Books On Shaka, The Zulu

All it took and still counting were 11 authors including a poet to write 11 books on Shaka,the Zulu warrior and King who lived and reigned in the 19th century in South Africa.
They include the pioneer writer, Thomas Mofolo 1925, E A Ritter 1955, Donald R Morris 1965, Mazizi Kunene 1979,  Diane Stanley 1988, Carolyn Hamilton 1998, Dan Wylie 2006,Walton Golightly 2011,  Joshua Sinclair 2013, Luke Molver 2019 and Lynn Bedford.
The novels are all on one subject…King Shaka and tell of the origins of the Zulu nation ,his birth, trials,rise to power, victories and death.
The first author, Thomas Mofolo from Lesotho who started the series took about three years to do his research between 1907 to 1910. The write-up was supported by the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society.However, the novel was not published until 1925 in the Sotho language of the author. The English translation was done in 1931.
The delay in the publication by 15 years was due to the publisher’s being disturbed by the author”s refusal to condemn what is interpreted as pagan customs potrayed in the novel. According to research, some vital chapters on Zulu traditions deemed to be too fetish were removed from the completed manuscript submitted for publication. This were some of the reasons that frustrated Mofolo from writing more books. But despite all these setbacks, the novel became a regional and international bestseller and in 2002, Shaka was named as one of the 12 best works of African literature by a panel organized by Professor Ali Mazrui as part of the Zimbabwe international book fair.
Mofolo’s approach and style is totally different from others as his use of oral tradition is unique. His narrative flows easily and reminds one of the moonlight settings of the real African environment where a grandmother will gather little children and tell them of the happenings of the years of of old. Although some critics might be of the view that his version was too harsh on the shaka story is really entertaining and if seen through the lens of the 19th century, there is nothing wrong with it. The story tells of events as they ought to be in the then Zulu society.
A careful look at the history of Shaka shows that he had a troubled childhood which made him to be fearless in life.
Shaka is also said to be emotionally attached to his mother who was his Chief adviser and her early death later led to his erratic behavior few years before he was killed by his half-brothers.
Although he could be described as merciless, he had soft spot for his brothers which was his undoing.
Almost all the authors agree that Shaka between the ages of 12 and 18 had battled hyenas and lions and emerged victorious while his age mates were yet to venture into the wilderness on their own.
Although where the narratives differ from the various authors is not too worrisome they basically agree that he was a war genius. He could be described as cruel, sadistic or tyrannical .It is like telling an Arab slave trader in the 9th century that what he is doing is evil.
While E A Ritter, Joshua Sinclair and Luke Molver have some similar approach in there narratives, Diane Stanley, Lyn Bedford Hall and Carolyn Hamilton styles are a bit different as their writeup range from the political system to modern interpretation of what happened in the 19th century.
The novels on King Shaka no matter who is the author remains one of the best narratives of African story telling ranging from the moonlight styles of traditional societies to entertain new ways of story telling by using illustration and films.
I will recommend lovers of African literature to read any of the versions that catches their fancy.