Inkatha and Its Use of the Zulu Past

Abstract

Clashes between supporters of Inkatha and those of the ANC have resulted in the death of thousands of people in the last five years. The political death toll in 1990 was the highest South Africa has ever seen. While Inkatha, a Zulu-based movement, attempts to maintain the ethnic division enforced by the apartheid regime, the ANC is struggling for a non-ethnic and color-blind democracy and a political system elected on the basis of “one man, one vote.” Their struggle is about the future of South Africa, about sharing power and resources. It is also, however, about the past and the use of its symbols.In this paper I look at the ways Inkatha has, since its formation, used the Zulu past to draw support, to achieve political gains, and to educate the youth in KwaZulu. I have used political speeches of Chief Gatsha Buthelezi, Inkatha's leader, as well as speeches by other key individuals in the movement, texts by the historians of the movement, novels written in the spirit of Inkatha, and most important, Inkatha textbooks on “good citizenship,” a subject introduced in all KwaZulu schools as a compulsory in 1978.