Senzangakhona kaJama

King Senzangakhona kaJama (c. 1762 – 1816) was the king of the Zulu Kingdom, and primarily notable as the father of three Zulu kings who ruled during the period when the Zulus achieved prominence, led by his oldest son King Shaka.

Biography

His father was chief Jama kaNdaba and his mother was Mthaniya Sibiya. He succeeded on his father's death. During the chieftaincy of Senzangakhona, the Zulus were a small clan in the Mthethwa confederation which was ruled by Dingiswayo.

Senzangakhona’s name is derived from the Zulu word meaning "he who acts with a good reason".

Although the Zulus practised ritual circumcision, the practice was slowly dying out. Senzangakhona and Shaka were not circumcised, marking this trend in Zulu culture. Glyn Charles Hewson. 1970. ''Shaka's kingship and the rise of the Zulu state, 1795-1828'', page 67. University of Wisconsin--Madison.

Wives and children

Senzangakhona married at least sixteen women by which he had fourteen known sons. His daughters were not recorded.

Nandi kaBhebhe eLangeni (Nandi, daughter of Bhebhe, from eLangeni district), bore him his first son Shaka, said to have been conceived during an act of ''ukuhlobonga'', a form of ''coitus interruptus'' without penetration allowed to unmarried couples at a time known as "the fun of the roads" (amahlaya endlela), but the lovers became carried away.E. A. Ritter, ''Shaka Zulu: The Rise of the Zulu Empire'', Longmans Green, London, 1955, pp.11-14. Nandi and Shaka were initially accepted into Senzangakhona's kraal, and she was treated as a lesser wife. As she was not his Great Wife, Shaka was not the heir. Senzangakhona was unwilling to acknowledge Nandi as his chief consort, an important status symbol among the amaZulu. He did have another child with her, Shaka's sister Nomcoba. Mkabi, the Great Wife, did, however, treat Nandi well. Nevertheless, Nandi's relationship with Senzangakhona eventually deteriorated, so she and Shaka were forced to leave the kraal.

His official heir was his son Sigujana. Bhibhi kaSompisi Ntuli was one of Senzangakhona's wives. However, Sigujana's reign was short as Shaka with the help of his ally Dingiswayo and his half brother Ngwadi had Sigujana assassinated. Shaka then raised the chieftaincy into a kingdom and became its first king.

His sixth wife, Mpikase kaMlilela Ngobese, bore Dingane, who took over the Zulu kingdom after assassinating his half-brother Shaka in 1828 at present-day Stanger.

His ninth wife, Songiya kaNgotsha Hlabisa, bore Mpande, who became king when he overthrew Dingane in 1840. Mpande was the only son to bear him grandchildren. Mpande’s son Cetshwayo was in some aspects the last great king of the Zulus before the British Empire invaded their territory.

In culture

Senzangakhona is played by Conrad Magwaza in the TV miniseries ''Shaka Zulu''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senzangakhona Kajama
1762 births
1816 deaths
Zulu kings
18th-century monarchs in Africa
19th-century monarchs in Africa
History of KwaZulu-Natal