Comparison of the izibongo of the Zulu royal women, Mnkabayi and Nandi

Abstract

Lestrade describes the praise-poem as ‘a type of composition intermediate between the pure, mainly narrative epic, and the pure, mainly apostrophic ode, being a combination of exclamatory narration and laudatory apostrophizing’. If one studies the izibongo of the royal women, Nandi and Mnkabayi, it becomes apparent that Mnkabayi's praises incorporate all three descriptions of eulogy, ode, and epic. On closer examination as to the meaning of the terms ‘eulogy’, ‘ode’, and ‘epic’, we are confronted with the problem as to how the izibongo of Nandi qualify for thes term ‘praise-poem’. The fact that Nandi's ‘praises’ are entirely lacking in anything which might be deemed ‘praiseworthy’, could perhaps lead us to accord it the title of original satirical poetry, which Kunene regards as being composed mostly of ‘songs expressing disapproval of the actions of some of the members of society’.