always amaZulu, arrived back in their homes in Natal through this period only to find that the settler community considered them to be aliens and a race of "vagabonds." It became a conventional ideological tool for those who sought to justify the expropriation of land. The people were driven away by a long list of threats, military, environmental, meteorological. With that preamble, let's focus initially on the strange saga of John Dunn who has appeared in all his curious glory in prevous episodes. Cetshwayo gave John Dunn ten oxen and a tract of land. By July, the former border agent had resigned his job and moved into Zululand permanently. He'd had it with the British. The tract of land given to Dunn was extensive, in the immediate coastal region of southern Zululand known as Ungoye, which extended from Ngoye forest all the way down to the lower Thukela. Shortly after he moved in, Dunn took many wives. By1860 he was regarded as one of the most influential chiefs in the Zulu kingdom, ruling over more than 50 square kilometers of land and thousands of subjects. By 1860 Dunn was the main source of fireams entering Zululand, and these items rapidly replaced cattle as the main payment for lobola.

Welcome to Season 3! Claire de Mézerville López welcomes Frida Rundell Ph.D., to the Restorative Works! Podcast.  Join us as Dr. Rundell unpacks the intersection of storytelling, trauma, and restorative practices, offering a deeply personal and professional perspective on fostering healing. Drawing from her childhood experiences in South Africa, Dr. Rundell shares how the philosophy of ubuntu—"I am because you are,"—has influenced her life's work. She emphasizes the power of compassionate witnessing, highlighting how being truly heard and seen can be transformative for individuals, particularly those navigating trauma and adversity.  Discussing practical strategies for integrating restorative practices into educational and counseling settings, Dr. Rundell reinforces how storytelling and active listening can bridge gaps between individuals and communities. She also touches on the significance of self-awareness and emotional intelligence for practitioners working with vulnerable populations. Dr. Rundell is a founding IIRP faculty member and professor. A committed teacher and practitioner, she brings extensive experience of Narrative and Solution-Focused Therapies to the understanding of restorative practices. Dr. Rundell supports her students in mastering competencies related to life-space crisis intervention, adversity, and trauma. She works directly with youth and families in her private practice as a counselor and consultant, and mentors and presents workshops for teachers, counselors, and parents. Her current work involves using somatic experiences to help traumatized children and families heal.   Frida has more than 55 years of experience working with children and families facing a range of adversity and learning difficulties. She initiated and developed an undergraduate program for child-and-youth care professionals at Durban University of Technology in South Africa. She earned her master's in educational psychology from the University of Natal, South Africa, and her Ph.D. in Community Psychology from the University of Zululand, South Africa. She is a licensed professional counselor in the USA. 

The clivia, a Zululand bloom with dark green foliage, was named after a British duchess who brought the plant from its native South Africa to cultivate it in her greenhouse.

Leaders of the Southern African Development Community and the East Africa Community are meeting Friday and Saturday to discuss the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC is a member of both the SADC and the EAC, while Rwanda is a member of only the East African Community. SADC and the EAC have both put forth separate mediation efforts – the Nairobi Peace Process and the Luanda Peace Process. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, explains the two approaches to VOA's James Butty

