“The Same Effort and the Same Death”: The Memory of the Langalibalele Incident of 1873

Abstract

The Langalibalele Incident of 1873 was one of the defining moments in the early history of the British Colony of Natal in Southern Africa. The dispute and ensuing rebellion would eventually lead to a clash between the white volunteers of the Natal Carbineers and a Hlubi contingent linked to Langalibalele at Bushman’s Pass, resulting in the death of three volunteers and two indigenous interpreters. Though Langalibalele’s challenge to colonial rule did not resonate on the same level as the more famous Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, it remains a key case study in understanding expanding imperial power in Southern Africa in the nineteenth century. With this in mind, it is fitting that the monument to the Anglo-Zulu War in the shadow of Pietermaritzburg’s City Hall stands across the street from the monument dedicated to those that died at Bushman’s Pass. This marker’s commemoration of the Langalibalele Incident and the deaths at Bushman’s Pass is telling of the complex memory of imperial history in Natal. This chapter will examine the incident itself, the response to the event in the colonial consciousness of Natal, and the later memory and commemoration of the incident and Langalibalele centrally in post-apartheid South Africa.