Sing the National Anthem

  

Bible Camp is held at the Lutheran Church in Ntshongweni every time there is a break in the school year; which is four time though out the calendar year.  June 25 - 29 happen to be the winter break and thus as a missionary serving in this place provided a week of Bible stories, music, games, crafts and the all important snack.

Our theme for this week of fun was John 3:16 and using the Olympic color rings explained the salvation story.

Monday began with BLACK and our sins.

Tuesday continued with RED and the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for us

Wednesday was BLUE and the waters of our baptism

Thursday was YELLOW and heaven our eternal home

And Friday ended with GREEN - growing in Christ.

All this to say that was I was explaining the Olympics and how it works... since most of the children of this township had no earthly clue what the Olympics were!  With no television they had never seen any of the games played.  I explained that when the athletic won a metal they are given their prize, their country's flag is raised and their national anthem is sung.

Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, the children bursted out singing their national anthem.  Now I wanted to cry.  It was the most beautiful sound I had ever hear.  The Zulu's sing with amazing harmony and richness make any old song seem magnificent.  I realized that I'm not positive what or actually which song is the American national anthem and I certainly realize that I could never sing it unaccompanied and in perfect pitch - as an adult nor as a child.


Here are the words and an explanation of the South African National Anthem. 

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika

Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,Yizwa imithandazo yethu,Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.

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.

Uit die blou van onse hemel,

Uit die diepte van ons see,

                                       Oor ons ewige gebergtes,Waar die kranse antwoord gee,

Sounds the call to come together,

                           And united we shall stand,Let us live and strive for freedom,In South Africa our land.

Translation

The isiXhosa and isiZulu of the first stanza, the Sesotho of the second stanza and the Afrikaans of the third stanza translate into English as follows:

Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us.
Lord, bless Africa
Banish wars and strife
Lord, bless our nation
Of South Africa.
Ringing out from our blue heavens
From our deep seas breaking round
Over everlasting mountains
Where the echoing crags resound …

History: two anthems into one

Before South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, the country had two anthems – an official and an unofficial one. The official anthem wasDie Stem, in EnglishThe Call of South Africa. The unofficial anthem,Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, was a symbol of independence and resistance to apartheid, sung by the majority of the population and at all anti-apartheid rallies and gatherings.

In the official anthem of the new South Africa, the two anthems merge into one.

Die Stem van Suid Afrika (The Call of South Africa)
Die Stem van Suid Afrikawas originally a poem, written by CJ Langenhoven in May 1918. The music was composed by the Reverend ML de Villiers in 1921. At the time, the South African Broadcasting Corporation played bothGod save the King and Die Stemto close their daily radio broadcasts, and so the public became familiar with the Afrikaans anthem.
Die Stemwas first sung publicly at the official hoisting of the national flag in Cape Town on 31 May 1928, but it was not until 2 May 1957 that the government accepted it as the official national anthem. In 1962 the English version,The Call of South Africa, was accepted for official use.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Nkosi was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist mission school teacher. The words of the first stanza were originally written in isiXhosa as a hymn. Seven additional stanzas in isiXhoza were later added by the poet Samuel Mqhayi. A Sesotho version was published by Moses Mphahlele in 1942.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrikawas popularised at concerts held in Johannesburg by Reverend JL Dube's Ohlange Zulu Choir. It became a popular church hymn that was later adopted as an anthem at political meetings, sung as an act of defiance.

The first stanza is generally sung in isiXhosa or isiZulu, followed by the Sesotho version. Apparently there is no standard version or translations ofNkosi, and the words may vary from place to place and from occasion to occasion.
I certainly hope that was the 2012 Olympics are set to begin that the beautiful primary colored flag of this magnificent country is raised for the Gold winner and this proud anthem is sung!