Today I would like to talk about the great ode to Africa, ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika‘ or ‘God Bless Africa‘ which used to be the national anthem of five African countries.  Little did Enoch Sontonga, a simple school teacher in Johannesburg, know that his hymn praising his love for his country and land of ancestors would become one of the most known African national anthems when he wrote it in 1897, in his mother tongue Xhosa.  This song became a pan-African anthem to the countries of Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Tanzania … Zimbabwe and Namibia have since then adopted new anthems.  At its creation, it was sung to the 1879 tune ‘Aberystwyth‘ by Joseph Parry.  In 1927, seven more Xhosa stanzas were added by poet Samuel Mqhayi.  In 1996, under President Nelson Mandela, a shortened version of ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika‘ was added to the national anthem of South Africa, and Sontonga’s grave was dedicated as a national monument.  In Zimbabwe, after independence in 1980, it was sung in Shona language as ‘Ishe Komborera Africa‘; in Tanzania, it is still the national anthem and is sung in Kiswahili as ‘Mungu ibariki Afrika‘.  In Zambia, it is ‘Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free‘ or ‘Lumbanyeni Zambia‘.  Enjoy… sing… and feel it… as God blesses Africa.  Watch Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Paul Simon sing it… and reap the blessings.