Since 1997, the South African national anthem has been a song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the hymn “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika” and the former anthem “Die Stem van Suid-Afrika” (The Voice of South Africa). The lyrics use the five most widely spoken of South Africa’s eleven official languages – Xhosa (first stanza, first two lines), Zulu (first stanza, last two lines), Sesotho (second stanza), Afrikaans (third stanza) and English (final stanza).
Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika was originally composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist school teacher. It was sung as a church hymn but later became an act of political defiance against the apartheid government. Die Stem van Suid-Afrika is a poem written by C.J. Langenhoven in 1918 and was set to music by the Reverend Marthinus Lourens de Villiers in 1921. Die Stem was the national anthem of South Africa until 1995. The South African government under Nelson Mandela used both songs as national anthems from 1995 until they were merged in 1997 to form the current anthem.
| Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika (God Bless Africa) Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo, (Raise high Her glory) Yizwa imithandazo yethu, (Hear our Prayers) Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo (God bless us, we her children) |
Xhosa and Zulu |
| Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, (God protect our nation) O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, (End all wars and tribulations) O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, (Protect us, protect our nation) Setjhaba sa South Afrika – South Afrika. (Our nation South Africa – South Africa) |
Sesotho |
| Uit die blou van onse hemel, (Ringing out from our blue heavens) Uit die diepte van ons see, (From the depth of our seas) Oor ons ewige gebergtes, (Over our everlasting mountains) Waar die kranse antwoord gee, (Where the echoing crags resound) |
Afrikaans |
| Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land. |
English |
To listen to the anthem check out this link:
