Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
English: Lord Bless Africa

National anthem of  South Africa
 Tanzania


Lyrics Enoch Sontonga, 1897
Music Enoch Sontonga, 1897
Adopted 1961 (Tanzania)
1963 (Transkei)
1994 (South Africa)

Music sample
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (Instrumental)

"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" (Xhosa pronunciation: [ŋkʼɔsi sikʼɛlɛl‿iafrikʼa], "Lord Bless Africa") is a hymn originally composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Xhosa clergyman at a Methodist mission school near Johannesburg. The song became a pan-African liberation anthem and was later adopted as the national anthem of five countries in Africa including Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia and Zimbabwe after independence. Zimbabwe and Namibia have since adopted new national anthems. The song is currently the national anthem of Tanzania and, since 1994, a portion of the national anthem of South Africa.

History

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was originally composed as a hymn in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a teacher at a Methodist mission school near Johannesburg. He based the melody on the hymn tune 'Aberystwyth' by Joseph Parry.[1] The words of the first stanza and chorus were originally written in Xhosa as a hymn. In 1927 seven additional Xhosa stanzas[2] were added by the poet Samuel Mqhayi. Sontonga originally composed the hymn in B-flat major with a four-part harmony supporting a repetitive melody characteristic of "both Western hymn composition and indigenous South African melodies."[3] The hymn became popular in South African churches and was taken up by the choir of Ohlange High School, whose co-founder served as the first president of the South African Native National Congress. It was sung to close the Congress meeting in 1912, and by 1925 it had become the official closing anthem of the organisation, now known as the African National Congress.[4] "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was first published in 1927.[4] The song was the official anthem for the African National Congress during the apartheid era and was a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement.[5] For decades during the apartheid regime it was considered by many to be the unofficial national anthem of South Africa, representing the suffering of the oppressed. Because of its connection to the ANC, the song was banned by the regime during the apartheid era.[6]

Current national anthem

South Africa

In 1994 after the fall of apartheid, the new President of South Africa Nelson Mandela declared that both "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the previous national anthem, "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" ("The Call of South Africa") would be national anthems. While the inclusion of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" celebrated the newfound freedom of many South Africans, the fact that "Die Stem" was also kept as an anthem even after the fall of apartheid, signified to all that the new government under Mandela respected all races and cultures and that an all-inclusive new era was dawning upon South Africa. In 1996, a shortened, combined version of the two anthems was released as the new national anthem of South Africa under the constitution of South Africa. The anthem uses several of the official languages of South Africa. The first two lines of the first stanza are sung in Xhosa and the last two in Zulu. The second stanza is sung in Sesotho. The third stanza consists of a section of the original South African national anthem, Die Stem van Suid-Afrika, and is sung in Afrikaans. The fourth and final stanza, sung in English, is also based on Die Stem van Suid-Afrika.

Tanzania

Main article: Mungu ibariki Afrika

A Swahili version of the hymn (Mungu ibariki Afrika) is the national anthem of Tanzania.

Former national anthem

Zambia

The hymn was the national anthem of Zambia from independence in 1964 until 1973 when the lyrics were replaced by Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free set to the same hymn tune of Aberystwyth.[7]

Zimbabwe

'Ishe Komborera Africa' was the Zimbabwean version of 'God Bless Africa' sung in the Shona and Ndebele languages and was its first national anthem, adopted after the country gained independence in 1980.

It was replaced in 1994 by Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe (Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe), but still remains very popular in the country.

Namibia

"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was used provisionally as the national anthem of Namibia at time of the country's independence in March 1990. But soon after, an official contest was organised for a new national anthem. It was won by Axali Doeseb, who wrote "Namibia, Land of the Brave" which was officially adopted on the first anniversary of the country's independence on 21 March 1990.

Other countries and organisations

In other African countries throughout southern Africa, the song was sung as part of the anti-colonial movements. It includes versions in Chichewa (Malawi and Zambia). Outside of Africa, the hymn is perhaps best known as the long-time (since 1925) anthem of the African National Congress (ANC), as a result of the global anti-Apartheid Movement of the 1970s and 1980s, when it was regularly sung at meetings and other events.

