Simon and the Zulu Shield

We met Simon at the Ncome Center when we visited the heritage site of the Battle of Blood River on Reconciliation Day, December 16. His name is really not Simon but he said it would be easier for us to remember and use than his real name, Thokozani Shabalala. He was right.

Simon had been our personal guide as we made our way through the little Zulu Museum at the Center. There was a small gift shop which we visited and we Vince was interested in buying a Zulu shield there. Unfortunately there weren't any available for sale in the gift shop, but as luck would have it, Simon said he could make us one to our exact specifications.

We told him what we wanted. The biggest size or "full house" as it is called (about 60 cm tall.) just like the ones Shaka's warriors used. We picked out the cowhide we wanted (white with brown patches.) And we settled on a price (pretty cheap as we found out later when we saw the identical shields for sale at Shakaland.) We exchanged contact information, shook hands and away we went. Simon said he would contact us "just now."

Then we waited.

We finally heard from him on January 27. Now I can accurately measure "just now" as it applies to Zulu shield making anyway. More than a month. He texted me this photograph of the shield drying. Looks good!

We wire-transferred half of the asking price into Simon's personal bank account - very new millennium - and waited some more.

Simon and the completed shield

Two weeks later, Simon texted us another photo with the news that the shield was ready to be picked up. Which we did the following weekend along with the second half of his money.

Next job, finding a way to securely hang the shield against a large white wall in our dining room. I figure we have until "just now" to do it.