National anthem of South Africa
Encyclopedia
Since 1997, the South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
" and the former anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika
" (The Call of South Africa). The fact that it shifts and ends in a different key, a feature it shares with the Italian national anthem
, makes it compositionally unusual. The lyrics employ the five most widely spoken of South Africa
's eleven official languages - Xhosa
(first stanza, first two lines), Zulu
(first stanza, last two lines), Sesotho
(second stanza), Afrikaans
(third stanza) and English
(final stanza).
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga
, a Methodist school teacher. It was originally sung as a church hymn but later became an act of political defiance against the apartheid government. Die Stem van Suid-Afrika is a poem written by C.J. Langenhoven in 1918 and was set to music by the Reverend Marthinus Lourens de Villiers in 1921. Die Stem was the co-national anthem with God Save the King/Queen
from 1936 to 1957, when it became the sole national anthem until 1995. The South African government under Nelson Mandela
adopted both songs as national anthems from 1995 until they were merged in 1997 to form the current anthem.
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
"Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" , was originally composed as a hymn by a Methodist mission school in Johannesburg teacher, Enoch Sontonga in 1897, to the tune 'Aberystwyth' by Joseph Parry...
" and the former anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika
Die Stem van Suid-Afrika was the national anthem of South Africa from 1957 to 1994, and shared national anthem status with Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika until 1997, when a new hybrid anthem was adopted. It was also the anthem for South-West Africa under South African mandate until 1990.- Background :In...
" (The Call of South Africa). The fact that it shifts and ends in a different key, a feature it shares with the Italian national anthem
Il Canto degli Italiani
Il Canto degli Italiani is the Italian national anthem. It is best known among Italians as Inno di Mameli , after the author of the lyrics, or Fratelli d'Italia , from its opening line...
, makes it compositionally unusual. The lyrics employ the five most widely spoken of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's eleven official languages - Xhosa
Xhosa language
Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
(first stanza, first two lines), Zulu
Zulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
(first stanza, last two lines), Sesotho
Sesotho language
The Sotho language, also known as Sesotho, Southern Sotho, or Southern Sesotho, is a Bantu language spoken primarily in South Africa, where it is one of the 11 official languages, and in Lesotho, where it is the national language...
(second stanza), Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
(third stanza) and English
South African English
The term South African English is applied to the first-language dialects of English spoken by South Africans, with the L1 English variety spoken by Zimbabweans, Zambians and Namibians, being recognised as offshoots.There is some social and regional variation within South African English...
(final stanza).
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga
Enoch Sontonga
Enoch Mankayi Sontonga was the composer of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika , which has been part of the South African national anthem since 1994. It was also the official African National Congress anthem since 1925 and is still the national anthem of Tanzania and Zambia...
, a Methodist school teacher. It was originally sung as a church hymn but later became an act of political defiance against the apartheid government. Die Stem van Suid-Afrika is a poem written by C.J. Langenhoven in 1918 and was set to music by the Reverend Marthinus Lourens de Villiers in 1921. Die Stem was the co-national anthem with God Save the King/Queen
God Save the Queen
"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
from 1936 to 1957, when it became the sole national anthem until 1995. The South African government under Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
adopted both songs as national anthems from 1995 until they were merged in 1997 to form the current anthem.
Lyrics
| Language | Lyrics | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Xhosa Xhosa language Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said... |
Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo, |
God bless Africa Raise high its glory |
| Zulu Zulu language Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population... |
Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo. |
Hear our prayers God bless us, her children |
| Sotho | Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, Setjhaba sa, South Afrika — South Afrika. |
God, we ask You to protect our nation Intervene and end all conflicts Protect us, protect our nation, our nation, South Africa — South Africa. |
| Afrikaans | Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit die diepte van ons see, Oor ons ewige gebergtes, Waar die kranse antwoord gee, |
From the blue of our heaven, From the depth of our sea, Over our everlasting mountains, Where the echoing cliffs resound, |
| English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom In South Africa our land. |
– |
See also
- Die Stem van Suid-AfrikaDie Stem van Suid-AfrikaDie Stem van Suid-Afrika was the national anthem of South Africa from 1957 to 1994, and shared national anthem status with Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika until 1997, when a new hybrid anthem was adopted. It was also the anthem for South-West Africa under South African mandate until 1990.- Background :In...
- National anthem of the TransvaalNational anthem of the TransvaalThe national anthem of the Transvaal was the national anthem of the independent Boer Republic of the South African Republic, which was also known as the Transvaal Republic...
- National anthem of the Orange Free StateNational anthem of the Orange Free StateThe national anthem of the Orange Free State was used from 1854 until 1902 as the national anthem of the Orange Free State.-Lyrics:-Published versions:-See also:...
- List of national anthems
External links
- The National Anthem
- National Anthem of South Africa - Streaming audio, lyrics and information
- Audio recording of the National Anthem (instrumental only, MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
file) - Brief history of the anthem
- Brief introduction to the anthem and notation
- http://files.ifnimidi.com/themes/anthems/South_Africa.mid