his is episode 206 - all fire and brimbstone, a horror show. The squeamish should gird their loins, prepare the poultices, polish your monocles and tighten your bootstraps, grab your smelling salts Roll up your sleeves and fetch the brandy, brace for impact. It's an episode that will begin a series of episodes which are clouded by a fine bloody mist, and a fog of confusion. We're going to look at the amaXhosa Cattle Killings of 1856-57 and then the Zulu's most bloody civil war clash, the Battle of Ndondukasuka. One was a millenarian movement gone hopelessly wrong, the other was the old story of a young prince seizing power from the heir apparent. Both epics are an exploration of human consciousness and both changed South African history. Cetshway kaMpande of the amaZulu was amassing great power under the very nose of his dad, King Mpande. Hold on, Before we head off to Zululand in forthcoming episodes, we're going to peruse southern Transkei. Alongside a magical river called the Gxarha. The little river is about 20 kilometers long, a tiny snakes' tail, a meandering whispering essence, slithering through deep ravines and splashing in splended mini-waterfalls. This is a case of dynamite in small packages because the river harboured dark secrets. It was to bare witness to a catastrophe. The twists and turns of this saga are echoed in the twists and turns of the river, it's a squiggle of a sprint for those tiny twenty kilometers. Cliffs and thick forest, more a jungle, make it impossible to walk along its bank for very far, and giant shadows are cast at dusk and dawn from the strelitzia and the reeds. A sand bar blocks its final sprint to the sea which bursts open in summer, a blend of bush, cliffs, forest and water. It was a day in April 1856, the exact day is lost in time, when two youngsters, Nongqawuse who was an orphan of 15 and Nombanda, who was about 8 or maybe 10, left their homestead on the Gxarha river. Nongqawuse's uncle, Mhlakaza, asked them to chase birds away from cultivated fields. As they shooed the birds away in the early morning of that April day, Nongqawuse heard voices. She turned and standing inside a nearby bush were two men. They gave her a message which she was to relay to Mhlakaza when she and Nombanda returned. “Tell that the whole community will rise from the dead, and that all cattle now living must be slaughtered for they have been reared by contaminated hands because there are people about who deal in witchcraft…” The fusion of faiths and the belief in shades were intersecting in this youngsters' mind. She had heard the stories about previous prophecies as she grew up, about Mlanjeni the Riverman and Nxele the wardoctor. The violence and upheavals of the Frontier Wars were paralleled by a huge spiritual upheaval which resulted in a clash of Xhosa and Christian religious ideas. During the next thirteen months of this cattle killing between April 1856 and May 1857, about 85 per cent of all Xhosa adult men killed their cattle and destroyed their corn in obedience to Nongqawuse's prophecies. It is estimated that 400,OOO cattle were slaughtered and 40,000 Xhosa died of starvation. At least another 40,000 left their homes in search of food. But it was to have another effect. After a dogged 80 years of resistance to colonial expansion, the amaXhosa struggle collapsed by their own actions - and almost all their remaining lands were given away to white settlers or black clients of the Cape government.

Former South African President Jacob Zuma last week gave the African National Congress until January 31 to reinstate him as a member. The South Africa Mail and Guardian reports Zuma made the demand through his lawyers in a letter to the ANC Secretary General. Zuma was ousted from the ANC last year when he helped form the uMkhonto we Sizwe, (MK) Party. Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty Zuma wants to irritate the ANC to expose its flaws.

The British plan involved a three-pronged advance into Zululand, with the main column, led by Lord Chelmsford, heading toward the Zulu capital at ...

Episode 204 - A quick whip around the globe in 1855 and Cetshwayo kaMpande makes his Regal Entrance. First up, a quick thank you to Adi Badenhorst at AA Badenhorst family wines in the Swartland of the Cape — your gift was extraorindarily generous and well received. I am truly indebted to you. And to all those folks sending me tips and notes, thank you its gratifying to receive correspondence from such learned people! Straight to our episode 2024, Planet Earth 1855, Cetshwayo kaMpande grows powerful and Natal Land Realities. A legend is the only way to describe the amaZulu king who was going to dethrone his father Mpande kaSenzangakhona, usurp his brother's right to rule, and later in life, destroy an entire British column at Isandhlwana. In this episode we'll deal with the initial years of his life. Folks tend to focus on Shaka when it comes to important Zulu warriors, but by the time we're done, you'll agree that Cetshwayo was probably more significant. I'll end the editorialising there - let's head over to the eastern seaboard of South Africa, into Zululand across the Thukela. It's 1855. Mpande had overthrown his half-brother Dingana, and one of his professed goals was to stop the internecine conflict that had riven the house of the Zulu. Peace is what he strived for, and so he set about creating sons unlike Shaka and Dingana who had their offspring killed and tried to insure themselves against being bumped off by their own children by just not getting their wives or concubines pregnant. Easier said than done. Mpande had at least 30 sons with his wives, believing that protection lay in numbers. Problem was, there will always be someone who thinks they're better than the eldest son of the Great Wife. And the eldest son of the Great Wife will always believe he should be king. Fade up the ominous music. And thus, in a nutshell, Cetshwayo. The settler port village of Durban had gone through various ructions by the mid-1850s. For some distance around the port and into the interior, English settlers had replaced the original Dutch farmers with the stipulation that a farmer could own only one farm of 2500 acres and security of tenure had improved. Originally tenure was a measly 15 years - then changed to perpetuity. Marking out the farms was done on horseback at walking pace. One hour each way. Four hours later, that was your farm. Of course most mustered the fastest horse they could find, some even changed horses, then tried to gallop or canter the four hours. Land sizes could top 5000 acres by cheating in this way. Simultaneously a clash of ideas between the indigenous population of South Africa and the British Government was most marked in Natal. Most of the region is suitable for farming in some manner — the region can be divided, pretty broadly, into two zones. The interior grasslands and open tree savannah, and the coastal bush and forest. The grasslands were not ideal for arable agriculture, but were great for livestock farming. The coastal zone was a different story — more rain fell along the coast, it was more suitable for farming — and that's why sugar became such an important story in Natal a little later. With that, its time now to step back and peer inscrutably at what was going on internationally in the year 1855. The Panama Railway became the first railroad to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, long before before the time of the Canal which was built between 1904 and 1916. In 1855 Alexander the Second ascended the Russian throne while in China, the Taiping Rebellion rolled on — the Taiping army of 350 000 invaded Anhui in the east of the country. Van Diemen's land was seperated from New South Wales and granted selfgovernment and later in the year, renamed Tasmania. For the wine connoissours listening, including Adi Badenhorst I hope, the Bordeaux wine classification system was first listed in 1855.

