Zulu King challenges cultural expert to a stick fight at the Reed Dance

Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini used this year’s uMkhosi woMhlanga (Reed Dance) to deliver a stinging rebuke of Professor Musa Xulu, accusing the cultural analyst of insulting both him and the Zulu nation.

The annual celebration, staged for the first time at the King’s new eMashobeni Royal Palace in oPhongolo, northern KwaZulu-Natal, drew thousands of maidens as well as dignitaries, including former president Jacob Zuma, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli, members of his Cabinet, Inkosi Sifiso Shinga, the chairperson of the Provincial House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, the Rain Queen Modjadji of the Balobedu nation, and representatives of the eSwatini Kingdom.

In his less than 20-minute address, King Misuzulu warned the media against relying on Xulu for commentary on royal and cultural matters, urging instead that experts such as Professor Jabulani Maphalala, Professor Otty Nxumalo, and Professor Sihawu Ngubane of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) be consulted.

“Those are the people who know the Zulu kingdom and culture. They are educated in top universities,” the King said, before dismissing Xulu as “useless.”

He accused the analyst of persistently opposing his reign.

“I am warning you (the media) that since I took over the throne, Musa Xulu is against me,” the King said.

“It is okay if he is against me, but when he insults me, he insults the Zulu nation as well,” the King said, warning that his people would “do anything to protect me and preserve our culture.”

"Do you understand?" asked the King.

The monarch went further, suggesting that Xulu could face him in a traditional stick fight.

“If his friends are here, go and tell him that there is a fighting ring if he wants a stick fight because I can take him up,” the King said, adding that “a stick is used to discipline an ill-disciplined person.”

The King did not detail the comments by Xulu that he regarded as an insult.

When contacted, Xulu hit back, saying the king was trying to turn the Zulu nation against him.

“He always wants a war with me. I am an independent analyst with a PhD in cultural studies. Does he want me to be his praise singer?” he said.

Xulu, who holds three PhDs from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Zululand, and Christian Leadership University in the US and is pursuing a fourth, said the media approaches him because “what I analyse is very academic and makes a lot of sense.”

Although King Misuzulu stressed that he did not want violence against anyone, Xulu insisted the King’s words placed him at risk.

“He has said it,” Xulu claimed.

Meanwhile, Premier Ntuli pledged to improve infrastructure at eMashobeni Palace to make it a permanent host site for uMkhosi woMhlanga.

“This event should be embraced by the local community because it will turn their rural area into a tourist destination,” Ntuli said.

This year marks the first time since its revival by the late King Zwelithini that the Reed Dance has been staged outside the traditional venue of eNyokeni Royal Palace in Nongoma.

UMkhosi woMhlanga celebrates chastity and abstaining from sex before marriage and is also a platform to mentor young women and girls.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE