Note 87 — V.
Reading edition
I.
Who is going to die among the Whites? Stand firm, O King! Heed not their mutterings, They are but finding fault.
(Note.—The meaning probably is that Dinuzulu is the last person that will die among Europeans, as his own people are determined to prevent his being taken.)
II.
Great must be this people, Who carry loads of goods around, To barter salempore for cattle here and there. About It a song, methinks, I'll sing. It will o'erspread th' entire land. A long thin frame It has, bending to and fro. Starting from earth, It makes towards the sky, Like that huge snake which ate the white men's sheep; They set a trap for it and caught it, Pulled at it two, and three, days long; Cut it through with knives, when lo! a flame Leapt from out its pool and scorched them. Clouds of dust straightway broke forth, And streamed throughout the land, Which thereupon was set ablaze! And here at Mbilane, too, From whence (as every pool, 'twas said, was full thereof) They thought it must spring forth.
(Note.—Like the foregoing, this song is in the form of an enigma. The word "It" evidently refers to an impi, which, when on the march, very much resembles a snake. The object of the song was, no doubt, to promote a spirit of defiance against Europeans. It is possible the word "snake" in line 8 is used metaphorically. Mbilane refers to a pool near Nodwengu, Mpande's principal kraal on the White Umfolozi. Mpande was Dinuzulu's grandfather. That such a song should have been sung at Usutu is clear evidence of the atmosphere of disloyalty that prevailed there.)
The Zulu version of the above translations appears in Appendix IX.