Namibians are voting Wednesday in presidential elections. Among 15 candidates are 37-year-old university professor Job Amupanda of the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) party and 72-year-old Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, vice president of the ruling Southwest Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has called for a peaceful vote. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former Deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, Namibia is one of the southern African countries that have been led by liberation movements following independence but are now being judged by young people on their performance.

An analyst says the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders who are meeting Wednesday in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, should propose a win-win solution to the post-election crisis in Mozambique. There has been violence there since opposition parties and citizens rejected the results of the October 9 presidential election. Human rights groups say as many as 20 people have been killed. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former Deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, that SADC should propose a government of national unity, given the many problems associated with the October 9 vote

An estimated 4,000 illegal miners have been trapped in an abandoned mine in South Africa's Northwest Province since October 18. Authorities said Thursday that they have blocked off the entrances used to deliver supplies to discourage unregulated mining, according to several news reports. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former deputy vice chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, while illegal mining is a nuisance in South Africa, he hopes the authorities will honor the constitutional right to life.

A quick note to the SA Podcaster's Guild, thank you for the History podcast of the year silver award — I shared the honour with the 30 Years of Democracy Podcast, part of the TimesLive stable. It's heart warming to receive some sort of recognition, and thanks mainly to you the listener. With that it's back to episode 195 and we're swinging back to the east, to Zululand, where Chief Mpande kaSenzangakhona of the AmaZulu has not been idle for the last two years. When we last heard about Mpande, after a few years of relative quiet once he took over from Dinging as king of the AmaZulu, he began to plot against the Swazi in late 1840s. As he planned and plotted, in the British outpost called Natal, this territory that abounded Durban, two men had arrived who were to alter South African history. Theophilus Shepstone and Hans Schreuder. More about them in a moment. Mpande thought of Eswatini, Swaziland, as a source of treasure, booty, and a future place of refuge for his people just in case the Boers or the British should advance further into Zululand. The good relations between the Boers and the Swazi, at least running up to the mid-19th Century, meant that Mpande was forced to hold off most of his plans to invade King Mswati's land. It was also along a corridor coveted by not only the AmaZulu and the Swazi, but also by the boers. So his first aim was north west, towards smaller kingdoms where the booty was thinner on the ground, not exactly a plethora of cows, rather a smattering but better than nix. The amaHlubi bore the brunt of Mpande's expansionist aims when he attacked Langalibalele kaMthimkulu who had told his people that from now on, it was he and not Mpande who would control the function of rainmaking. Mpande disagreed. The disputes going on Swazi territory gave the AmaZulu king an opportunity to interfere. If you remember a previous podcast, I'd explained that after Mswati was declared the new young king of the amaSwazi, the senior regent Malambule tried to cling onto power — and was backed in his clinging by Mpande. Enter stage left, a missionary who was on a mission. Enter stage right, a second missionary on another mission. Cast member number one, stage left, Theophilus Shepstone, or Somtseu as the Zulu called him. The other, stage right, was lesser known Norwegian Missionary Society's Hans Schreuder. The latter was well over six feet tall, a powerful man, with a powerful temper. He may have been a bible-wielding man of God, but that didn't stop the Viking blood pumping him up when he was crossed. Schreuder would establish 7 mission stations across Zululand and was going to be extremely useful as Mpande's diplomat. Shepstone's role in our story is a complex combination of missionary, Zulu-phile, Anglophone civiliser in chief — a vast figure in our tale. He would suffer many a baleful settler glare, the colonists believed his pro-Zulu politics were dangerous to their almost infinite demand for labour and land. As the Cape colonials moved towards self-government, Natal became a problem child.

