The late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi is expected to have a unique send-off because of the positions he held in the Zulu royal household, but the family will decide which burial practice to follow.
Buthelezi passed away in his family residence in KwaPhindangene, Ulundi, on Saturday morning, two weeks after his 95th birthday. He will be laid to rest on Friday.
As a chief of the Buthelezi clan and the longest serving Zulu royal prime minister, Shenge commanded different positions of almost similar significance within his clan and the Zulu kingdom.
Buthelezi was also a devout Christian.
However, these positions follow different burial processes and practice, which has raised questions of how he will be “planted”.
The term planted refers to the Zulu burial practice.
When Zulu monarch King Goodwill Zwelithini died in 2021, he was laid to rest in a seated position, adorned in animal skins, with maize seeds and traditional beer among other items placed before him.
I think the fact that he is Inkosi of the Buthelezi clan will rise above the rest. I think the family will come first in this and others will fit in how the family says. As Africans we communicate with our ancestors so the family will come first.
— Cultural expert Dr Gugu Mazibuko
University of KwaZulu-Natal cultural expert Prof Nogwaja Zulu said at the time: “It is believed that kings were born out of a reed — a tall, slender-leaved plant of the grass family, which grows in water or on marshy ground.”
“It is believed that the first Zulu king was born out of the reed plant ... Being born that way, kings are believed not to die but to have bowed.”
When someone is planted, it is believed the person goes back to the reed.
Dr Gugu Mazibuko, a cultural expert at UKZN, said the answer to how he will be buried is a complex one that only his family can answer because of the significance of the different hats he wore.
“Remember we are talking about a man who, aside from being the traditional prime minister and Inkosi of his clan, was also a staunch member of the Anglican church, so it’s likely that it will also form part of his funeral.”
Mazibuko said there are no records of how a prime minister is buried before 1954 when Buthelezi assumed the position, but she expects him to be sent off in a way synonymous to his clan, with some elements that highlight his position in the Zulu monarchy and the Anglican church.
“He was Inkosi of the Buthelezi clan which will have its own successor, so I think it will follow the burial practice of ‘planting’ Amakhosi, but he was also the prime minister of the Zulu nation. We cannot be too sure of the ‘how’ because we have no information of how other prime ministers were buried since he had held this position for generations.”
“I think the fact that he is Inkosi of the Buthelezi clan will rise above the rest. I think the family will come first in this and others will fit in how the family says. As Africans we communicate with our ancestors so the family will come first.”
Prince Africa Zulu, King Misuzulu’s spokesperson, told TimesLIVE Premium that the Royal house will take a directive from the Buthelezi family on how they want the late prince to be sent off.
Zulu said there was a way to bury Amakhosi under the Zulu monarchy but emphasised that Buthelezi, as a royal prime minister, was a step above the normal practice.
Family spokesperson Dr Bhekuyise Buthelezi didn’t respond to queries.
