They walked together up towards the village, and he was asking them, meanwhile, about the war they said was coming soon. He believed everything they told him, simply because it was said by the servants of Isanusi. What is surprising to us is that Chaka did not tell his mother about the coming of these men, except to say simply that he had found himself a fool who would carry his blankets. He did not give her a full account of where they came from and the work they had come to do. Besides, he told her about only one of them, and hid the other. We ask once again what it is about Isanusi, and what it is about his servants, to make Chaka hide from his mother everything connected with them, when in fact it had been his custom to tell her all things in their fullness, both the evil and the good.
CHAPTER 10
Chaka Captures Zwide
AS ETIQUETTE demanded, Chaka brought Ndlebe and Malunga before Dingiswayo so that he should know them. He said: “Since I came here in flight, O King, I have been walking alone; but today two young men from my home have come to join me, both of whom are my servants. Let me correct that and say that one of them is my servant who carries my blankets. He is retarded. The second one is my friend who has come to pay me a visit. I am therefore presenting them to you so that you may know them and not wonder who they are when you see them in the village.” They were called and they came. As soon as they appeared Dingiswayo’s body shuddered violently, and he even got up on his feet from fright. Then after they left he said: “Chaka, are you saying that both of them come from your home?”
“Yes, O King.”
“Have you known them since childhood, or have you met them only recently?”
“I grew up with them, O King.”
“I am asking this because one of them is, without any doubt, a halfwit, who is not even fit to carry your blankets. As for the second one, I do not like him at all, he has the eyes of a traitor, and they are full of guile and treachery. You must take him away from here, I’m afraid of him, for he is truly evil. Are you telling me that you have known him also from your childhood?”
“Yes, O King.”
On this day we find Chaka for the first time telling a lie, whereas we have known him from his childhood, and as he grew up, as someone who was accustomed to speaking the truth. He began by hiding from his mother the news about his meeting with Isanusi, and even when he told her about these two, he simply skimmed off the top and even applied a thin layer of lies; and now to Dingiswayo he is telling a plain cold lie, without even the tiniest grain of truth. He is sliding slowly away from truth, going we know not where.
“Look well after yourself, Chaka, that friend of yours is harbouring something evil, and will harm you when you least expect it. I am surprised when you say that you have known him since childhood because even his features, especially his face, show plainly that he is not a person from these parts, but a wicked thing which comes from we don’t know where. He is a real sorcerer.” As Dingiswayo spoke like that, his body once again shuddered when he thought of the guileful nature which was apparent in Malunga’s face.
That evening Malunga said to Chaka: “I can see that your king detests me, and believes me to be an evil person. For that reason I am returning to my home since I cannot stay in a place where I will be unhappy. I am sure that Ndlebe will be able to obtain for you everything you need. Trust him, and you will see that he is a true human being who is worthy of your trust. If you trouble him, however, he will run away. See that he gets food regularly because, as a matter of fact, he eats a lot. He will carry your blankets for he is a strong beast of burden; he will gather news for you, for he is like a dog which picks up scents, which has a sharp ear; but most important of all is that in war he can expose the secret plotting of the enemy.”
The armies left home to meet Zwide at the border, and they hurried in order to reach that place before Zwide defiled the highways with evil medicines. They met above the plateau overlooking the gorge through which the Mfolozi River flowed. As was his habit, Dingiswayo did not send all his armies into battle at the same time, but held back some regiments so that he could use them to reinforce the weaker ranks. He said that when the warriors first meet and are still thirsting after each other, they fight with blind fury, each one facing only his own opponent, and not taking care to see whether he is still with his comrades. As a result some of them end up right in the midst of the enemy in the belief that their comrades are still close by, and thus get killed unnecessarily. The regiment under Chaka’s command was the very first one to be sent into battle.
That battle was fought for a long time, with Zwide constantly retreating and then immediately returning to the attack, meanwhile drawing Dingiswayo’s armies towards the gorge and the dense forests. At high noon Dingiswayo charged with all those he had held back, so that they should join the battle with force and throw Zwide’s men down the cliffs. At that very moment Ndlebe came to Chaka covered with mud like a dog that had been running hard, his dangling tufts of hair swept backwards and hanging at the back of his head. He was as alert as a dog which had picked up the scent of an animal, his mouth was open, and he was breathing exactly like a dog. He said: “My master, there is danger lurking here in the forest, you must be on the lookout, and be ready to defend yourself. Zwide has hidden numerous armies in the forest, and this running away of his is no running away at all, but simply a strategy to lure you into the forest so that you may all be surrounded and killed. I advise you to pull back your regiment as if you were resting since it was the first to go into battle, and not to go back to the attack before I return.”
