From the onset, Shaka displayed open disdain for the traditional Nguni methods of waging war. Hitherto, warriors from rival hosts would face each other across open ground, and individual warriors would step forth to giya - dance and sing challenges to the enemy.
Once a challenge was accepted, warriors would hurl light iron throwing spears at each other. These could be deflected by oval shields of cowhide. Once a few single combats had been fought, the battle would become general until one side won.
The iklwa
Shaka took the old throwing spear, shortened the shaft and had blacksmith’s lengthen and broaden the blade. The result was the iklwa, a stabbing spear whose onomatopoeic name denoted the sucking sound it made when tugged from human flesh, a sound sometimes likened to a boot in thick mud.
Shaka also increased the size of his shields and developed a system for using his new spear. He would close with an adversary, lock the left side of his shield over the left side of his opponents shield and give a sharp leftward tug, thus dragging his foe’s shield across to the right and exposing his left armpit to a sideways strike with the iklwa.
When Shaka became King of the Zulu, he imposed his innovations upon the men under his command. He also forced his men to throw away their sandals, to enable them to move more swiftly across the landscape. This caused grumbling, which Shaka silenced by forcing his warriors to dance barefoot upon thorns and executing those who showed signs of discomfort or pain.
He also reorganised the regimental pattern. Men were regimented according to age, thus all men of one particular impi or regiment were of a similar age. Young warriors were kept in enforced celibacy in military kraals and were not allowed to marry until they had ‘washed their spears’ in the blood of an enemy.
Each impi took advantage of the natural colouration of ox hide to create their own regimental colours. Regiments were instantly recognisable from the colour of their shields. They also had their own insignia, using cow tails and feathers of various birds.
Zulu tactics
Shaka drilled his troops mercilessly, using death as a punishment for negligence or flagging enthusiasm. He often subjected them to forced marches of forty to fifty miles a day. He taught them the bulls horns - an envelopment tactic whereby the foe were encircled before being destroyed. Discipline was total and severely enforced.
Some historians now claim that the Zulus retained their throwing spears and used them in conjunction with their iklwa in much the same way as the Romans followed up volleys of pila - javelins - with an assault with the gladius, the roman short sword. There is, however, very little evidence from contemporary sources to indicate that this ever occurred.
Shaka’s methods shocked most of the tribes he encountered and veteran warriors found them difficult to stomach. However, they were accepted - Shaka’s ferocious lack of compromise and the fact that his methods brought total victory soon convinced those he commanded and any who disagreed either maintained a discreet silence or were executed.
Before Shaka, few clans had fought each other to a total standstill and bloodshed was unknown on a colossal scale. Shaka introduced the concept of total war - fighting for annihilation or total subjugation of the foe - to the Nguni tribes of Natal.
His methods and doctrine were to make the Zulu the most feared tribal army ever encountered on African soil.
The Washing of the Spears The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation
Donald R Morris
Pimlico Edition, 1994
Shaka - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