Jak zginął jedyny syn Napoleona III? Posłuchajcie! #historia #podcasthistoryczny

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says the African National Congress (ANC) performed poorly in the May 29 elections because many people in some of the country's large cities such as Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban withheld their votes out of dissatisfaction with the provision of services where they live. He spoke Sunday at the opening of the ANC National Executive Committee's (NEC) lekgotla, or roundtable. Ramaphosa also said that voters punished the ANC for its failure to deliver economic growth and the collapse of services such as electricity. He said the ANC chose a government of national unity as the best way to address the shortcomings and respond to voters who are unhappy with the ANC. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former Deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, the ANC should have begun its self-assessment by first owning its failures

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed the first female Chief Justice of the country's Supreme Court. She is Mandisa Maya who was serving as Deputy Chief Justice. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former Deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, VOA's James Butty, the appointment is a significant achievement.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday swore in a government of national unity comprising 11 political parties. However, unlike the national government, the parties agreed to allow the provinces to choose their own governments of provincial unity. But the Democratic Alliance (DA) which came second in the May 29 elections wants provincial governments to be chosen proportionally based on each party's performance in the election. The ANC disagrees and accuses the DA of misrepresenting the statement of intent. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, the dispute illustrates that elections have consequences.

In South Africa, efforts to complete the formation of a government of national unity led by the African National Congress (ANC) continue. Four new parties signed the Statement of Intent over the weekend to be part of the process. They are the Vryheidsfront Plus (Ff+), United Democratic Movement (UDM), Rise Mzansi, and Al Jama-ah. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, the ANC is trying to invite as many parties as it can get to avoid being held hostage by the Democratic Alliance which obtained the second highest number votes in the May 29 elections.

Two political parties are challenging the results of South Africa's May 29th presidential and provincial elections. They are uMkhonto weSizwe or MK party and the African Transformation (ATM) party. The Mail & Guardian reports the ATM says it is a victim of miscalculations, vote rigging, and voter corruption, while the MK is demanding a recount due to irregularities. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, while there may be hundreds more challenges still to come, they are not likely to change the results of the elections

South Africa's parliament is expected to assemble Friday, the first time since the May 29th presidential and provincial elections. The lawmakers will elect a speaker, deputy speaker and president of South Africa. Meanwhile, the ruling African National Congress is on the verge of announcing a national unity government. But first, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) must form a unity government. Professor Sipho Seepe, political analyst and former deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, the ANC will mostly likely pair with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

If all goes according to the constitution, South Africa's newly elected members of parliament will most likely be sworn in this Friday and in turn elect the president. But the South Africa Mail & Guardian reports Monday that the uMkhonto we Sizwe, or MK, party has directed its lawyers to petition the Constitutional Court to stop the parliament from sitting. The party says it wants to challenge the results of the May 29th elections for possible fraud. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former Deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty , the Constitutional Court is likely to dismiss any MK party petition for – in his view -- trying to hold the country to ransom.

Two more days before South Africa's May 29th elections. The parties, including the ruling African National Congress (ANC), held their final campaign rallies over the weekend. President Cyril Ramaphosa appealed to South Africans that if they give the ANC another chance, it will do better. Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema said his party will fight corruption and give jobs and land to South Africans. Professor Sipho Seepe , political analyst and former deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, it is looking more likely that the last week of campaigning may have moved the ANC's poll numbers upward, but that it is likely that Wednesday's vote will produce a coalition government led by the ANC

It's a little over a week before South Africa's May 29 elections. Former President Jacob Zuma who wants to represent the uMkhonto we Sizwe, or MK, in those elections, spoke over the weekend at the launch of the party's manifesto. Zuma is facing legal challenges to his candidacy. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, that Zuma was critical of the ruling ANC while promising to create new jobs.

