Rodrigo Orihuela’s recent post about the importance of national anthems in sports
reminded me that we South Africans need a new national anthem.
The swell of pride that I feel when I hear the opening strains of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika at a rugby Test match is replaced by intense shame when 35 000 white throats start roaring out Die Stem halfway into the song.
National anthems are patriotic songs that seek to reflect the unity, history and traditions of a country. Our anthem certainly reflects the history of our country but none of the unity that we strive to achieve. It is a mash-up of a song: one part glorious bilingual hymn, one part bilingual military march. The two exist uncomfortably side by side, separated by a key and time change. It’s an anthem that seeks to be everything to everyone and ends up leaving no one satisfied.
Enoch Sontonga’s Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika is a beautiful hymn that fully deserves to be recognised as one of the great anthems of all time. Unfortunately, Zambia and Tanzania gained their respective independence before South Africa and claimed it as their own. We need our own anthem. Die Stem has had its time — the only people who would truly be sorry to see it go will probably carry on singing the full version of it at secret meetings on rural farms where they plot the downfall of government over bottles of mampoer.
So how do we choose a new national anthem? One option is to hold a competition for South African composers to come up with an anthem. Programmes such as Idols and Pop Stars have taught us that musical contests and competitions are a pretty sure way to ensure a mediocre product. I suspect that we’d end up with something awful like My African Dream if we trod this route.
There is an elegant solution — one that would help correct one of the great musical injustices of all time in the process.
In 1939, a man named Solomon Linda composed a beautiful, haunting Zulu song called Mbube, which was bought by Gallo Music for 10 shillings and later exported to the United States. It was variously re-recorded and arranged into songs called Wimoweh and The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
Linda never enjoyed copyright protection for his work and died a pauper, while American composers like George Weiss who took the song and parlayed it off as their own work made tens of millions of dollars in royalties. Mbube was such a startlingly good piece of songwriting that the isicathamiya Zulu choral music sung by Linda and the Evening Bards and later made famous by Ladysmith Black Mambazo came to be known popularly as mbube music.
This song would be perfect for an anthem. It has one of the most recognisable and recorded melodies in the world. We could reclaim the song from the money-grabbing clutches of plagiarists like George Weiss and company, and at the same time the South African government could pay out Linda’s family with a nice, fat cheque that would go some way to redressing their past musical injustices.
We could get Joseph Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo to flesh out the lyrics and rewrite the harmonies so that us mortals could sing it. It’s such a simple and beautiful piece of music that even people with limited musical ability would be able to pick it up in a few minutes.
If we did all of this, South Africa would have one of the most beautiful national anthems in the world, a melody that is already renowned worldwide and would sound absolutely incredible when sung by 4 000 people at a Test match. After all, Mbube is a song about hunting a lion — a far more appropriate subject for a rugby Test match than a song about how blue our skies are.
Required reading: In the Jungle — Rian Malan (PDF)
A more libellous and profane version of this post originally appeared in Stage Magazine in May 2006
I second you 100% on that one- while our current national anthem shows the diversity of our country, it does need to be changed to something EVERY south african can relate to. It is such a shameful sight when u hear all the Black SA’s singing the 1st 2 verses and the latter 2 are sung by White SA’s…. Neither of the teo take the time to at least learn the lyrics- watching SA sportsmen especially rugby and cricket mumble the lyrics is an insult to our country’s beautiful melody which has lost it’s beauty.
IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE.
Our national anthem, as it were,was a compromise by cde Mandela and the leadership at the time. Hence the inclusion of Die Stem.A gesture of goodwill which has not been reciprocated I’m afraid. We have to live with it. For many people though, who have accepted Die Stem, Nkosi Sikel’ iAfrica will contine to be their church hymn, sung everyday in the train to work. Its their song of hope for a better tomorrow.Connecting them to their Creator and other Africans.In true African spirit, they don’t mind their former oppressors anthem either, as long as it does not take away their prayer, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica.
Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica is one of the best national anthems in the world. The variety of laungauges, and meanings to South Africans celebrates our diversity. The Springbok team certainly don’t mumble their way through it, and the amount of pride that it summons in them and the bulk of supporters is massive. This is a comment that I have had echoed to me by Aussies, English and a few other nationalities, who admire our anthem and the goosebumps it invokes. Sorry Andy and Musa, but Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica is here to stay, and I’m pretty stoked about that!
Em er, Rohan, did you read my comment!?Methinks we are in agreement, don’t you?
