Original subtitles

Let us at least enjoy our time here.

IfI made love to you, it must be much more. More than fun.

So you will erase that woman from your mind.

We have started this together and we'll finish it together.

You'll make matters worse.

it is as you said.

The woman's dangerous.

Senzangakhona, my son,

you send me to our ancestors

with a lie.

Behold him, who is your King today.

Zulu!

[crowd cheers]

From your womb shall come the firstborn of a king

giving birth to a mighty nation

of blood-stained spears

and thundering like shells.

[theme song playing]

[vocalizing]

[singing in Zulu]

I We are growing higher I

[tribal music playing]

[Henry]The death of Senzangakona's first son placed Nandi

in a much stronger position, a position which her kinsmen

were determined to pursue.

And so it was that an Elangeni party set out to demand

the new Zulu king instate Nandi as one of his wives

and accept the child as his son and heir.

[tribe chanting]

[Mudli] Baba, they will arrive tomorrow.

The messengers tell me it's an important party.

King Makedama's most important advisor will accompany them.

Much will be at stake when they arrive.

What do you advise, Mudli?

When the child is laid in front of us,

we must proclaim the guilt.

You must acknowledge the child as your own.

Isono.

I thought the king could do no wrong.

Yebo, Baba.

You were not yet king when this wrong was committed.

[speaking Zulu]

So, we are to be dictated to by this girl and her clan?

Uh...need I remind you, Baba,

we once warned you of such a possibility.

Are you saying this is your King's fault?

In cases like this... the fault is seldom shared by many.

Mkabayi wishes to address the King?

The way I see it... the King's hands are tied.

He has only two choices,

accept the child and face ridicule, or...

reject it and face war with Elangeni.

I suggest you choose the path that is best for your people,

Nkosi.

Ngiyabonga.

Thank you for the advice.

Ndabezitha... Ndabezitha.

Ndabezitha... Ndabezitha.

Sister... How is my wife?

Recovering.

[soft music playing]

[baby crying]

[announcing in Zulu]

Inform the King that they have arrived.

[vocalizing]

They tell me there is a child.

Mother...

[baby crying]

A boy?

Yes... A boy.

[baby crying]

You realize there will be no wedding feast.

Ten cattle.

That's an insult, Prince.

To negotiate lobala here in front of these people,

is an insult to my daughter and myself.

Since you have chosen to turn this affair

into an open spectacle, why not take it further?

Fifteen.

Fifty-five.

-Oh! -Nandi!

-Twenty. -Fifty- Five.

-Twenty-five! -Fifty- Five.

What makes you think you are worth that much?

I am... And So is he...

[baby crying]

So be it! Fifty-Five!

[chanting in Zulu]

Come, mother.

J‘AII I want from life I

I Is more than just a life I

J‘For it was spoken in the prophecy J'

J‘My son will rule through me:

Sa kubona, Mkabayi.

Welcome to the house of Zulus, Nandi.

Thank you.

I congratulate you, Nandi. You have left no stone unturned.

Your ruthlessness certainly belies your womanhood.

Thank you for your welcome, Mkabayi.

But then... what do you know about being a woman?

Come, Nandi.

[men ululating]

[speaking Zulu]

[crowd responds]

Bayete!

[crowd chanting] Bayete! Bayete! Wena wezulu.

[tribal singing]

[crowd chanting]

[commanding in Zulu]

[Henry]It was now nine years later

and once again Senzangakona was marrying.

But still, Nandi, although having a daughter by the king,

remained with her son, Shaka, outside of real recognition.

[crowd chanting in Zulu]

-[commanding in Zulu] -[crowd agreeing]

[men ululating]

[chanting in Zulu continues]

[singing in Zulu]

The royal hens do not look happy.

Well, nine wives in nine years. The competition is growing!

Incredible... incredible what a man will do out of spite.

-[men ululating] -[singing in Zulu]

Receive me, you of the Zulu.

We receive you.

[men ululating]

[celebratory singing in Zulu]

[commanding in Zulu]

More beer! Tshwala la!

You have had enough beer, Ndabezitha.

Tsha... I want her to get it.

Where is she... where is she?

[speaking Zulu]

-I think it's unwise, Nkosi. -Akezela!

Woza!

