"" is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

. It is a compromise between

Swazi Swazi may refer to: * Swazi people, a people of southeastern Africa * Swazi language * Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked coun ...

and Western styles of music and was adopted after independence in 1968. The lyrics were authored by Andrease Enoke Fanyana Kukies Simelane, and the composer of the tune was David Kenneth Rycroft.

History

At the time of Swaziland's upcoming independence from the United Kingdom on 6 September 1968, a new flag was adopted, and it was decided to set up an Anthem Committee and hold a 'National Anthem Competition'. Firstly, a local competition for suitable lyrics in siSwati was held, then a competition for the best musical settings was advertised in ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainze ...

'' in London in early 1967, offering a prize for the winner, with composers being invited to apply to Swaziland's Ministry of Local Administration. Applicants received the lyrics 10 months later around October 1967, which were in two forms, as the judges had not been able to agree on a single text. With the competition's closing date by 1968, on 1 November 1967 the Ministry issued a circular updating on their progress in the search for lyrics, now narrowed down to the two proposals, and music, still open to submissions. The Ministry stated that the lyrics were to be decided after the musical settings had been judged. Composers could submit music for one or both verses. The judges eventually narrowed down to four settings of the lyrics to music, which were then each recorded and performed by the choir of the Ionian Music Society of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. The Cabinet was then to decide on which to adopt as the national anthem, but members of the Cabinet wished to hear live performances by a local choir. They requested the choir of Waterford School in

Mbabane Mbabane (; ss, ÉMbábáne, ) is a city in Eswatini (previously called Swaziland), and is one of the two capitals (along with Lobamba), serving as the executive capital. With an estimated population of 94,874 (2010), it is located on the Mbaba ...

to sing the four settings for them on 9 July 1968. Ultimately, David K. Rycroft's setting of verse A was chosen as the winner. On 16 August 1968, it was reported in ''The Times of Swaziland'' that Deputy Prime Minister Mfundza Sukati had announced that a choral version of the new anthem would be played on Radio Swaziland every day until Independence Day to give people a chance to learn the anthem. Sukati stated that the words were written by Andrease Fanyana Kukies Simelane of Jerusalem School, near

Hlatikulu Hlatikulu is a town located in the Shiselweni Shiselweni is a region of Eswatini, located in the south of the country. It has an area of 3,786.71 km² and a population of 204,111 (2017). Its administrative center is Nhlangano. It borders ...

. He also stated that a member of the British

Royal Military School of Music The Royal Military School of Music (RMSM) trains musicians for the British Army's fourteen regular bands, as part of the Royal Corps of Army Music. Until August 2021, the school was based at Kneller Hall in Twickenham, however it moved to HMS ...

had arranged a musical score based on David Rycroft's setting, which was recorded by the Band of the Irish Guards.

Lyrics

The anthem includes several typically Swazi features, such as intricate

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

, the principle of 'non-simultaneous entry' of voice parts; certain melodic and harmonic allusions to traditional practice; and a relatively strict adherence to Swazi prosodic conventions, the rhythmic setting of words to music.

Notes

References

External links

Audio of the national anthem of Swaziland, with information and lyricsarchive link
{{National Anthems of Africa African anthems Swazi music National symbols of Eswatini National anthem compositions in A-flat major Royal anthems