Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika

The song became a pan-African liberation song and versions of it were later adopted as the national anthems of five countries in Africa including Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia and Zimbabwe after independence, and South Africa after the end of apartheid. The song's melody is still used as the national anthem of Tanzania and the national anthem of Zambia (Zimbabwe and Namibia have since changed to new anthems with other melodies).

In 1994, Nelson Mandela decreed that the verse of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" be embraced as a joint national anthem of South Africa; a revised version additionally including elements of "Die Stem" (the then co-state anthem inherited from the previous apartheid government) was adopted in 1997. This new South African national anthem is sometimes referred to as "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" although it is not its official name.

The hymn is also often considered the unofficial African "national" anthem. According to anthropologist David Coplan: " "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" has come to symbolize more than any other piece of expressive culture the struggle for African unity and liberation in South Africa."

History

"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a teacher at a Methodist mission school near Johannesburg. It consisted of a single stanza in Xhosa and was intended to be sung as a hymn. Written in B-flat major, it had a four-part harmony supporting a repetitive melody characteristic of "both Western hymn composition and indigenous South African melodies." It was first publicly sung at the ordination of John Hlengani Mboweni as a pastor in 1899. Rev. Mboweni made first translation to Xitsonga in the same year. In 1927 seven additional Xhosa stanzas were added by the poet Samuel Mqhayi. The hymn 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. "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" was first published in 1927. The song was the official anthem for the African National Congress during the apartheid era and was a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement. 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 masses. Because of its connection to the ANC, the song was banned by the regime during the apartheid era.

Use today

South Africa

In 1994, after the end 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" (English: "The Call of South Africa") would be national anthems. While the inclusion of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" celebrated the newfound freedom of most South Africans, the fact that "Die Stem" was also retained even after the fall of apartheid, represented the desire of the new government led by Mandela to respect all races and cultures in an all-inclusive new era dawning upon South Africa. During this period, the custom was to play "Die Stem" together with "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" during occasions that required the playing of a national anthem.

In 1996, a shortened, combined version of the two compositions was released as the new national anthem of South Africa under the constitution of South Africa and was adopted the following year. This version 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 verbatim section of the former South African national anthem, "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika", and is sung in Afrikaans. The fourth and final stanza, sung in English, is a modified version of the closing lines of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika".

The South African National Anthem is often incorrectly called "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" but the correct name is "The National Anthem of South Africa".

Tanzania

A Swahili translation of "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" with partially modified lyrics has been used as the national anthem of Tanzania under the name of "Mungu ibariki Afrika" since 1961. This makes it the first national anthem to be based on the tune.

The translation was written to replace the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen" and was first officially performed on 8 December 1961, during a celebration of coming independence of Tanganyika from the British Empire. 75,000 people gathered in the newly constructed national stadium in Dar es Salaam on the evening of independence, including first Prime Minister Julius Nyerere, Governor-General Sir Richard Turnbull, and Prince Philip representing Queen Elizabeth. Near midnight, Nyerere and Turnbull walked to a flagpole in the middle of the field and as light were dimmed, the British Union Jack was lowered and "God Save the Queen" played for the final time. Then a spotlight lit the new flag of green, gold and black as it was hoisted and a band played "Mungu ibariki Afrika".

The song was continued to be used as the national anthem after Tanganyika merged with Zanzibar in 1964 to become the modern country of Tanzania.