Nah, I think you’re missing the point, Jaxon. Being ashamed of white throats bellowing the little bit of “Die Stem” in the national anthem says more about you than it does about them.
There’s nothing wrong with white people celebrating a part of their heritage. The first part of “Die stem” (which features in the anthem) contains none of the racist bullshit connected with Apartheid in its lyrics. Its a beautiful poem writtem by CJ Langenhoven, describing the vast beauty of African landscapes.
I’d rather be ashamed about the absent Khoisan and Hindi words in our anthem. Shouldn’t you rather be concerned about those NOT included in the anthem?
Please quit shitting on Afrikaner’s heads. Perpetuating stereotypes isn’t nice. Siesa.
I am one of those Whiteys that sing all parts of the national anthem (though I sometimes struggle with the English bit). I have had quite a few stares whenever it comes up because though I am normally off key, I sing it flat out – all of it. But I think I support you in that we need a new anthem. Nkosi and Die Stem are both really beautiful and invoke powerful emotions in me of belonging to this land. While both mean something special to specific groups in our society, they also have their own negative connotations, however stupid the reasons for it may be. Maybe we simply have to scour our literature of the past 20 years or so and find a poem that not only talks about past struggles that all people in this land faced, the land and its spiritual guardians, but also about the future. And then writing powerful music to back it up.
What then happens to Nkosi sikelela and Die Stem – I dont know – maybe write it up as two of SA’s national songs remembering our shared history, but not our national anthem. It becomes our Waltzing Matilda or Swing Low Sweet Chariot.
I for one am filled with great pride when our National Anthem plays at test matches and the whole room watching will usually stand with their fists clenched over thier hearts singing Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica in full. We all know the words, but then again we were all in sub B (grade 2) when the anthem changed and so was the only anthem we knew. I often cringe when I hear the stadium silent for the first part then erupting into Die Stem. It’s probably just ignorance on the part of the older generation, but we needn’t worry. Time will eventually filter out the old guard and then Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica will flare from start to finish.
I’m with Musa on this. Mbube might be nice and familiar to much of the world; but Nkosi sikelele ‘Afrika is our anthem! The chopping up of what we sang for years as OUR national anthem (as the anthem that will be sung in a liberated SA) and then merging that chopped up version with bits of Die Stem is an injustice. It is, however, an injustice that is symbolic of the greater injustice of post-Apartheid society. Political power too was similarly chopped up. As was, more importantly, economic power. So now we have claims of “rainbow nation” and “diversity” when, in fact, the aspirations of the vast majority of Black people have been trampled upon and smashed into the ground while they wallow in poverty. We want our national anthem back! (Oh, and I never put my hand on my heart when singing the anthem (or, the Nkosi sikelele part of it, to be more correct. I prefer to do it the way we used to: fist in the air.)
A new anthem, please. One that puts fire in the heart and that lets us free to explore the future like our flag (no bagage there). The present anthem and its parts are part of history that we cannot do justice to and they hold us back. Preferably something that a vuvazela can tune into. Why can’t we sing the opening stanza when a try / goal / six is scored? It should sound that good.
Hey all – thanks for all the comments. I just want to emphasise that I have nothing but utmost respect for Nkosi sikelele ‘Afrika – it is truly one of the most beautiful songs of all time. My point was that it was already adopted by Tanzania and Zambia and that I think we need our own anthem. I do hope that when we eventually merge into a United States of Africa that Nkosi Sikele’ iAfrika will be the default choice for the African anthem.
Johan – I agree that the CJ Langenhoven poem, especially in the original Afrikaans, is an inspirational beautiful work. Die Stem does tend to stir a lot of emotion and I am sure you can understand that I could get uncomfortable or upset when white people only sing the second half of our national anthem. Its about race, not English, Zulu or Afrikaans, and I am certainly not trying to pick on Afrikaners in any way. I apologise if you got that impression. You are right – there is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating our heritage, and we should be doing more to preserve it.
My third problem with our national anthem is purely from a musical point of view. It bothers me when we switch languages four times and add key and time changes in a song. I think that a new anthem, like our new South African flag, could be a symbol of unity instead of dividing us as the comments above so clearly show.
I actually get teary-eyed when our anthem is sung – the first part of it, that is. I stand, with a hand on my heart, and simply remove my hand and stop singing when Die Stem kicks in. I’ve just had too many experiences of white South Africans – and not just older folks, Beeby – mumbling through Nkosi sikelele and then roaring through Die Stem. Die Stem may have started life as a simple poem (I don’t agree on beautiful, the imagery just doesn’t stir me), but it now holds too many memories of the old flag, the old ways, and the old country. And that country is most certainly not mine.
