Skaka Zulu Flashcards
What was the assegai
A long throwing spear
What did Shaka change the assegai into
A short stabbing spear
Who were Shaka’s parents
His father was the chief of the Zulu tribe. His mother, Nandi was not the chiefs wife. The chief and Nandi had an affair, so Shaka was considered an illegitimate child
What does Shaka Zulu mean
It means intestinal beetle heaven. When Nandi was pregnant, she used the excuse that she had intestinal beetles, and that she was not pregnant.
Where was Shaka raised
In his mothers settlement the Elangani
A where did Shaka go after the Elangani tribe
He went to the Mtethwa (most powerful tribe i the region)
What did Shaka do in the mtethwa tribe
First he served as a warrior for a man named Jobe and then for Jobe’s successor, Dingiswayo
What did Dingiswayo do when he found out that Shaka was of royal blood
He put him in charge of a regiment. This is where Shaka really began to refine his tactics
What was warfare like before Shaka changed it
It was a more of a ritual affair than a destructive one
How do we know about Shaka
From orally passed down stories. Accounts from European traders. Info that historians and archeologists
About how many people were there in the Zulu tribe to begin with
About 1500 in an area about 10 square miles
How many people (roughly)did the Zulu empire end up with
About 250 000
Who were the Zulu to begin with
They were a relatively minor tribe within the larger Bantu people. Lived in eastern part of South Africa
How was wealth measured
In cattle
What did the population mostly eat and drink
Milk and maize
What was their government
They operated under a kingship
Howe was war carried out
The warriors would meet at a predetermined location and fling spears and insults at each other (rarely move in for close quarters fighting). The casualties were few.
How did battles rarely end
the winning side would almost never follow up the victory by chasing down their opponents and conquering their land.
How did the wars end
They ended in a transfer of the small amount of land or cattle
What did Shaka change
He changes the weapons, the take is and the philosophy of hope war was caught
How did Shaka change the nature of the wars
He brought in close quarters combat. He changed it from settling minor disputes to an act of slaughter and conquest.
How did he change the weapons
He changed the long throwing spear into a short thrusting one
How did he change the tactics
He changed them from loose crowd to a tactic known as the bullhorn tactic
What age was Shaka sent to live with his mother at a trig earlier called Elangani
7
What were the traditional warriors armed with
Long throwing spears. They practiced their tactics, but they didn’t practice unit tactics
What is the bullhorn tactics
The men were split into three groups
• chest
• horns
• loins
What did the ‘chest’ do
It would charge the enemy and pin them in hand to hand combat
What did the ‘horns’ do
They were positioned of the side and they would flank and envelop the enemy
