The royal women of the Zulu monarchy - through the keyhole of oral history : Princess Mkabayi Kajama (c.1750 - c.1843)
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Date
2014-01
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
Since the beginning of time, women have had a great share in shaping history by different means during different epochs.
Historians, following typical chauvinistic tendencies, wrote about women in a manner that considered them as inferior
citizens whose existence was limited to the confines of homes and the care of children. Despite this, Africa in general and
South Africa in particular, are replete with examples of female dynasties, regents and rulers who took up positions of
leadership through periods of nation-building and wars of resistance. Zulu culture is fraught with women, the most
important of whom were princess Mkabayi Kajama; Queen Nandi, the mother of Emperor Shaka and also Queen Monase
who contributed in shaping the Zulu monarchy behind the scenes to what it became in the late 18th and early 19th
centuries. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the contribution of Princess Mkabayi KaJama to the Zulu monarchy.
Historical and archival sources about the Zulu royal women provided information for this study. It was largely through the
keyhole of oral history or indigenous knowledge that one could comprehend what their thinking, character traits and
contributions were. Unravelling the important role played by Mkabayi in the Zulu monarchy and nation is assumed to the
major contribution of this paper.
Description
Peer reviewed article published under Inkanyiso, Volume 6, Issue 1, Jan 2014, p. 15- 22
Keywords
Princess Mkabayi KaJama, Zulu monarchy,, royal women
Citation
Shamase, M.Z., 2014. The royal women of the Zulu monarchy–through the keyhole of oral history: Princess Mkabayi Kajama (c. 1750–c. 1843). Inkanyiso: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(1), pp.15-22.