Ndlebe entered the forest and bored his way through till he came out on the other side. When he came there he set the grass alight, for it was winter and the grass was dry and long, a veritable jungle. A slight breeze was blowing, driving the fire towards the place where the battle was raging, and at that moment when Ndlebe set fire to the grass Chaka was standing high up above the gorge together with his regiment, while the battle was in full heat along the gorge’s flank, near the forest, and the vanguard of Zwide’s army was already level with the place where the reinforcements were hidden. Caught completely unawares, they suddenly saw descending upon them flames burning furiously and moving quickly because of the wind and the denseness of the grass. The reinforcements came out of the forest in a confused hurry to avoid being burned in there, but it was clear that they could not escape in the homeward direction since the fire blocked the way; they were thus compelled to throw themselves into the battle in order to push back Dingiswayo’s armies, and find a way to save themselves. But then it was difficult to force back Dingiswayo’s men because they were standing on higher ground. That is where the battle was fought with such fury that corpses piled up in a short time, Zwide’s men being driven by the fire from behind, while Dingiswayo’s blocked the only corridor of escape, and saw victory close at hand. It was a red-eyed battle that was fought there, each warrior concerned only with finding an opening through which to save himself, no longer fighting for the praises and songs, but for his life. Within a short time the corpses of those who fell there were far greater in number than those of the men who had died earlier in the day.
And while the battle was in full cry Ndlebe came to Chaka and said: “Now, charge!” When Chaka’s regiment appeared Zwide’s men thought that Dingiswayo had employed the same strategy as they, and was only then attacking with fresh troops. They turned around suddenly. But then as they did so, they came face to face with the fire, and they saw that its flames were now at their worst, scorching even what lay at a distance from them, and at the time they turned to face it, it was just reaching the forest. The dry trees crackled and made a loud noise when they were consumed by the fire, and, to Zwide’s men, that noise was like the mocking shouts of Dingiswayo’s warriors. Thereupon they threw themselves down the slopes, some found openings through which to escape, some rushed headlong into the flames and came out scorched or burned seriously and crippled, some were burned to death, while others were maimed, but got away with
their lives.
There was a cave in the centre of the forest which was known only to a few people. Zwide hid himself in there with a sizeable group of men. The cave was situated right in the middle where the forest was very dense, and a little path like the track of fieldmice led to it, and went through to the other side. Ndlebe told Chaka where Zwide was hiding, and Chaka then sent a section of his regiment to go and prise him out from behind so that he should run towards him since there was nowhere else to turn because of the thickness of the forest; he and Ndlebe hid themselves near the little path. When Chaka’s warriors entered the cave, Zwide and his men went out and ran along that little track which led to where Chaka lay in wait. When he heard their footsteps getting close, Chaka took out his spear and held himself ready, and when he looked around he saw Ndlebe on his left-hand side with his battle-axe already raised and waiting for them to appear. He was excited, and was very different from that dimwit of yesterday and the day before; the veins in his body stood out, and he was like a wounded lion which felt the pain in its wounds, and was ready to avenge its blood.
Chaka looked to the right and he was greatly surprised when he saw Malunga already standing by his side with his short spear at the ready. He was completely quiet and his eyes, which were blood-red, stared furiously at that narrow little path from which Zwide was going to appear. He stood like a crouching wild beast getting ready to leap. There was no time to ask him where he had come from. Zwide came into view with his people, and they were squeezed so tight that at times they pressed against each other with none able to move forward. Besides, because of the thickness of the forest, it took some time before they saw Chaka, and they were surprised by his presence when many of them were already lying dead on the ground; furthermore, also as a result of this denseness of the forest, they were unable to retreat, or to fight. Chaka rushed on them and killed them rapidly because they were squeezed together so tightly. Malunga stabbed them in the same manner as Chaka, but he even surpassed him in the number he killed, for it appeared that the thickness of the forest did not hinder him in any way. Chaka’s warriors who were pursuing Zwide and his men pushed them forward with their spears, while Chaka, Ndlebe and Malunga blocked the passage with their spears. On that day Chaka’s arm grew swollen from the work of stabbing and killing. Zwide was captured alive and taken to Dingiswayo, because Dingiswayo did not permit a king to be killed. When Chaka looked around, he found that Ndlebe and Malunga were not there any more, and he remained alone with those warriors who had gone to force Zwide out of hiding.
Ndlebe came to where the battle was still raging, and he shouted in the Ndwandwe language, saying: “The king has been captured, and Dingiswayo’s fresh armies are only now coming into battle under Chaka’s command!” Gracious, that was enough to start a stampede! The fire now was considered a minor danger since some might survive it, though with injuries, whereas waiting for Chaka was waiting for certain and total destruction. In their flight, the fugitives pushed each other down the cliffs.
In the end Dingiswayo’s army came together and went to the king, and they found Zwide already with him as a prisoner. Ndlebe lay down like a tired dog which had been running a lot. That intelligence which he displayed when participating in the war was gone, and he once again looked as dim-witted as ever. He threw himself down and even rolled onto his back, and in the midst of all those celebrations of victory, to him it was as if nothing had happened. He did not even seem to be interested in knowing how the war had proceeded, thereby proving himself to be a real idiot. Dingiswayo and all his armies were truly amazed at Chaka’s strategies in sending regiments into battle, in fighting, and in demoralising the enemy, because all the things which had been done by Ndlebe were assumed to have been done by Chaka, for no one knew that they were Ndlebe’s doing. The women’s ululations when the armies entered the village were something never heard before. Dingiswayo came back to his royal place as a king and a conqueror who had scattered his enemies. Chaka’s name was spoken in praise by all the women, songs were sung for Chaka, songs were sung about Chaka. Dingiswayo retained his prisoner for a few days and then released him, and Zwide went home in peace just as if he had not been a prisoner, but just an ordinary visitor visiting Dingiswayo on a peaceful mission.
