Amagugu Alelizwe

The story of this hymn

'The treasures of this world will stay behind.' A funeral hymn in the plainest sense: verse after verse says that whatever a person gathered in this life goes no further than emathuneni — the graves. No author is on record; the hymn travels from funeral to funeral by memory, and recorded gospel versions have carried it far beyond the graveside, so congregations raise it without books.

Where it sits in the service

Above all a graveside hymn — raised as the coffin is lowered or as the first soil falls, and repeated until the work at the grave is done. It also serves after the tributes, turning the service from what a person achieved to what endures. The core lines are sung over and over, so the programme needs only the title and first line, never a full text.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Hymn — Amagugu Alelizwe” with the leader or choir named beside it.

How it is actually sung

Its subject is the treasures of this world passing away, which places it precisely at a funeral. Sung in harmony by congregations that know it well, and it suits the part of the service that turns from the life toward the committal. It carries unaccompanied, which matters at a graveside.

Printing the words

Traditional isiZulu hymnody, though specific arrangements may be licensed. Check with the church before reproducing a full text; the first line is sufficient in the printed order.

This is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Reproduction rights vary by territory, by hymnal edition and by the licence your church holds — the church office is the right place to ask, and they answer this question often.