South Africa
National Anthem of South Africa
1897
1997
Enoch Sontonga / C.J. Langenhoven (combined)
Enoch Sontonga / M.L. de Villiers (combined)
🤝 Unity ✝ God / Faith 🌈 Diversity 🕊 Freedom ☮ Peace |
Key Facts
- 1. Singers must switch between five languages mid-performance, and each language section uses a different musical key and tempo, making South Africa's anthem one of the most technically demanding for performers.
- 2. The anthem actually modulates upward in key partway through (from Bb major to D major at the 'Die Stem' section), a feature that catches unprepared singers off-guard and has led to many public vocal mishaps.
- 3. At the 1995 Rugby World Cup final, the Springboks' Afrikaner players sang the 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' section and the Black South African fans sang 'Die Stem,' a moment Nelson Mandela later called one of the most moving of his presidency.
Lyrics
Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,
Yizwa imithandazo yethu,
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.
Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,
Setjhaba sa South Afrika — South Afrika.
Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit die diepte van ons see,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes,
Waar die kranse antwoord gee.
Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom
In South Africa our land.
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Analysis
EditorialThe most linguistically complex anthem in the world, sung in five of South Africa's eleven official languages in a single performance: Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English. It was created in 1997 by combining the anti-apartheid hymn 'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika' with 'Die Stem van Suid-Afrika,' the anthem of the apartheid era, symbolizing reconciliation between formerly opposed communities.