When Mzansi Magic announced it was producing a rendition of the story of Shaka Zulu, I was excited, and a sea of nostalgia welled up within me. Immediately, I thought of the Shaka Zulu story we had come to know and love as kids. I guess naturally, as that is the audio-visual reference I have, my mind quickly went into critique mode, I started worrying about the execution and whether this production would live up to the standard that had already been set. I was concerned about the possibility of my childhood experience and knowledge being tainted by yet another bad spin-off. There was a lot of speculation around what to expect - we waited and waited, the release was postponed, and then finally, the official release date was announced and from what I have seen, this show is worth the wait we have endured. From the cast to the cinematography, the raw emotion portrayed by the characters and the riveting storyline, in the deep intertextual references to historical events, this is undoubtedly one production worth watching. This show has a wide audience appeal, but if you have an interest in South African History, Heritage or just love good television with a good dose of “bathong ba Modimo!” you will definitely enjoy this.
Having grown up in the 90’s the face of Henry Cele was what I associated with the name – Shaka Zulu! A boisterous stern face, probably the strongest man in the world. Even for a non-Zulu speaker, Shaka was a real force to be reckoned with. This was the most prominent representation of courageous or strong and triumphant black figures. For the longest time, I actually thought the story of Shaka was a documentary and actual footage of his life. Of course, that was before I fully grasped the concept of TV. That was how real it all felt to me. Shaka was what Black Panther has come to symbolise. That is quite telling of the artistry that went into putting the production together. Beyond the performance, what stood out for me, was how powerful a tool the film Shaka Zulu was in teaching a history; telling a story and imprinting a memory that has become such a big part of my own personal memory alongside our national history. To this day, Shaka has a face, he has a story, he is not merely a fictitious fable told to kids to scare them, or dinaane told around a fire merely to entertain, when I read history books and see his name, there is a story I can cross reference.
The pre-screening teaser of Shaka Ilembe gave me excitement and hope to hold on to, what my younger
siblings and their peers will grasp from it, the conversations it will open up
and the knowledge it will impart. While there is a lot to be discovered about
the series when it comes out, I am glad that it is holding space for the exploration
of cultural knowledge and practices, and will ignite discussions and debates that will inspire people to find out more about the history of Shaka Zulu and
SA history as a whole. I am looking
forward to, and routing for the new face of Shaka – Lemogang Tsipa – that the current generation can relate to. It is also exciting to see South African oral
traditions receiving due attention in more mainstream media and taking centre
stage. This story is the culmination of oral tales, family histories, cultural
artefacts, histories and experiences, shared and documented in many different
mediums— songs, novels, films, documentaries, books, pictures, paintings and
drawings. Art keeps our memories alive; it allows constant communication
between spaces and time. What a way to commemorate Africa Month, an opportunity
to look back into our history, and carry the pride and wisdom of our past
actions, good and bad, and let those lead us to a better future
collectively, through our awareness of ourselves and each other.
So, as we close off Africa Month and cross
over to Archive Month, this is a very fitting story to reflect on.
Shaka Ilembe will air on June 18th at 8pm
on DSTV Channel 161 – Mzansi Magic.
