In Apartheid South Africa the national anthem was Die Stem (Afrikaans version) / The Call of South Africa (English version). At the time the unofficial national anthem in the townships and resistance movements was Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God bless Africa). As one of many acts of reconciliation the national anthem decided on in the new South Africa (post 1994), is a combination of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, Die Stem and The Call of South Africa. The first verse is in languages falling in the Nguni grouping of South African languages whilst the second is in Sesotho from the Sotho grouping. The last two verses are in Afrikaans and English respectively. The words of the resulting official South African National Anthem are as follows:

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika (Xhosa)
Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo, (Xhosa)
Yizwa imithandazo yethu, (Zulu)
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo. (Zulu)

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, (Sesotho)
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, (Sesotho)
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, (Sesotho)
Setjhaba sa South Afrika - South Afrika. (Sesotho)

Uit die blou van onse hemel, (Afrikaans)
Uit die diepte van ons see, (Afrikaans)
Oor ons ewige gebergtes, (Afrikaans)
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.

Click here to hear the tune of the above official South African Anthem - without words. (basic Midi-synthesiser file). For more on Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika see Polity.org.za's page on the South African National Anthem (link provided in "internet resources" below). To download a choir version of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika from Polity.org.za click here (large 1.3Mb WAV Audio file)