On that day, Chaka was promoted to commander of all Dingiswayo’s armies. In many subsequent wars he was sent alone in charge of the armies while the king remained at home; but even when the king was present, he would give the command to Chaka and Chaka would be the one to pass it on to the armies.
CHAPTER 11
The Death of Senzangakhona
WHILE DINGISWAYO was busy scattering the nations, Senzangakhona for his part was living a very unhappy life since he was the one person who persecuted Dingiswayo in his youth, and actually wished to see him killed. And now when he saw that same Dingiswayo, with his son, Chaka, continuing to rise, and to lay nations low, he was afraid, he trembled, as he thought that Dingiswayo was going to take his revenge on him; moreover, Dingiswayo did not even invite him when he was going into battle, nor did he ask him to look after the village at those times. Senzangakhona’s senior wives spared no pains in ensuring that Nandi’s name would be wiped off the list of his wives, and that any linking of her name with Senzangakhona’s would be on a level no higher than that of a concubine. Mfokazana tried hard to capture the people’s hearts. He made people gifts of cattle, his court sentences were light, and he even reduced the amount of labour the people were expected to contribute to the king as in hoeing and weeding the king’s fields. He made himself their genuine friend, one who sympathised with them, with the sole purpose that they should think of him when his father died.
Chaka for his part stayed where he was, at Dingiswayo’s, troubling no one. He constantly thought about the past affairs of his life. These days he had no sense of frustration as he saw that without doubt he would obtain his father’s kingship because all the things which Isanusi had predicted had happened exactly as he had predicted them, and that had made Chaka believe in him unquestioningly. Ndlebe was sitting next to him, sprawled in a careless manner, his mouth half open in a lifeless grin, so that the flies went in and out of it at will. He was drooling at the mouth, the saliva hanging downwards. He looked like a fool of fools, and was, besides, snoring right there where he was sleeping in the middle of the day, looking like a carcase.
As Chaka was thinking these thoughts we have just described, he looked at Ndlebe, and at that very moment Ndlebe woke up, and he scratched himself, ploughing into his flesh with his nails with that half-yawning grin just like a dog scratching itself with its hind leg. He yawned exactly like a dog that had just woken up from sleep, and he looked this way and that, and then began to get up, raising himself with his hands while his loins remained on the ground, twisted. He looked at Chaka and his ears suddenly stood up and became like little caves, and listened, and then he got up and walked away. He walked with clumsy steps like an imbecile, with the strands of his many-plaited hair hanging down on all sides, and his little blanket of dry hide barely covering his hips. When he returned he told Chaka that he (Chaka) had been plotted against by Dingiswayo’s paternal uncle and two other men, for the uncle had been greatly hurt when he saw Chaka being raised above him in rank. Chaka reported this to Dingiswayo and it was those plotters who were killed instead of Chaka.
Late afternoon that same day, as the shadows lengthened, Chaka saw Ndlebe stiffen his ears like a dog picking up a scent and off he went in a fine trot exactly like a dog trotting with its nose in the air when it is attracted by a scent, and he went in a westerly direction. The sun set, then it was night, and eventually the next day dawned and the sun of that day even set again and Ndlebe was still gone without a trace. When the third day dawned he returned and he was covered with dew like a wild dog. He signalled to Chaka with his eyes to come to him, and when they were alone together he said: “I bring you very painful news today, even though I believe that it should make you happy. Your father, Senzangakhona,
is dead.” Chaka’s thoughts flitted sorrowfully from one thing to another, and he shivered, since his father was still very young when he died and was, according to man’s self-delusion, as yet far from the grave. He imagined, on this occasion, that his brothers would share their father’s inheritance among themselves, leaving him aside. Chaka was not one to entertain grief for long, so he straightaway went to tell Dingiswayo while this matter was still fresh.
“I understand,” said Dingiswayo, “and I’m very sad at the death of my father’s subject, but since I do not hear about it through a messenger sent by his councillors or his sons, it is something about which I am, in the circumstances, not able to do anything. You stay calm, and let us see what happens; these are human affairs, they will, no doubt, bring themselves to us.”
Senzangakhona’s sons reported their father’s death to Dingiswayo when they had already buried him by themselves, and were merely informing him, whereas if he had been notified in time, he would have sent an emissary with his condolences. Besides, the report should have been accompanied by a young heifer. The day the mourning cords were removed, which was done sooner than was proper since the sons were impatient to acquire their father’s estate, the councillors gathered the nation together and pointed to Mfokazana, saying: “There is the child of your king, take him and look well after him. He has younger brothers, namely Dingana and Mhlangana. Them too you must keep. And you too, children of the king, you must obey your elder brother and respect him, and let him work through you in all his affairs and all his errands.”
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