THE ELEPHANT

Be angry, angry one!
Be angry at the clouds and the mountains!
Be angry at the sky and the rivers!
Be angry at the sea and the trees!
You are the elephant!
You, whose loud trumpeting heralded the birth of the world
You, whose last trumpeting will herald the end of the world we know,
Be angry, great elephant
You, who are hunted by those who fear you,
You, who are sought by those who should respect you,
You, who tusks are ploughs that showed our grandmothers the way
You, whose great feet pounded the earth, the hard earth into powder in ancient times, so the green things might grow,
Be angry, elephant; shout at the gods of Africa
Be angry, elephant; shout at the gray ghosts of our forefathers
Be angry, elephant, and shout at the people of modern days who do not do anything to shield you from the murderer and the thief.
Be angry elephant; shout at the land that no longer cares about living things
Be angry elephant, shout at the very stars themselves and demand from them justice
You are the lord of the trees
You are the master of the valley
You ate the great farmer who changes the land in which he lives
I your anger, you can dig up and cause the great marula trees to fall
In your anger, you can pierce the mighty baobab tree with one of your tusks
Great elephant, be at peace Candle of the valley Herald of the dawn
King of creations
You, in whose mind shine the souls of murdered gods
Elephant, indlovu!
Elephant, bayete!
Elephant, shwele!
Shwele, forgive the people who kill you, not knowing whom thy kill
Who destroy you, not knowing whom they destroy?
Who disrespect you, not knowing to whom they are speaking?
Indlovu, elephant, servant of the great Earth Mother
It is said that it was you upon whose back the great goddess rode when she was emerging from the dungeons of the neither world.
Elephant, if I had my way, you would rule the plains of Africa forever

Elephant, if I had my way, no weapon would ever be lifted against you f
For you are sacred, indlovu
You are sacred, creature of creatures
The mighty rhinoceros bows before you
The great hippopotamus runs at the very sight of you
For you caught him on the river bank and he retreated
And he sought safety in the water which is his mother
Not only did he seek safety in the water, oh elephant
The hippopotamus dived into the very bowels of the river and walked under the water until he emerged at the other side to escape your anger, great elephant
You are the protecting spirit of Africa
You are the whisper of our stories in the wind that has forgotten its heritage
You, whose trumpet saluted the first dawn,
And you, who’s trumpeting will also say farewell when the last evening ends,
Sawubona, Bayete, elephant
Animal of our kings
You, from whom the Zulu`s were proud to trace their ancestry
Wena wndlovu – you of the elephant – they said to their sovereigns Sovereigns who were nothing but weak and mortal human beings
Wena wendlovu, they said to Shaka, son of the elephant, unconquerable striker that
cannot be struck
I salute you, elephant of the plains of Africa!
Wild, untamed and untamable one
Tamed only be the gods of time Bayete!
UyiZulu, you are the thunder of the skies above
You are the trembling of the Earth below
You are the whispering of the streams and the rivers
And you are the song of the wind amongst the trees
You are the elephant, the greatest of your kind!
Bayete!