[commanding in Zulu]

I am here, Baba, what do you wish from me?

I'm thirsty. I wish to drink.

Woza.

Hail, Nandi! Queen of the Zulus!

The whore who trapped the mighty leopard with a bastard son!

Bayete, Nandi!

Bayete Ndlovukazi!

The Queen of whores.

Bayete!

Baba, this is unworthy of the King.

Hamba!

Myekeni.

If you hurt my mother again, I will kill you!

[laughs mockingly]

He has the arrogance of his mother!

Now where is that beer I wanted!

Bibi, hey! Bring my beer!

As your father, the great Jama, suspected,

he is the child of the prophecy.

Do you realize what you're saying,

Yebo Baba, your father felt it the day of Shaka's birth.

That's why he wanted the woman to die before childbirth.

Abulawe!

It was the last act of his reign.

One which, unfortunately, was of no consequence.

But why?

Fear... Fear, Baba,

of what the child would do to the nation.

It was as the Prophets predicted...

he was born in Untulikazi, the month of the prophecy.

He was illegitimate... the condition of the prophecy.

And then his moment of birth

coincided with the death of your principal wife's son.

That, too, is the curse of the prophecy.

[speaking in Zulu] Witchdoctor's magic.

The King's power to rule over others' lives

is, in itself, magical.

The witchdoctor's magic is the king's magic.

If he loses it, he is no longer king.

And, if what you say is true?

Then he must be killed. Now...

Killed? My only son?

Yes, before he's allowed to start a new era

in which the word "amazulu" will signify terror and death.

If he remains in your house, your wives will be barren.

Is that not the case, Baba? Since you met with that woman,

you have but only two children, both hers.

Why do you hesitate, Mfowethu? Is it out of love?

Is your concern more for strangers

than for the uplift of your own kingdom?

He is not a stranger! He is my blood!

And today he was prepared to shed yours

to protect his mother.

Is that going to go unpunished, unnoticed?

Your reputation as king is at stake... your pride.

We will call on Nonduma of the Nzuza clan.

His power to these mysteries far exceeds

those of the Isangoma's.

He will read the secrets of the child

and provide you with the proof you need.

And then, Baba... you shall make your own decision.

[chanting in Zulu]

I smell evils.

I smell a child.

[crowd yammering]

[chanting in Zulu]

[speaking Zulu]

The blood will tell the truth.

[Nandi] Ah... Shaka... Shaka!

No...No! Leave him alone!

-No...no! -[chanting in Zulu]

[Nandi crying]

Hawu... hawu... hawu...

[speaking Zulu]

[chanting in Zulu]

[thunder swells]

[thunder rolls]

-[woman screams] -[men ululating]

[witchdoctor screaming]

[witchdoctor prophesying] Daughter of Bhebhe.

From your womb shall come the first born of a king,

giving birth to a mighty nation of blood stained spears

and thundering shields.

[men ululating]

Shaka...

-Shaka. -Hmm.

Shaka... we have to leave at once!

You must hurry... He will be looking for you at sunrise.

He?

He... will be looking for us?

I thought the idea was his.

I cannot tell you more now, Ndlovwkazi. Come.

Why do you call me that?

Ndlavukazi 'is the title reserved for the principal wife.

Not for an outcast.

It's because you are the principal wife of Zulu, Nandi.

You are the Queen...

I knew that years ago, when I first met you.

And that, some day, you will return to claim that right

and he... will be your shield...

"Isihlangu sakho." Come!

Follow me.

[birds chirping]

Gazi!

-Why? Why? -Mkabayi...

-Mkabayi? -Mkabayi felt you were trapped.

I could overrule all of them.

You were never very good at that.

And now... Gazi... what do I tell the people?

That... I helped her to escape.

Bayete, Let them go.

[panting]

[indistinct chattering]

Come.

Was... was that...

[tribe chanting]

[woman crying]

Nandi...

[Mudli] May I suggest, Baba,

that you do not close your eyes to solutions

that fate has offered.

And what might that be?

That they have been coaxed into exile

-by the treachery of your own induna. -Hai Baba!

We couldn't have done it better.

Now you must ask that they be returned to you.

The Elangeni are proud people, Elder.

Like Nandi... They will refuse, and it will mean war.

Exactly, Baba. And in that war, there will be one casualty...

