Word: impis
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...very tip of the ravine, the trooper reined his mount in horrified astonishment. Spread out below him were the Zulu impi, or horde: 20,000 warriors crouched silent as death, carpeting the floor of the valley for more than a mile. The South African sun danced on long hide shields, glinted off a few musket barrels and a forest of assegais, the double-edged spears that sliced a man's belly to let his evil spirit...
Five miles to the west, at Isandhlwana, a mixed command of 1,800 Redcoats, Boers and native Kaffirs braced for the oncoming attack. The impi covered the distance at a dead run. Swiftly the classic Zulu charge overwhelmed the garrison. The two "horns" raced out to either flank; their mission was to lock in the enemy flesh. The "loins" encircled the rear. The "chest," or main body, rolled like a tidal wave over the British line. By sunset, it was all over. The victorious impi vanished, leaving more than 2,000 of their own dead. But at Isandhlwana...
...under a rapacious and cruel tribal chieftain, who was called Shaka after his unseemly birth.* Viewing South Africa's teeming, disputatious tribes, Shaka had a vision of the strength that unity could bring, and he set out in 1817 to unify by conquest. Within a year, his modest impi of 350 warriors had swollen to 2,000. In ten years, an army of 50,000 enforced Shaka's will over a domain the size of Nevada...
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