There were a number of Zulu Regiments[1][2] (known sometimes as "Impis"). Most were created during the reign of Shaka Zulu. This is a list of them.[3]: 263–382 

List of Regiments

Name Meaning Date Raised Age Group
Birth Years
Ama-Wombe Single Clash 1816 1775-1785
U-Kangela Look-out 1816 1785-1790
Izin-Tenjana ezakala O-Ngoye[a] 1818-1819 1795-1798
U-Nomdayana 1820 1800
Ama-Phela Cockroaches [b] 1821 1801
Ama-Kwenkwe 1822-1826 1802-1806
Izi-Kwembu 1822-1826 1802-1806
Izi-Zimazane 1822-1826 1802-1806
Jubingqwanda Shorn Head-rings 1816 1785-1790
U-Dlambedlu Wild Men 1816 1790-1795
Um-Gumanqa 1818-1819 1797-1798[c] Sub-division[c]
Isi-Pezi 1818-1819 1797-1798[c]
U-Mbonambi 1818-1819 1797-1798[c]
U-Nteke 1818-1819 1797-1798[c]
U-Gibabanye or Kipabanye The Expellers 1820-1825 1800-1805
U-Fojisa 1820-1825 1800-1805
Im-Folozi 1820-1825 1800-1805
In-Dabakulu The Great Affair 1820-1825 1800-1805
Fasimba The Haze "Shaka's Own" [d] 1816 The Young Guard[d]
Izi-Cwe The Bushmen "Ngomane's Own" [d] 1816
U-Dlangezwa 1823-1824
Um-Ota 1823-1824
Ulu-Tuli 1823-1824
Izi-Nyosi The Bees [e] 1828

Divisions

Zulu Order of Battle at Isandlwana

Main article: Battle of Isandlwana § Zulu_forces
The Zulu deployment at Isandhlwana shows the well-organized tactical system of the impi. The left horn worked with the chest to pin the British down, drawing the bulk of their fire. The right horn meanwhile circled around the mountain to attack the English rear. The reserves struck deeper, cutting off and pursuing fugitives, and eventually attacking Rorke's Drift.[4]: 49 [3]: 263–382 
22 January 1879
Left Horn (5,000 to 6,000 men[3]: 369 [2])
Regiment Meaning[5]
inGobamakhosi "Benders of Kings" or "Humblers of Kings"
uMbonambi "Seers of Evil" or "Evil Omen"
uVe "Fly Catchers"
Right Horn (3,000 to 4,000 men[6]: 407–13 [f][2])
Regiment Meaning[5]
uDududu "Support" or "Strengtheners"
uNokenke "Skirmishers"
uNodwengu corps (part) "Tearers" / or "Those Who Tear"
Chest (Main Force) (7,000 to 9,000 men[3]: 369 [2])
Regiment Meaning[5]
umKulushane "Straight Line" or "Coming at you"
isAngqu "White Tails" or "Orange River"
umCijo "Sharp Points"
umHlanga "Reeds"
uKhandampevu The Beehive
uNodwengu corps (part) "Tearers" / or "Those Who Tear"
Loins (Reserves) (4,000 to 5,000 men[3]: 370 [g][2])
Regiment Meaning[5]
Undi corps
uDloko "Savage Fighters"
iNdluyengwe "Leopard's Lair" or "spots"
Indlondlo "Horned Vipers"
Uthulwana "Dust Raisers"

Notes

  1. ^ "The Plovers who called out at Ngoye"
  2. ^ "The Cockroaches - Adopted from Zwide"
  3. ^ a b c d e Heavy influx of men due to the collapse of the Mtetwas and Qwabes. These 4 regiments (Um-Gumanqa, Isi-Pezi, U-Mbonambi, U-Nteke) sometimes formed a sub-division.
  4. ^ a b c Sometimes Fasimba (The Haze) Shaka's Own was grouped together with Izi-cwe (The Bushmen) Ngomane's Own as the Young Guard
  5. ^ Formed by Shaka from the senior u-dibi boys he withdrew from the Soshangane campaign in 1828
  6. ^ Colenso[6] on pages 407-13 "records two accounts of Zulu eyewitness participants at the battle. In one account the Zulu army is described as:"... consisting of the Ulundi corps about 3,000 strong, the Nokenke Regiment, 2,000 strong; the Ngobamakosi Regiment, including the Uve, about 5,000 strong: the Umeityu, about 4,000 strong; the Nodengwu, 2,000 strong; the Umbonambi, 3,000 strong; and the Udlhoko, about 1,000 strong, or a total of about 20,000 men in all ..." and in the other account the Zulu army is described as "... eight regiments strong (20,000 to 25,000 men) ... The regiments were Kandampenvu (or Umcityu), Ngobamakosi, Uve, Nokenke, Umbonambi, Udhloko, Nodwengu (name of military kraal of the Inkulutyane Regiment), and Undi (which comprises the Tulwana, Ndhlodho, and Indhluyengwe)."
  7. ^ "played no part in the battle"

References

  1. ^ Dovey, John. "Resource Info: Shaka Zulu". South African Military Units. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ritter, E.A. (1955). Shaka Zulu: The Rise of the Zulu Empire (5th ed.). Longmans, Green.
  3. ^ a b c d e Morris, Donald R. (1998) [1965]. The Washing of the Spears: A History of the Rise of the Zulu Nation Under Shaka and Its Fall in the Zulu War of 1879 (Illustrated. Reprint ed.). Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306808661. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  4. ^ Knight, Ian (2002). Isandlwana 1879: The Great Zulu Victory (Illustrated ed.). Osprey. ISBN 9781841765112. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d Bryant, Alfred T. (1905). A Zulu-English dictionary with notes on pronunciation, a revised orthography and derivations and cognate words from many languages; including also a vocabulary of Hlonipa words, tribal-names, etc., a synopsis of Zulu grammar and a concise history of the Zulu people from the most ancient times. Pinetown, Natal: The Mariannhill Mission Press. OCLC 1158569291.
  6. ^ a b Colenso, Frances; assisted in those portions of the work that touch on military matters by Lieut.-Colonel Edward Durnford (1880). History of the Zulu War and Its Origin. London: Chapman and Hall. ISBN 1-152-31729-6. Archived from the original on 18 June 2007.
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