A Royal Head’s Up: King Misizulu Ka Zwelithini Is No longer A Bachelor
He married the mother of his two children who is a South African jazz musician
There is music in the air
Usually, people say “ love is in the air” when speaking of love and things like that. However, since I am writing about a Royal Zulu marriage, I thought it would be better to use an internationally acclaimed artist to best express my feelings about the marriage. So, ladies and gentlemen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luOeTylAwJ4 may serenade us into the day’s subject. Do enjoy!
The King
The recently appointed king of the Zulu nation, https://readmedium.com/the-complexity-of-southern-africa-monarchy-inheritance-5fc6900ff965 reportedly married. As someone that love’s love, I am excited for the couple. Actually, I think that marrying a jazz musician is one of the sexiest things anyone may do.
See https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-05-12-king-misuzulu-kazwelithini-has-a-bride-reports/ for detailed information of the two.
How the two met
Mayisela and the new king met in August 2009 during the royal wedding of the king’s sister, Princess Bukhosibemvelo, and former Transnet executive Sipho Nyawo celebrated at the Durban Botanical Gardens. The royal archives show that Mayisela played beautiful music, attracting the attention of future kings and other members of the royal family. I find this story to be overly romantic, and thus befitting for a royal love-affair, (source, Ibid).
Zulu king’s need to get married to be fully recognized in their country
As per Jabulani Maphalala, cited here https://www.iol.co.za/mercury/news/marriage-is-a-cultural-must-for-new-zulu-king-misuzulu-kazwelithini-109d02a1-366b-4c88-bbcc-167dabe33652 Zulu culture dictates that a king could only be recognized officially upon having a bride.
This is not Maphalal’s isolated throne clarify https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/panel-probing-vatsonga-kingship-claim-confident-it-will-meet-its-deadline/a. Hence, I find it neat that South African Indigenous scholars took it upon themselves to read and analyze their customary laws in modern times.
Like father-like son, it would appear to be the case of the current king
According to Dr. Gugu Mazibuko,(Ibid), a senior lecturer at KwaZulu-Natal University, the late Goodwill King quickly got married in order to inherit the throne. Mazibuko added that if the king does not get married, it will be difficult for the married elders to respect his orders. My comments are that I liked hearing a gender-balanced educated analysis of the royal rule as detailed by the above-cited female South African scholar when agreeing with Maphalala’s expert advice.
Royal examples of duties fit for Zulu queen’s
Mazibuko elaborated on the importance of marrying a bride, exemplifying that some royal activities exclude the king, but depend on his decree. These include the festivity of Isivivane (schooling of young girls on culture and respect), the Unomkhubulwane ceremony (maidens praying for rain), and the Reed Dance ceremony (promotion of self-respect), (Ibid).
Rare occasions where Zulu Kings did not wed
According to Mazibuko, in some cases, time and opportunity did not allow a king to marry a wife. For example:
- “King Shaka https://www.dw.com/en/shaka-zulu-founding-father-of-the-zulu-nation/a-52448409https://www.dw.com/en/shaka-zulu-founding-father-of-the-zulu-nation/a-52448409 moved in with soldiers, some form of a military coup d’etat, with no time to engage in matrimonial ceremonies. Since, decisions of national importance needed to be made and stability restored by a reigning monarch, which, in this case, was King Shaka, after he had killed his half-brother, Sigujana, who had been appointed by their father, King Senzangakhona ka Jama, as heir to the throne,” said Maphalala, (Ibid).
- King Cetshwayo https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/trails/black-and-asian-history-and-victorian-britain/cetshwayo-ka-mpande-king-of-the-zulu took over after the intra-Zulu civil war of 1856 in which an estimated 25 000 of the collective regiments, including King Cetshwayo’s blood brother Mbuyazi, were killed, (Ibid).
I can see that King Misizlulu is King Cetshwayo’s replica, and this observation has been fully documented. Kindly see below:
Picture belongs to https://twitter.com/ginabheki
Conclusion
The purpose of this article is to let readers understand the marriage between South African jazz artist Mayisela and the newly appointed Zulu king. As a self-proclaimed romantic person, I am fascinated by when and where the newlyweds first met. In line with the queen’s career, it was a delight sharing a senior international female jazz songstress in the article's opening remarks.
Most importantly, I have the motivation to work hard at any given opportunity, because one of the ethics of this article is that people may never know what impact they will leave as they work.
The customary rules of the royal family on marriage and the throne were discussed from an academic point of view. By and large, it was said that the new king needed to marry a bride in order for him to fully lead his nation: particularly in specific women-only traditions where the queen would act as the King’s representative.
According to this article, King Shaka Zulu and King never married. Ending things on a lighter note, I mentioned King Cethwayo’s “incarnation” through the current Zulu king.
The important thing is that I hope this event can become an educational moment that can inspire you to independently explore more royal history. Before the next article, I want to thank you for your support of my work and bid you farewell.