Bonjour! Stephanie here. I think today is the first time that I am welcoming an author on the show to talk about a memoir. I don't think I've ever done memoirs, but this one just gripped my heart. I just had to share it with you. Lisa-Jo Baker is someone I've met a few years ago at a friend's party. I was mesmerized by her story, her depth, her intelligence. She has serious brain power, but also kindness, thoughtfulness, and truly empathetic other-centeredness. “It was not roaring, it was weeping” is the title of her memoir. It's an honest and lyrical, almost poetic coming of age memoir of growing up in South Africa at the height of apartheid. It's an invitation to confront or inherited traumas or prejudices.  It is also an invitation to forgive our parents, so that we won't repeat the same mistakes. It is an invitation to dig deep inside ourselves and nurture self-awareness, so that we understand what triggers us, so we can rewire our minds to stop repeating harmful patterns, both individually and communally. It is an invitation to cultivate forgiveness and grace as the only way forward as humanity, together. When she found herself spiraling into a terrifying version of her father, screaming herself hoarse at her son, Lisa-Jo Baker realized that to go forward—to refuse to repeat the sins of our fathers—we must first go back. This is an unflinching look at a family that got it wrong and a real life example for all who feel worried they're too off-course to make the necessary corrections. Lisa-Jo's story shows that it's never too late to be free. Born white in the heart of Zululand during the height of apartheid, Lisa-Jo Baker longed to write a new future for her children—a longing that set her on a journey to understand where she fit into a story of violence and faith, history and race. Before marriage and motherhood, she came to the United States to study to become a human rights advocate. When she naively walked right into America's own turbulent racial landscape, she experienced the kind of painful awakening that is both individual and universal, personal and social. Years would go by before she traced this American trauma back to her own South African past. Lisa-Jo was a teenager when her mother died of cancer, leaving her with her father. Though they shared a language of faith and justice, she often feared him, unaware that his fierce temper had deep roots in a family's and a nation's pain. Decades later, old wounds reopened when she found herself repeating the violent patterns of her childhood in her own parenting. Only then did she begin the journey back to the beginning to find a way to break old cycles and write a new story for her family and the next generation. MEET LISA-JO BAKER LISA-JO BAKER is a bestselling author with a BA in English/prelaw from Gordon College and a JD from the University of Notre Dame Law School. Lisa-Jo has lived and worked on three continents in the human rights field and subsequently spent nearly a decade leading the online community of women called (in)courage as their editor in chief and community manager. Originally from South Africa, Lisa-Jo now lives just outside Washington, D.C., where she met and fell in love with her husband in the summer of '96. Their story together spans decades, languages, countries, books, three very opinionated children, and one dog. https://lisajobaker.com/   We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with. Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blog Identity in the battle | Ephesians https://www.podcastics.com/episode/74762/link/ Centering on Christ | The Tabernacle experience https://www.podcastics.com/episode/94182/link/ Shades of Red | Against human oppression https://www.podcastics.com/episode/115017/link/ God's glory, our delight  https://www.podcastics.com/episode/126051/link/   Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

Sarah Vermaak was a non hunter before she got married into the Vermaak family. The Vermaaks are a stalwart family of the hunting industry of South Africa, starting in 1970 (they are actually the longest standing outfitter in South Africa) and as a result today has very much become an avid hunter. Robbie catches up with Sarah on location in Zululand, in the hills next to the Tugela river, when he was in South Africa at the beginning of March filming an embedded Blood Origins episode with the Vermaak family. Support our newest Conservation Club Members! Canada North Outfitting: https://www.canadanorthoutfitting.com/  Vortex Optics: https://vortexoptics.com/  Spartan: https://javelinbipod.com/  See more from Blood Origins: https://bit.ly/BloodOrigins_Subscribe Music: Migration by Ian Post (Winter Solstice), licensed through artlist.io Podcast is brought to you by: Bushnell: https://www.bushnell.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robbie is joined LIVE on location along the Tugela River, in the heart of Zululand, in South Africa with the Slots Media boys and Kolby Edwards with Mutambo films to talk about their latest trip to SA. From more lost luggage to a malaria infection to tweezing nipple hairs, it's as much wild antics from the Slots Media boys as you've all com to expect. Support our newest Conservation Club Members! Georgia SCI: https://www.gasci.org/  Bushnell: https://www.bushnell.com/  Kilombero North Safaris: https://www.kilomberonorth.com/  See more from Blood Origins: https://bit.ly/BloodOrigins_Subscribe Music: Migration by Ian Post (Winter Solstice), licensed through artlist.io Podcast is brought to you by: Bushnell: https://www.bushnell.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robbie is joined LIVE on location along the Tugela River, in the heart of Zululand, in South Africa with the Slots Media boys and Kolby Edwards with Mutambo films to talk about their latest trip to SA. From more lost luggage to a malaria infection to tweezing nipple hairs, it's as much wild antics from the Slots Media boys as you've all com to expect. Support our newest Conservation Club Members! Georgia SCI: https://www.gasci.org/  Bushnell: https://www.bushnell.com/  Kilombero North Safaris: https://www.kilomberonorth.com/  See more from Blood Origins: https://bit.ly/BloodOrigins_Subscribe Music: Migration by Ian Post (Winter Solstice), licensed through artlist.io Podcast is brought to you by: Bushnell: https://www.bushnell.com  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices