Ripple of Hope
Resources
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Die Stem Van Suid-Afrika
(Afrikaans)
Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit die diepte van ons see.
Oor ons ewige gebergtes waar
Die kranse antwoord gee,
Deur ons ver-verlate vlaktes
Met die kreun van ossewa
Ruis die stem van ons geliefde,
Van ons land Suid-Afrika.
Ons sal antwoord op jou roepstem,
Ons sal offer wat jy vra:
Ons sal lewe, ons sal sterwe
Ons vir jou, Suid-Afrika.
The Call of South Africa
(English)
Ringing out from out blue heavens,
From our deep seas breaking round;
Over everlasting mountains
Where the echoing crags resound;
From our plains where creaking wagons
Cut their trails into the earth
Calls the spirit of our Country,
Of the land that gave us birth.
At thy call we shall not falter,
Firm and steadfast we shall stand.
At thy will to live or perish,
O South Africa, dear land.
History of Die Stem Van Suid-Afrika
Die "Stem van Suid-Afrika" is a poem written by CJ Langenhoven in May 1918. The music was composed by the Reverend Marthinus Lourens de Villiers in 1921. It was sung for the first time publicly in 1928, and was made the official anthem by the South African government in 1957. Langehoven's poem has more verses but only this verse was sung at public events.
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Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
(Xhosa)
Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo
Yiva imathandazo yethu
Nkosi Sikelela
Thina lusapho lwayo.
(Repeat)
(Chorus)
Yihla moya, yihla moya
Yihla moya oyingcwele
Nkosi Sikelela
Thina lusapho lwayo.
(Repeat)
(Sesotho)
Morena boloka sechaba sa heso
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho.
(Repeat)
O se boloke, o se boloke,
O se boloke, o se boloke.
Sechaba sa heso, Sechaba sa heso.
O se boloke morena se boloke,
O se boloke sechaba, se boloke.
Sechaba sa heso, sechaba sa heso.
Ma kube njalo! Ma kube njalo!
Kude kube ngunaphakade.
Kude kube ngunaphakade!
Lord Bless Africa
(English)
Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us.
Lord, bless Africa
May her spirit rise high up
Hear thou our prayers
Lord bless us Your family.
(Chorus)
Descend, O Spirit
Descend, O Holy Spirit
Lord bless us
Your family.
History of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika
Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist mission school teacher. The words of the first stanza were originally written in Xhosa as a hymn. Seven additional stanzas in Xhoza 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. It was sung as an act of defiance in South Africa during the Apartheid years and it became the anthem of the ANC in exile. The first stanza is generally sung in Xhosa or Zulu followed by the Sesotho version.