Page 106 - Heritage Streets of KwaMashu 2025

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HERITAGE STREETS OF KWA-MASHU
SECTION L
IEZIKHALINI
n isiZulu, “Isikhali” (weapon) is something used for war. Historically in Kwa-Zulu, the most important weapon was “umkhonto”, the spear. When put together the weapons are called “izikhali” and the place named after “izikhali”
is therefore “Ezikhalini” as per Section-L geographical demarcation in Kwa-Mashu. Interestingly, this used to be the most feared Section in Kwa-Mashu and with lots of radical anti-apartheid activists including ex-MK soldiers (Mkhonto WeSizwe, Spear of the Nation, an armed wing of ANC pre-1994, that was sending shivers to anti-apartheid government and its surrogates). For Section-L, was it the case of “ukhamba lufuze imbiza = like father like son/a clay calabash is like a pot?” Was it that the L-Section residents were the chosen ones to protect and provide leadership for Kwa-Mashu? To protect you need “isikhali”!
In the Zulu oral tradition accounts, there is an expression of “ukuphatha njengezikhali zamaNtungwa” (handling something delicately as one would handle the weapons of the amaNtungwa/Khumalos) which relates to the fact that “amaNtungwa” (with Ziko Khumalo as the chief iron carver) were given the aristocratic task of bulk carving King Shaka’s innovated weaponry of the shorting-stabbing spear, which required delicate handling. As King Shaka expanded and created a new royal kraal of Kwa-Dukuza (Stanger) that spear carving task fell to Gcugcwa Nzuza of the Wosiyana clan near KwaMaphumulo. Gcugcwa of Nzuza, Wosiyana clan is said to have made spears from the deposits collected from the same area that is rich in titanium. The short stabbing spears were in high demand for the ever-growing King Shaka’s army. Oral tradition accounts reveal a conflict between Gcugcwa and King Shaka, when Shaka failed to honour the usual commitment