National anthem of South Africa

National anthem of South Africa
country	South Africa
Usage period	from 1997
text	Enoch Mankayi Sontonga C. J. Langenhoven
melody	Enoch Mankayi Sontonga M.L. de Villiers
Audio files

South Africa's official national anthem since 1997 has stanzas in the five most widely spoken languages in South Africa, isiXhosa , isiZulu , Sesotho , Afrikaans and English .

Today's national anthem was founded in 1997 from the widespread especially among the black population and of Enoch Mankayi Sontonga composed song Nkosi Sikelel 'iAfrika and especially among the Boers spread anthem Die Stem van Suid-Afrika , which was officially recognized until 1994 alone. Between 1994 and 1997 both songs were national anthems with equal status in their complete version.

The first two stanzas go back to Nkosi Sikelel 'iAfrika , the last two to Die Stem van Suid-Afrika , although the last stanza was heavily rewritten. The first two lines of the first stanza are in isiXhosa, the following two in isiZulu, followed by Sesotho in the second stanza, Afrikaans in the third and English in the fourth stanza.

It was voted the best national anthem in the world by The Economist in 2017 .

Official text of the anthem with translation

“Nkosi sikelel '
iAfrica Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,
Yizwa imithandazo yethu,
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.”

“Lord bless Africa.
May his spirit (literally 'horn') rise up.
Hear our prayers too.
Lord, bless us, his (Africa's) family. "

"Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,
Setjhaba sa South Africa — South Africa."

“Lord, protect your people,
end wars and strife.
Protect, protect your people;
People of South Africa - South Africa. "

"Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit diepte van ons see,
Oor ons eternal gebergtes,
Waar die kranse antwoord gee,"

"From the blue of our sky,
From the depths of our sea
Above our eternal mountains
Where the rock walls answer,"

"Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom,
In South Africa our land."

"Sounds like the call to come together,
And united we will stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom,
In South Africa our country."

Web links

• Information from the South African government on the anthem and its creation

Individual evidence

1. ↑ National anthem at sahistory.org.za (English), accessed on May 23, 2017
2. ↑ National Anthem. Department of Arts & Culture, Republic of South Africa. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
3. ↑ Nkosi Sikelel 'iAfrika is world's favorite national anthem. Times Live, December 27, 2017.