Day 9 Isandlwana 8.9.2010

We hopped into the car today and left the Drakensburg behind. We were heading towards a game park called Umfolozi. On the way we decided to travel to Isandlwana, an isolated hill southeast of Rorke’s Drift, northwest of Durban. On January 22, 1879, this lonely hill was to bear witness to the Battle of Isandlwana where the Zulu impi’s (warriors) defeated the British forces in the Anglo-Zulu War.

Lead by Cetshwayo, the Zulu army surrounded the British forces and wiped them out using Zulu War tactics carrying the notorious assegai (spear) and iklwa (short stabbing blade). The Zulu’s were skilled and fearless warriors. Shaka Zulu had been the Zulu leader from 1816 to 1828. During this time, he revolutionalised the Zulu military, introducing new tactics such as the Horns of the Buffalo. This tactic was used by the impi’s at the Battle of Isandlwana. Originally used by the Zulu’s to hunt animals, the army formation split their forces into four elements, each representing a part of the buffalo. The chest of the buffalo engaged the enemy head on, the horns on either side surrounded the enemy, the loins held back as they were older, experienced warriors and were only called upon if absolutely necessary.

I walked around part of the expansive valley where this battle had taken place. Maybe it was my imagination but the spirits of the slain warriors seemed to be whirling around in the crisp air over the grassland. I could see for miles. The hills where the impi would have ambushed the British surrounded the one-time battlefield. My imagination was fuelled with adrenalin as I tried to imagine the war cries and thunder of feet as the warriors raced towards their target.

Scattered throughout the valley were piles of rocks painted white. Here lay the bodies of the dead British soldiers. Weeks after the battle, the surviving soldiers returned to bury their dead. They returned to Isandlwana, greeted by the site of disembowelled men. The Zulu warriors disembowelled the soldiers they killed in order to release the soul of the dead soldier. I wonder if the British knew of this tradition? I doubt it. They probably thought the action was barbaric. It must have been fairly scary.

I walked towards a group of headstones that commemorated the dead British soldiers. One read “In memory of James Adrian Blaikie, eldest son of the late Anthony Adrian Blaikie, formerly of -----, a volunteer trooper in the Natal Carbineers. Killed here in battle 22^nd January 1879. Aged 19 years. I felt sad, thinking that such a young person had died so tragically. I also thought about the thousands of impi’s who would have been killed on the same day who would remain nameless. A bronze memorial stood at the entrance to the field commemorating the Zulu’s who had died at the Battle of Isandlwana. I wondered about all the young men’s families from both sides and how their lives must have been torn apart at the loss of a brother, son, father. My heart felt heavy as we head towards the car to continue our journey.

Kobus’ dad had given us a CD by a historian called David Rattray and told us it was worth a listen to. We put the CD on. David Rattray’s smooth and passionate voice took us on an emotive audio tour of different aspects of the Anglo-Zulu War. At first I thought that listening to more historical facts about battles would lower my mood even more, but to be honest, it had the opposite effect. Rattray’s love for South African history and his passion for reconciliation among the differing groups of people in South Africa was the perfect soundtrack as I gazed out the car window, taking in the idyllic African landscape, framed by the burning glow of the setting sun.