Shaka Zulu never married and had no children - may he have been homosexual, and what were contemporary Zulu views on homosexuality?

by ProfVerstrooid
ProfVerstrooid

Since nobody answered this question; I did some research, and apparently Shaka is known to have had wives with whom he had sexual intercourse with - but he had an obsession to either abort any pregnancies or kill his children as soon as they were born, for he feared being usurped by a successor. He also restricted the reproductive rights of his soldiers in times of war; possibly to prevent his soldiers from being distracted by child maintenance and/or succession issues.[1]

[1] Golan, Daphna. “The Life Story of King Shaka and Gender Tensions in the Zulu State.” History in Africa, vol. 17, 1990, pp. 95–111. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3171808. Accessed 10 Oct. 2022.