Jaxon, what do you think the logistics are in reworking an anthem, getting as much buy-in as is possible in a multi-cultural society, and then getting everyone to learn it? See mangled attempts at Nkosi…for proof that it’s a a hard, steep learning curve!
Pardon me for intruding on your anthemic problems – whatever illness there may be in English rugby, our anthem, crappy dirge it may be, is there for keeps. But I agree, Mbube would make a fantastic anthem. And didn’t I hear some of the crowd singing it in the SA Fiji match?
Roll on England Argentina for the final.
I love our anthem, although I kinda switch off when the stem part comes in.
Something I have always wondered is how similar Nkosi Sikele’ iAfrika sounds to Incy Wincy Spider…
Are you guys serious about about Mbube!?Whats next, Shosholoza with that De LaRey number!!??Come now. We accepted the compromise, hence we do not complian and actually sing Die Stem as well but don’t insult us.Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica is a prayer and a song of hope for many African people(acriss the continent). It is not to be belittled and compared to some feel good songs.You best understand, as I stated before, the people of this country have accepted that for the greater good the anthem of their oppressors has become their own as well. As long as you do not belittle and take away their prayer and song of hope for a better tommorrow in Africa, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica….
Agreed Musa! although, I’m not sure whether I agree that it’s a matter of ‘accepting the oppressor song’? We are now one nation, no? Although the anthem of the opressor became yours, yours also became theirs. In other words, it is one anthem for what is now one people. Very suitable and pride invoking, and definitly not to be compared to Mbube and DelaRey etc
Musa – you make some really good points there.
“Although the anthem of the opressor became yours, yours also became theirs.” If only this was the case Rohan.
I remember growing uo in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape having to sing the “new” anthem at assemblies and sports events and the experience was always that the black students new the anthem from start to finish and sang all the lyrics with as much pride as they could muster while there was always a distinct “roar” added when Die Stem started. I remember looking up at the stage one morning and felt such embarrasment and sadness at realising that out of all the 20 plus teachers on stage only two were singing Nkosi Sikel’ iAfrika (the one black teacher we had another gentleman).
Our national anthem must not change, attitudes must change until one day the whole sing is belted out with the same gusto by all people who call themselves South African.
As it stands, our anthem is a true reflection of our “Rainbow Nation”. We are still divided and all that will change that is a shift in attitudes.
“Nkosi sikelel’iAfrika… o fedise dintwa la matshwenyeho… uit die blou van onse hemel… sounds the call to come together and united we shall stand.” That is still our prayer, to see an end to war and strife until one day we stand together, united.
Nandi – it’s that exact “roar” of Die Stem halfway through the anthem during rugby tests that made me embarrassed enough to write this article in the first place.
If people cannot be bothered to learn the whole anthem in the first place then maybe we should remove “Die Stem”. It was put in there as a compromise and a gesture of reconciliation, but reconciliation is a two way street.
I think sanity is prevailing, a number of good points have been made.
Its not the anthem that needs changing, its the attitudes.I maintain, the formerly oppressed have embraced their oppressors anthem as their own as well.Why won’t the former oppressors return the gesture?
Admitedly when my friends and I sang Die Stem with equal viguor at the FNB staduim in soccer matches a few years ago, we would get bemused looks. But rather then scorn and ridicule the reaction has always been that we seem to be the new generation, regardless of age, who are forging on with new hope because we are now equal.It actually brings a new unknown dignity to all, alike.Watching some of the soccer fans gripping their chests and loudly mumbling Afrikans and English without the faintest idea of the lyrics, brings a tear to ones eye.They keep the tune though, Africans can sing!
Thats the attitude of the poor, down trodden and formerly oppressed.Why are the former oppressors not joining the party?It troubles me at times.We need a change of attitude, but even that seems too much to ask for.
I must just put it out there that I agree with Musa’s point (in case anyone missed this). I’m afraid that even in the midst of such pertinent conversation, my friend’s narcissism is undeniable.
The world must know that he made a valid point, not that such points are scarce in Musa’s world. (I hope that I have redeemed myself with this post Musa):)
Jaxon, thank you for the article. There is so much that I feel strongly about that sometimes some issues take a back seat, until a well thoughtout article is written about it and brings back such thoughts to the fore… “lest we forget”.
Jaxon, you hit the nail on the head. This mongrel mix of a generally African hymn (already owned by at least one other country), seconded by a couple of verses to patronise the white folk is a complete joke. I think the mbube plan is a fantastic idea!