Queen Nandi Zulu was the birth mother of the legendary King Shaka of the Zulu Nation. She was born in 1760 in Melmoth, located in present-day KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Her birth name was Nandi Ka Bhebhe and her father was a chief of the Langeni nation – this is to say that she was born with royal blood.
Little is known about her early childhood partly due to the period in which she was born, a time when written documentations were scarce as a result of very few people being literate. However, history has it that Nandi Ka Bhebhe fell pregnant out of wedlock in her youth. She was impregnated by Senzangakhona, King Jama’s son. This situation was frowned at as of then, especially for someone from a royal lineage. That is, being the daughter of a chief, she was expected to be a role model to commoners and this meant not allowing herself to be in the family way without a husband.
Did Queen Nandi Marry Shaka’s Father?
When Nandi’s people – the Mhlongo of Elangeni, broke the news of her pregnancy to the Jamas, they were greeted with ridicule. The Jamas sent them a message through Mudli Zulu, a senior family member alleging that Nandi was not pregnant but was suffering from a stomach problem caused by the bug known as iShaka which often makes one’s stomach feel bloated and can affect a woman’s menstrual cycle. This inconsiderate response angered Nandi’s people, causing them to demand that the Jamas pay damages to Nandi for putting her in a family way without marrying her. This allegation also made Nandi name her son Shaka to spite those who mocked her pregnancy.
Nandi, being a formidable woman, led the negotiations for the payment of the damages requested by her people for the untraditional situation that Senzangakhona had put her in. The Jamas eventually availed themselves for negotiations to avoid conflict with the Elangeni people. Nandi demanded 55 herds of cattle and this was paid to her people. While this payment was not documented as marriage rites, it conferred traditional paternal rights on Senzangakhona over Nandi’s unborn child. Hence, Shaka was able to have his father’s last name. Some sources claim Senzangakhona married Nandi but there has not been any explicit proof of that. However, after paying damages to the Mhlongo for Nandi as tradition demanded, the relationship between Senzangakhona and Nandi remained mutual. More so, it was gathered that Senzangakhona loved Nandi deeply and that getting her pregnant in the manner he did was an accident. This could be true because Nandi was at Senzangakhona’s kraal for a long time after their son was born.
Unfortunately, Nandi’s relationship with Senzangakhona began to grow sour. She later left his kraal and returned to her people but did not take her son with her. Young Shaka remained at his father’s kraal after his mother returned to her people. However, as time progressed, the kraal became unsafe for the young Zulu prince and he was returned to his mother. Nandi had to raise her son as a single parent and did her best to protect him from enemies who continually tried to assassinate him as well as shield him from being ridiculed as an illegitimate child. More so, she had to do whatever it took to put food on the table because there was great famine at the time.
