Proposal to change this South African province's name
Is a name change for one of South Africa's provinces on the cards?
The King of the Zulu Nation, King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, has voiced his opinion that KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa’s second most populous province, must undergo a name change.
The King has called for the province to be simply named KwaZulu.
As reported by BusinessTech, King Misuzulu brought forth the proposed name change while speaking at the 147th commemoration of the Battle of Isandlwana in Nquthu.
It was here where he questioned why “Natal” is still being used.
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"We need to remove this Natal. This is KwaZulu, so I don’t understand why we have this Natal," the King said.
The King highlighted that before colonisation, the area was known as KwaZulu and formed part of the Zulu Kingdom.
He went on to emphasise that the name "Natal" was implemented by colonisers.
KwaZulu means "Place of the Zulu" in isiZulu and refers to the ancestral heartland of the Zulu people.
KwaZulu-Natal
The Zulu Kingdom rose in the early 19th century under King Shaka and played an important role in the history of the region.
The name "Natal" comes from a much earlier colonial period.
In 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama sailed along South Africa's east coast on Christmas Day and named the area Terra do Natal, meaning "Land of the Nativity," after the Christian holiday.
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The name continued to be used for hundreds of years, first under Boer rule and later during British colonial rule, before the area became part of South Africa.
In 1994, when South Africa became a democracy, the province adopted the combined name KwaZulu-Natal.
The name was chosen to bring together the former Natal province and the KwaZulu homeland, while recognising both the region's colonial past and its Zulu heritage.
At the time, the hyphenated name was seen as a compromise that reflected the political changes taking place in the country.
The last provincial name change took place in June 2003, when the Northern Province was renamed Limpopo.
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