To the South Africans...

The history behind our national anthem is quite interesting, but in brief, during the years of apartheid, Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika was used as a prayer song in the meetings of the anti-apartheid groups, it is not a purely South African song and is known throughout various parts of Africa. I found the translation of the non-english lyrics which might interest some people. The Anthem is a hybrid of various different songs. I found a nice description of the Anthem on answers.com:

Nkosi Sekelel' iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist school teacher. It was originally sung as a church hymn but later became an act of political defiance against the apartheid Government. Die Stem van Suid-Afrika/The Call of South Africa was written by C.J. Langenhoven in 1918. "Die Stem" was the co-national anthem[citation needed] with God Save the King/Queen from 1936 to 1957, when it became the sole national anthem through 1995. The South African Government under Nelson Mandela adopted both songs as national anthems from 1995 until they were merged in 1997 to form the current anthem.


Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,
Yizwa imithandazo yethu,
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.
God bless Africa
May her glory be lifted high
Hear our petitions
God bless us, Your children

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,
Setjhaba sa South Afrika - South Afrika.
God we ask You to protect our nation
Intervene and end all conflicts
Protect us, protect our nation
Protect South Africa, South Africa

Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit die diepte van ons see,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes,
Waar die kranse antwoord gee,
Ringing out from our blue heavens,
From our deep seas breaking round,
Over everlasting mountains,
Where the echoing crags resound,

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

Being a proudly South African person, i just thought it would be nice to share some of this information that i found interesting :)

S