Зулу әскерлерінің құрылысы және тактикасы

Zulu armed body of men or regiment

Impi is a Nguni word meaning war or combat and by association any body of men gathered for war, for example impi ya masosha is a term denoting an army. Impi were formed from regiments (amabutho) from large militarised homesteads (amakhanda). In English impi is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu or the army. Its beginnings lie far back in historic local warfare customs, when groups of armed men called impi battled. They were systematised radically by the Zulu king Shaka, who was then only the exiled illegitimate son of king Senzangakhona kaJama, but already showing much prowess as a general in the army (impi) of Mthethwa king Dingiswayo in the Ndwandwe–Zulu War of 1817–1819.

The Zulu impi is popularly identified with the ascent of Shaka, ruler of the relatively small Zulu tribe before its explosion across the landscape of southern Africa, but its earliest shape as an instrument of statecraft lies in the innovations of the Mthethwa chieftain Dingiswayo, according to some historians (Morris 1965). These innovations in turn drew upon existing tribal customs, such as the iNtanga. This was an age grade tradition common among many of the Bantu peoples of the continent's southern region. Young men were organised into age groups, with each cohort responsible for certain duties and tribal ceremonies. Periodically, the older age grades were summoned to the kraals of sub chieftains, or inDunas, for consultations, assignments, and an induction ceremony that marked their transition from boys to full fledged adults and warriors, the ukuButwa. Kraal or settlement elders generally handled local disputes and issues. Above them were the inDunas, and above the inDunas stood the chief of a particular clan lineage or tribe. The inDunas handled administrative matters for their chiefs – ranging from settlement of disputes, to the collection of taxes. In time of war, the inDunas supervised the fighting men in their areas, forming leadership of the military forces deployed for combat. The age grade iNtangas, under the guidance of the inDunas, formed the basis for the systematic regimental organisation that would become known worldwide as the impi.