The boy. The condition of the Prophecy will be fulfilled

by you not personally having to soil your hands

with the blood of your son. Your honour will remain intact.

It pleases me that my councillors

show such concern for my honour.

Yet, need I remind them that for that honour.

I have my friend's blood on my hands,

and it was the councillors who wished me to accept I-Shaka

to avoid war.

Now you ask me to risk war for his sake...

and that will seem strange to my people.

That is my foremost concern, Baba. Your people.

The fact remains that you could not have been abandoned by a woman.

So tell the people it was my idea,

I chased her away because of her arrogance.

Very well, Baba... and how do I explain the death of Gazi?

You're trying my patience, Elder.

That is my calling, Nkosi.

To make the king aware of the possibilities

of a given situation... at the risk of appearing a nuisance.

Then, let me make it simple for you.

IfI risk war to get her back,

her people will think I care for her.

If I forget her and call for ngikhohlwe yindaba yakhe,

the punishment for her son will be worse than death.

Not a Zulu, no longer an Elangeni.

He will be a boy without a clan.

Go and tell the people!

Very well, Baba, that will satisfy the people.

But the little the people know about the prophecy

will in no way reflect its true dangers,

If this boy is allowed to live, he will bring about an upheaval

of life itself as we know it.

Baba... I sympathize with the fact that you are reluctant

in bringing about the death of your own son.

But he is not your son.

Not in the true sense of the word.

His conception was guided by the hand of evil.

Do not be blind to it.

Put that out of your mind, Elder. That is an order!

-Thank you for the advice. -Baba I--

Thank you for the advice.

-Bayete. -Bayete.

Bayete. .. Bayete

Did it have to be Gazi?

-I am proud to see that my brother is finally beginning-- -Answer me!

He was the only one I could trust. He loved you both.

And what if Mudli is right about the Prophecy?

Mudli is right about only one thing

the boy's exile is the work of fate.

Now he will have a chance to prove his valour

far away from those who fear the prophecy and this child.

Because he will bring a new world!

A new order. A new society.

What our father and his generation called evil, is the Future!

And it is not evil, of that I'm convinced.

[soft music playing]

Your father was loved by everyone in the village.

His joy was their joy...

his pain, their pain.

They knew how much he cared for you.

Ten boys couldn't have made him more proud than

that one little girl... Nandi.

I've always wanted what I thought was best for me.

At the price of those closest to me.

My son. My daughter.

And now my father. It must end!

-Sakubona, mama. -Yes, what is it?

The king wishes to see... Nandi.

We have sent a messenger to the Zulus informing their king

that you and your children are here

and requesting an explanation.

His answer is quite troubling.

I have been the cause of enough scandal, Nkosi.

I will return to his village tomorrow... without my children.

Nandi Senzangakona did not ask for your return.

He remembers no one by the name of Nandi, daughter of Bhebhe.

And his son? His daughter?

He made no mention of Shaka or Nomcoba.

We are told you escaped. Is that true?

Then, our hands are tied.

We forced Senzangakona to accept you once.

We cannot do it again.

Especially since, this time, he is in the right.

He wanted to kill us!

Nandi...

if the man truly wanted to kill you... he would have.

I came here looking for help and all I get is... this!

Nandi, you are in the presence of the King!

Ngazana, you are in the presence of a queen!

Nandi, there is little or nothing we can do to help you.

You are completely on your own, now.

No man in this village will support you.

If you stay, you must fend for yourself, and be prepared

to be treated with a certain amount of... hostility

you are strong enough to cope with that, I'm sure.

But... what about your mother and your children?

Where else can I go?

[flies buzzing]

[Henry]Life was not easy for Nandi. Surrounded by animosity,

she could find no man willing to help her

fend for her family.

And frequently, they were subject to insults and abuse.

[cows mooing]

Hey look... the Zulu whore.

Just ignore them and carry on working.

The Zulu whore... who has no man to do her man's work.

[laughing mockingly]

[speaking Zulu]

J‘Here's a man for you ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh! J‘

J‘Here's a man for you Here’s a man for you:

The whore who trapped the mighty leopard! [laughs boisterously]

I'm the son of the King... and my mother is a queen

Remember that!

Go! Get away from here. Go... go!

Go... Go!

