''African Litany'' is the second studio album from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n band

Juluka Juluka was a South African music band formed in 1969 by Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu. means "sweat" in Zulu, and was the name of a bull owned by Mchunu. The band was closely associated with the mass movement against apartheid. History At t ...

, released in 1981. It features lyrics sung in English and Zulu. The first track,

Impi is a Zulu word meaning war or combat and by association any body of men gathered for war, for example is a term denoting an army. were formed from regiments () from (large militarised homesteads). In English is often used to refer to a ...

, which became one of the band's hits, retells the story of the

Battle of Isandlwana The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zulul ...

, won by the Zulu, and was banned from the radio in South Africa at the time, but gained underground popularity. It remains a cult classic in South Africa and has now become mainstream to the point of often been associated with international sports events, in particular

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

Track listing

# "Impi" (Clegg) # "African Sky Blue" (Clegg, Mchunu) # "Jarusalema" (Clegg) # "African Litany" (Clegg) # "Bull-Man-Free" (Clegg, Mchunu) # "Gijim'beke" (Mchunu) # "Heart of the Dancer" (Clegg) # "High Country" (Clegg) # "Mama Shabalala" (Clegg) # "Thandiwe" (Mchunu)

Personnel

Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and anti-apartheid activist, some of whose work was in musicology focused on the music of indigenous South African people ...

- vocals, guitar *

Sipho Mchunu Sipho Mchunu (born 1951, Kranskop, South Africa) is best known for his work in the band Juluka from the 1970s to the 1980s. Mchunu's compositions, vocals and guitar work brought Zulu folk styles such as maskanda and mbaqanga to a wider audience ...

- guitar, percussion, vocals * Johnny Boshoff - bass guitar, percussion, vocals * Derek de Beer - drums, percussion, vocals *

Robbie Jansen Robert Edward Jansen (5 August 1949 – 7 July 2010) was a South African musician. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Biography Jansen began his career in the pop band The Rockets. The first instruments he played were concertina and mouth ...

- flute, saxophone, vocals ;Additional personnel * Umvovo Shelembe - vocals * Umncengeni Ngubane - vocals

References

{{Authority control 1981 albums Juluka albums