Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika


The first verse and chorus of this version are the original words composed by
 Sontonga in 1897.
The remaining verses were added in 1927 by Samuel E Mqhayi.

For decades Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was regarded as the national anthem of 
South Afrika by the oppressed and it was always sung as an act of defiance 
against the apartheid regime. A proclamation issued by the State President on 
20 April 1994 stipulated that both Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and Die Stem 
(the Call of South Africa) would be the national anthems of South Africa. In 
1996 a shortened, combined version of the two anthems was released as the 
new National Anthem.

There are no standard versions or translations of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika so the 
words vary from place to place and from occasion to occasion. Generally the 
first stanza is sung in Xhosa or Zulu, followed by the Sesotho version.

Current Xhosa Version


      ngosi Sikeleli Africa
      maluphakañisu phondo loayo
      yizva imathanda zo yethu
      ngosi  Sikelela 
      ngosi  Sikelela

      ngosi Sikeleli Africa
      maluphakañisu phondo loayo
      yizva imathanda zo yethu
      ngosi Sikelela
      thina lusapho loayo.

      woza moya (sikelelilalando sisikelelilala)
      woza moya
      woza moya oooying cwele
      ngosi Sikelela
      morena boloka setjhaba sa heso
      ofedise dintwale matswengeyho
      
      morena boloka setjhaba sa heso
      ofedise dintwale matswengeyho

      o se boloke Ooo se boloke
      o se boloke Morena  Ooo se boloke
      setjhaba sa heeeso
      setjhaba sa Africa 
      
       ngosi Sikeleli Africa
       maluphakañisu phondo loayo
       yizva imathanda zo yethu
       ngosi  Sikelelaaa 

       ngosi Sikeleli Africa
       maluphakanyisu phondo loayo
       yizva imathanda zo yethu
       ngosi Sikelela
       thina lusapho loayo
       ngosi Sikeleli Africaaa  !