Queens and Mothers of Afre Kh: Nandi, Queen-Mother of the Zulu King (South Africa)
Queen Nandi (meaning: The sweet one) Ndlovukazi kaBhebe became the 3rd wife of Zulu King Senzangakhona Kajama after he took advantage of her and she became pregnant with her son Shaka. The circumstances of the union however made both Shaka and his mother the subject of ridicule within the palace courts, so Nandi fled the palace. The stigma continued to haunt Nandi and her son after she returned to her people, the eLangeni, causing them to flee once again. Nandi’s flight to Qwabe resulted in her second marriage and the birth of both a son and daughter. Feeling unwelcome once again,Nandi fled yet again. Finally, Nandi and her children found a home among the Mthethwa (Mtetwa) people. Chief Dingiswayo adopted Shaka, enrolled him in the army where his proven military prowess led him to rise to succeed the Chief after his demise in 1817. Two years prior to the assassination of Dingiswayo, Shaka’s father, King Senzangakhona of the Zulu people died, following which Shaka seized the throne.
Since Shaka was unmarried, he made his mother Queen and gave her unrivaled power. Plagued by a lifetime of rejection, Nandi once named the sweet one, became foul-tempered, seeking out and avenging herself on all those who had bullied and maltreated her and her family in the past. Queen Nandi enjoyed riding on elephants as a mark of her power and with her by his side as Queen, King Shaka grew the Zulu kingdom and its army into a legendary 40-000 man-strong military force, including an elite group of female warriors modeled after his warring mother.
Queen Nandi died at the age of 60 years old in 1827. Her death literally drove Shaka to madness. The king ordered full year of mourning, issuing a decree that no children were to be born during the period of mourning. Pregnant women were put to death along with their husbands. He ordered farming to cease during the year of mourning and all milk was to be disposed of, resulting in a food scarcity and the death of 7000 people. Shaka buried ten virgins along with his mother and stations 12000 soldiers to guard her graveside. His excesses stirred up a rebellion, leading to the assassination of the King a year later.
