Zulu

Fugitive's Drift, South Africa. -- Few, if any, days in military history can match the events of Jan. 22, 1879.In less than 24 hours, the British colonial army suffered one of its worst defeats and celebrated its most dramatic victory. In that same time span, the Zulu nation reached its military zenith and began the downhill slide that would lead to its subjugation.The events of that day resonate still in the politics of South Africa, empowering the beliefs of those who see this country as a collection of separate nations.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Black Zulu leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi sought to leap ahead of South Africa's constitutional process yesterday by mapping out his own "sovereign state" and proclaiming its powers.Mr. Buthelezi proposed a regional constitution that would merge his black homeland of KwaZulu with the adjacent province of Natal and give the new state power to reject national laws."The constitution of KwaZulu/Natal fully reveals to South Africa our vision for the country's future," said a statement issued by Mr. Buthelezi's Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party.

THOKOZA, South Africa -- Nelson Mandela and Zulu leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi came to this scarred black township yesterday to try to quell the factional violence that has ripped it apart.But instead of presenting a united front for peace, the two leaders arrived separately and spoke at highly partisan events. Mr. Buthelezi's followers came armed with spears, sticks, shields and battle axes. About 2,000 listened to their leader blame the African National Congress for the violence.Thousands of Mr. Mandela's backers waved ANC flags at a rally in a squatter camp where hundreds of shacks have been burned during raids.

DURBAN, South Africa -- The South African reform process was dealt a blow yesterday by Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who said he would not talk with the government as long as it was making private deals with the dominant black African National Congress.Mr. Buthelezi, leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, said he would not abide by any agreements struck between the government of President F. W. de Klerk and the ANC led by Nelson Mandela."Either we will have bilateral negotiations between the government and the ANC, which will lead to the victory of revolutionaries . . . or we will have multilateral negotiations leading to a fair, race-free democracy in which the ANC is one party among many," he said.

ELANDSKOP, South Africa -- The bright colors of the church uniforms stood out from the veld grass that has turned brown in the dryness of winter. Like bright flowers in a field, women dressed in the greens, blues, reds, purples, blacks and yellows of their denominations were waiting for a solemn ceremony.Today, those women will vote in elections to choose the local authorities in the province of KwaZulu/Natal. Yesterday they gathered to remember the thousands who have died in the political violence of the province and to beseech their God and their ancestors for peace.

ULUNDI, South Africa -- With reform talks in tatters and tensions rising, this country is now on the verge of civil war, according to Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi.The black pro-government leader, whose Inkatha Freedom Party has been locked in violent conflict with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress, said yesterday that the decision of the ANC to withdraw from negotiations to end apartheid could lead only to more bloodshed."I think it is very dangerous," Mr. Buthelezi, 63, said in an interview in his office here in the capital of KwaZulu, the black homeland set aside by the government for his tribe, of which he is chief minister.

Fifteen eager children crouch in a half-circle at Bethel Outreach Center, part of a small, aging church school in West Baltimore. The youths toss playful glances at each other and bug their music teacher with chatter. They occasionally miss a beat. Mostly, they don't. Using their thighs to hold the instruments in place, they pound on the heads of ishiko, djembe and bougarabou drums. The drums shout back, filling the tiny room with a thunder that fuels the looks on the faces of their parents, proud that their children are members of the Kuumba Zulu Drummers.

Cy Endfield, 80, an American director who battled censorship before moving to Britain and filming the bloody epic "Zulu," died April 16 in London. The best-known of Mr. Endfield's 21 films was 1964's "Zulu," which starred Michael Caine and was based on a battle during the Zulu war of 1879.

Ordinarily, Goodwill Zwelithini, king of the Zulu nation, and his cousin Mangosuthu Buthelezi, prime minister of the KwaZulu homeland, are rivals for power. But suddenly they are allies.They both repudiate the future of South Africa to which most parties have agreed. The king supports the prime minister in urging a Zulu boycott of South Africa's first multi-racial election, in April, to choose a parliament that will write a constitution.More, the king claims all Zulu lands as they existed in 1834, when the Zulu military empire dominated other groups.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Thousands of armed Zulu tribesmen converged on a stadium near the violence-plagued township of Soweto yesterday in response to the government's new ban on spears.Armed with spears, sticks and shields, the Zulus chanted, danced and listened to a special address by their king, who defended the Zulu "traditional weapons" and said more people were killed with assault rifles and hand grenades than with the Zulu weapons.The rally was held as government officials and church leaders sought unsuccessfully to bring together the warring factions in South Africa's township battles.