Nelson Rolihalhla Mandela, 1918 - 2013 RIP

You can write a message of condolence to be passed on to his family here:

http://www.nelsonmandela.org/p90/index.html

This really is one of the GREAT national anthems:



That's not entirely how it's sung today.... explanation below:

The South African National Anthem:
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.

The isiXhosa and isiZulu of the first stanza, the Sesotho of the second stanza and the Afrikaans of the third stanza translate into English as follows:
Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us.

Lord, bless Africa
Banish wars and strife
Lord, bless our nation
Of South Africa.

Ringing out from our blue heavens
From our deep seas breaking round
Over everlasting mountains
Where the echoing crags resound …


History: two anthems into one
Before South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994, the country had two anthems – an official and an unofficial one. The official anthem was Die Stem, in English The Call of South Africa. The unofficial anthem, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, was a symbol of independence and resistance to apartheid, sung by the majority of the population and at all anti-apartheid rallies and gatherings.

In the official anthem of the new South Africa, the two anthems merge into one.

Die Stem van Suid Afrika (The Call of South Africa)
Die Stem van Suid Afrika was originally a poem, written by CJ Langenhoven in May 1918. The music was composed by the Reverend ML de Villiers in 1921. At the time, the South African Broadcasting Corporation played both God save the King and Die Stem to close their daily radio broadcasts, and so the public became familiar with the Afrikaans anthem.

Die Stem was first sung publicly at the official hoisting of the national flag in Cape Town on 31 May 1928, but it was not until 2 May 1957 that the government accepted it as the official national anthem. In 1962 the English version, The Call of South Africa, was accepted for official use.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Nkosi was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist mission school teacher. The words of the first stanza were originally written in isiXhosa as a hymn. Seven additional stanzas in isiXhoza were later added by the poet Samuel Mqhayi. A Sesotho version was published by Moses Mphahlele in 1942.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was popularised at concerts held in Johannesburg by Reverend JL Dube's Ohlange Zulu Choir. It became a popular church hymn that was later adopted as an anthem at political meetings, sung as an act of defiance.

The first stanza is generally sung in isiXhosa or isiZulu, followed by the Sesotho version. Apparently there is no standard version or translations of Nkosi, and the words may vary from place to place and from occasion to occasion.

Read more: http://www.southafrica.info/about/histo ... z2mfJZK7xi

There is no getting away from the fact that he had the most amazing life, and with FW De Klerk, achieved what many thought would be impossible in one lifetime.

But I do think the obsessive news coverage of his death is disproportionate & way way over the top. Hours and hours of drivel, including live video of people standing outside his home as the news broke, interviews with 1001 has-beens politicians and celebs (where's Joanna Lumney, she always has something to say!!), and those awful high street interviews with Joe public.

I do not want to smudge the image of this man or upset anyone here, but he was no saint. I have been intrigued how the BBC referred to him as a 'freedom fighter', who - when an active member of the ANC, was involved in a 'campaign against the Govt'. I would imagine some extreme American fund raising groups would use the same words to describe Gerry Adams. The truth is the ANC were a terrorist group & killed and maimed. There's no getting away from that, so I would appreciate it if the saintly references were dropped by the media

Some people just want to be remembered when they've gone, others to leave a legacy - or have changed something for someone. Few will be able to boast unimaginable successes in all three of those areas

Blair will resurface for this no doubt, he's like a human U-boat.

A point well made SOT, and a fact often ignored by the mainstream. Now is probably not the time, but there is certainly more to this man than the saintly image being portrayed by the fawning media darlings.

My old man always told me to judge people by the company they keep.

Once a terrorist always a terrorist. Mandala's only redeeming factor is he advocated averting a white on Black war when they released him from pokey.

They say he had the ability to spot a cretin within a few seconds of them opening their mouths. With the last picture here the karma is indeed strong!!









Particularly disappointed with the BBC and the way they have reported this. Grief-fest is not the word.. Some idiots even saying he was the greatest statesman of the last 100 years!!

A shame then that the legacy he leaves is a bitterly divided country which is arguably far poorer, more ethnically divided and in even more likelihood of anarchy now than 20 years ago - a damning indictment on those who worked with him to line their own pockets and not serve their nation.

South Africa will be one to watch in the next few Months. It is on the knife edge and could go either way. I won't be making any travel plans in a hurry.

^^^ He certainly courted some 'interesting' company in those photo's didn't he ?

Don't get me wrong, I thought the aparthied regime in South Africa was abhorrent in every respect, but can anyone honestly say conditions for the vast majority in that beautiful country have improved one jot since that regime collapsed ?

Here is a video of Mandela taking part in the singing of a ritual song urging the killing of white people. He tries to excuse it later in the interview, but there can be no mistaking he was right there at the forefront, and made no attempt to stop the 'singing'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKiePbTcAfY

To this day, South Africa still has one of the highest crime and murder rates on the planet. Just look at the figures in the next link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co ... icide_rate

Mandela himself admitted he is no saint. For the life of me I cannot understand the worlwide glorification of a man who, having presided over his country, left it in as bad if not worse state than it was before.

There is a simple explanation: he was an darling of the Left. Peter Hitchens hits the nail on the head in the Mail on Sunday.
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/

Maybe the political elite, media heads, one-worlders, and globalist businessmen/women who are wrecking the UK, USA, Europe, etc. etc. are hoping they too will be raised to sainthood when their turn comes to leave this earth. Globalists intent on making a name for themselves begins a long long way back; see Genesis chapter 11 verse 4. I quote: