Earlyface

A proclamation issued by the then State President, Nelson Mandela, on            20 April 1994 in terms of the provisions of Section 248 (1)  together with           Section 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of  South Africa, 1993 (Act           200 of 1993), stated that the  Republic of South Africa would have two           national anthems. They  were Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika and The Call of South           Africa (Die  Stem van Suid-Afrika). In terms of Section 4 of the            Constitution of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996), and following a            proclamation in the Government Gazette No. 18341 (dated 10  October 1997),           a shortened, combined version of Nkosi Sikelel'  iAfrika and The Call of           South Africa is now the national  anthem of South Africa.


       It is the only neo-modal national anthem in the world, by  virtue of           being the only one that starts in one key and  finishes in another. The           lyrics employ the five most populous  of South Africa's eleven official           languages - isiXhosa (first  stanza, first two lines), isiZulu (first           stanza, last two  lines), seSotho (second stanza), Afrikaans (third stanza)           and  English (final stanza).


       Nkosi Sekelel' iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a            Methodist school teacher. It was originally sung as a church  hymn but           later became an act of political defiance against the  apartheid           Government. Die Stem van Suid-Afrika/The Call of  South Africa was written           by C.J. Langenhoven in 1918. "Die  Stem" was the co-national anthem with           God Save the King/Queen  from 1936 to 1957, when it became the sole           national anthem  until 1994. The South African Government under Nelson           Mandela  adopted both songs as national anthems from 1994 until they were            merged in 1997 to form the current anthem.

Lyrics
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[TD="width: 241"]Nkosi sikelel' Afrika  Maluphakanyisw'  uphondo                 lwayo,  Yizwa imithandazo yethu,  Nkosi  sikelela, thina lusapho                 lwayo.

             [TD="width: 140"](Xhosa and Zulu)
           
           
             Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,
              O fedise dintwa le                 matshwenyeho,
              O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa                 heso,
              Setjhaba sa South Afrika - South Afrika.


             (Sesotho)
           
           
             Uit die blou van onse hemel,
              Uit die diepte van ons                 see,
              Oor ons ewige gebergtes,
              Waar die kranse antwoord                 gee,


             (Afrikaans)
           
           
             Sounds the call to come together,
              And united we shall                 stand,
              Let us live and strive for freedom,
              In South Africa our                 land.
             (English)
           
         </tbody>       
       English translation of           Xhosa and Zulu version

       Lord bless Africa
        May her glory be lifted high
        Hear our           petitions
        Lord bless us, your children


       English translation of           Sesotho version

       Lord we ask You to protect our nation
        Intervene and end all           conflicts
        Protect us, protect our nation
        Protect South Africa, South           Africa


       English translation of           Afrikaans version

       Out of the blue of our heavens
        Out of the depths of our seas
        Over           our everlasting mountains
        Where the echoing crags resound