[3] The preparation of an iNkatha can be traced back to the time of king Senzangakhona, the father of Shaka.
[2] Specialized iziNyanga (or medicine men)[3] initiated a ritual vomiting exercise when the Zulu army prepared for battle,[2] by administering an emetic to the soldiers.
Each soldier of the impi would vomit into the straw-filled pit,[2] and the medicine men would bound the contents into a thick, coiled mat.
The woven coil also included rags of the garments of foreign royals, material drawn from the regimental huts and other substances of metaphysical significance.
[2] Due to its potency in the collective imagination, the iNkatha's imagery was invoked in the 20th century political movements of king Solomon, chief Buthelezi and others.