''Amandla'' in the
Nguni languages
The Nguni languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in southern Africa (mainly South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini) by the Nguni people. Nguni languages include Xhosa, Tsonga, Ndebele, and Swati. The appellation "Nguni" derives from t ...
Xhosa
Xhosa may refer to:
* Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa
* Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people
See als ...
and
Zulu means "power". The word was a popular rallying cry in the days of resistance against
apartheid
Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
, used by the
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
and its allies. The leader of a group would call out "Amandla!" and the crowd would respond with "Awethu" or "Ngawethu!" (to us), completing the South African version of the rallying cry "
power to the people!". The word is still associated with struggles against oppression.
''Mandla'', which is derived from ''amandla'', is also a common
first name
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared an ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. The Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC) publishes a
magazine by the same name.
Current use in South Africa
''Amandla'' is a
IsiXhosa and
IsiZulu
Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciatio ...
word used when people make a bet, deal or promise; they say the word and hold up their hands with their thumbs up.
Since apartheid ended, people have begun to use the rallying cry "Amandla" to express their grievances against current government policies including those of the ANC. Trade unions still use it at mass meetings and protests.
The use of the term has also become popular again during service delivery protests and among poor people's movements. South Africa's independent social movements such as
Abahlali baseMjondolo
Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, , in English: "the residents of the shacks") is a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which primarily campaigns for land, housing and dignity, to democratise society from below and against xenophobia.
...
, the
Anti-Eviction Campaign and the Mandela Park Backyarders use "Amandla Ngawethu!" during their anti-government and anti-political party protests. The chant is often used by the movements as a way of beginning or ending a speech as well as quieting down a crowd when a speaker has something important to say.
Abahalali baseMjondolo have developed the anti-apartheid call and response slogan 'Amandla! Ngawethu!' (Power! It is ours!) to 'Amandla! Awethu ngenkani!' (Power! It is ours by force!)
The Anti-Eviction Campaign also uses the phrase "Power to the Poor People" as a variation on
"Amandla Ngawethu" and "Power to the People" to denote the need of poor people's movements to control and speak for themselves and not have wealthy leftist NGOs speak for them.
See also
* ''
Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony''
* ''
Amandala
''Amandala'' is a Belizean tabloid newspaper. Published twice weekly, it is Belize's largest newspaper. ''Amandala'' was established in 1969 as the print organ of the now-defunct United Black Association for Development (UBAD), but has been poli ...
'', Belizean newspaper deriving its name from the word
* ''
Amandla'', the
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
album released in 1989
*
Amandla Festival, a 1979 world music festival held in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
*
Amandla Stenberg
Amandla Stenberg (born October 23, 1998) is an American actress. She began her career as a child and received recognition for playing List of The Hunger Games characters#Rue, Rue in the action film ''The Hunger Games (film), The Hunger Games'' ( ...
*
Anti-Eviction Campaign
*
Abahlali baseMjondolo
Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM, , in English: "the residents of the shacks") is a socialist shack dwellers' movement in South Africa which primarily campaigns for land, housing and dignity, to democratise society from below and against xenophobia.
...
* The
Mandela Park Backyarders
* "Amandla Awethu" part of
UB40
UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...
's "
Sing Our Own Song" from their album ''
Rat in the Kitchen
''Rat in the Kitchen'' is the seventh album by UB40, released in July 1986. This album contained two UK hits, " Sing Our Own Song" (UK No. 5 in 1986) and "Rat in Mi Kitchen" (UK No. 12 in 1987). The album itself reached 8 in the UK album charts ...
''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amandla (Power)
South African political slogans
South African English