Go!

Go!

[whistling]

[laughing]

[speaking Zulu]

Yo! Nandi, they're burning our granary!

[women screaming]

[speaking Zulu]

[child screaming]

Ae Shaka! Where's your spear now?

[sombre music playing]

Shaka, come back, Shaka! You must stop him!

It is time they learned, mother.

Sooner or later we must fight back!

If you won't save him, I will!

Shaka!

Nzobo... Nzobo!

-Nzobo! -[yelling]

-Yah! -What is Shaka doing?

It's time we were rid of the Zulu.

Shaka... Shaka!

Drop it... Drop it! Come here!

It looks as ifI arrived not a minute too soon, Mphepha!

[yells] This is my home, Mfunda. And I will do anything to defend it.

Someone burnt our granary today

and yesterday your son insulted my daughter!

Is that true, Nzobo?

-I was provoked, Father. -Is that true?

-Yes, Father. -And the fire?

Did you or did you not start that fire?

-Why do you even talk to these-- -[yells in Zulu]

[Nzobo groans]

It seems you are right, Mfunda.

Shaka, take five of our cattle as payment for your loss.

So be it.

[sombre music playing]

[goats bleating]

[birds screeching]

-Go! -[Nomcoba screams]

[chanting]

[laughing maliciously]

[yells in Zulu] He's had enough.

[Nomcoba screams]

[speaking Zulu]

Shaka... Shaka... Shaka...

[mournful music playing]

Goga... Gogo!

Mother! Mother!

Never again... will he... leave an enemy behind!

[thunder rumbling]

[child crying]

So, when would you like us to leave?

It is not my decision, Nandi. I want you to know that.

But whatever I personally think, I am a king

and I belong to my people.

Which is your excuse for not doing what your heart tells you!

Let me make your life easier, Nkosi. We leave tomorrow.

Nandi... your mother can stay if you'd like... in my kraal.

She may be too old to travel.

Thank you, Baba.

That's the first kind word I've heard in a long time.

But I think she'll like to stay near Shaka.

She is afraid without the proper guidance, he'll become like me.

A misfit.

[speaking Zulu]

[sombre music playing],

[birds screeching]

Nandi... your mother can stay if you'd like... in my kraal.

She may be too old to travel.

Thank you, Baba.

But I think she’ll want to stay near Shaka.

[Mfunda]Give him room to breathe, Nandi.

If you truly love him, let him believe

that tomorrow the light will return.

Let there be love, not hate.

[Bhebhe]Nandi, Gendeyana is a good, what more can you ask for?

[Nandi]Much more father... much more.

[Gendeyana]You’II be an outcast forever.

[Nandi]I don't have a choice now, do I?

[Gendeyana] Yes, you do.

We 7/ say it's my child... and we'll marry properly.

But you don't understand.

I don't love you... I could never love you.

My place is with Senzangakona, no matter what it may cost me.

[goat bleating]

Gendeyana... look!

NandH

And, the little girl?

It's mine... Nomcoba.

And that must be Shaka.

[Henry]And so it was that after all those years, Nandi found refuge

with the man she had so determinedly refused to marry.

You're welcome here.

[Henry] Under his protection, Shaka would grow

and develop into a strong young warrior.

Thank you.

[vocalizing]

[singing in Zulu]

J‘Be a man of greatness now J“

J‘A man so tall A man so kind I

J‘Be a man of wisdom now I

J‘A man of mind A man of light I

J‘Be a man of kindness now I

J‘A man so big And strong in mind I

J‘Be a man so humble now I

J‘A man of men Now let it shine J“

J‘This is what you are I

J‘This is how It was planned now I

J‘This is what to be Every kind of man now J“

J‘This is what to say With the kind of meaning I

J‘ This is what to feel With the kind of feeling I

I We are growing, growing higher and higher I

I We are growing, growing higher and higher I

I We are growing, growing higher and higher I

I We are growing, growing higher and higher I

J‘Hear the children Hear the children J‘

J‘They are talking to you I

J‘Hear the wind blow Hear the wind blow J“

JIt is coming for you J

JSee the grass grow See the grass growJ

JIt whispers his name J

JSee the fire blow See the fire blow J“

JHis heart in the flame:

[singing in Zulu]

[vocalizing]