On 8th February the Zulu King, Cetshwayo kaMpande, died in his
hut in what is today the town of Eshowe, Kwazulu-Natal, South
Africa. His death marked the end of the old Zulu Kingdom, founded
by his uncle, Shaka kaSenzangakhona, some 60 years before. In
1879 Cetshwayo had taken on the might of the British empire, and
given it a run for its money, his army crushing the main British
invading Column at its camp beneath the mountain known by the
Zulu as Isandlwana. However, defeat was inevitable as a shocked
British government poured unlimited men and resources into Natal
Colony.
The Zulu were finally defeated in the shadow of the King's
residence at Ondini (known by the British as Ulundi). The king was
captured and exiled to Capetown, where he was kept under close
arrest in the castle. After many appeals by supporters who felt the
king and the Zulu people had been done a great wrong he was
allowed to visit England to plead his case. There he became a
celebrity and had an audience with Queen Victoria. In January
1883 he was allowed to return home as king. But things had
changed - the British, dividing to conquer, had split the country up
into a number of smaller territories, each with its own leader, many
of whom were less than pleased to see their power threatened by
the return of the King. A bloody civil war ensued, and after a
second bloody battle at Ondini Cetshwayo and his supporters were
defeated.
Some say the King died of a broken heart, others that he was
poisoned. His body was wrapped in cow hide in the traditional
sitting position, and left for some time to desiccate. The corpse
was then placed in the back of a rickety old ox wagon and driven to
a secluded spot in the Nkhandla forest, where he was buried. The
grave had no marker but the wagon was left there to decay, and its
remains could still be seen beside the grave 50 years later. Its
metal wheel rims are now in a museum, a symbol of the king's final
journey and a reminder of a history now proudly remembered by
the Zulu people.
Is a wagon is a wagon is a wagon?
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