In Finland the same melody is used as the children's psalm "Kuule, Isä taivaan, pyyntö tää" (Hear, Heavenly Father). The hymn has appeared in Virsikirja, the hymnbook of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, with lyrics by Jaakko Löytty.[8]

Lyrics

Original

Xhosa English
Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyis' uphondo lwayo
Yiva imithandazo yethu
Nkosi sikelela, Thina lusapho lwayo

Chorus

Yehla Moya, Yehla Moya,
Yehla Moya Oyingcwele
Lord, bless Africa
May her horn rise high up
Hear Thou our prayers
And bless us.

Chorus

Descend, O Spirit
Descend, O Holy Spirit

Current

Xhosa and Zulu English Afrikaans (as per Elvis Blue's version)
Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo
Yiva imithandazo yethu
Nkosi Sikelela Nkosi Sikelela

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo
Yizwa imithandazo yethu
Nkosi Sikelela
Thina lusapho lwayo.

Chorus

Yihla moya, yihla moya
Yihla moya oyingcwele
Nkosi Sikelela
Thina lusapho lwayo.

(Repeat)
Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us, Lord bless us.

Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us
Your family.

Chorus

Descend, O Spirit
Descend, O Holy Spirit
Lord bless us
Your family.

(Repeat)
Seën ons Here God, Seën Afrika

Laat haar mag tot in die Hemelryk

Hoor ons as ons in gebede vra

Seën ons, in Afrika

Kinders van Afrika

Hou U hand oor Heer, oor Afrika

Lei ons tot by eenheid en begrip

Hoor ons as ons U om vrede vra

Seën ons, in Afrika

Kinders van Afrika

Chorus

Daal Heer O Gees, Heilige Gees

Daal Heer O Gees, Heilige Gees

Kom woon in ons, lei ons, O Heilige Gees

Seën ons Here God, Seën Afrika

Neem dan nou die boosheid van ons weg

Maak ons van ons sonde ewe vry

Seën ons, in Afrika

Kinders van Afrika

(Repeat)

Recordings

Solomon Plaatje, one of South Africa's greatest writers and a founding member of the ANC, was the first to have the song recorded in London, 1923. A Sotho version was published in 1942 by Moses Mphahlele. Rev. John Langalibalele Dube's Ohlange Zulu Choir popularised the hymn at concerts in Johannesburg, and it became a popular church hymn that was also adopted as the anthem at political meetings.

In Kenya, Mang'u High School uses a translation, Mungu Ibariki Mang'u High, as its school anthem.

It has also been recorded by Paul Simon and Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Boom Shaka, Osibisa, Oliver Mtukudzi (the Shona version that was once the anthem of Zimbabwe) and the Mahotella Queens. Boom Shaka, a prominent South African kwaito group,formed the anthem in kwaito style, a popular South African genre influenced by house music. The interpretation was controversial, and it was viewed by some as a commercial subversion of the anthem; Boom Shaka counter by stating that their version represents liberation and introduces the song to younger listeners.

South African Idols-winner Elvis Blue recorded an Afrikaans translation of the song with Afrikaans singer Coenie de Villiers entitled "Seëngebed" ("Lord's Blessing") on his 3rd studio album "Afrikaans".

See also

References

  1. "An Anthem To Ignorance – The Case of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika". The Anton Mostert Chair of Intellectual Property [Stellenbosch University]. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  2. Bennetta Jules-Rosette. "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika". Etudesafricaines.revues.org. doi:10.4000/etudesafricaines.4631. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  3. Redmond, Shana L. (2014). Anthem: Social Movements and the Sound of Solidarity in the African Diaspora. New York: New York University Press. p. 225. ISBN 9781243646545.
  4. 1 2 "Enoch Mankayi Sontonga". South African History Online. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  5. "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AFRICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE. VOLUME IV – THE COLONIAL ERA (1850 TO 1960)". Scribd.com. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  6. http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/dec/06/nelson-mandela-protest-song-special-aka
  7. "National Anthem Act, Cap 7". Zambia Legal Information Institute. 14 September 1973. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  8. "Taustakuvaus virrestä 501". evl.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2016-08-20.

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