In this way, african culture and values can be revaluated, their relevance established and sustained in order to give credence to authentic african identity. Zulu culture, traditions, food, religion and combat. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. The reinterpretation of traditional zulu ethnicity and african zulu culture among gay zulu men in contemporary kwazulunatal kzn offers new insights into the fluid and flexible constructions of contemporary african ethnicities and suggests that zulu essentialism is being challenged. The zulu originated from nguni communities who took part in the bantu migrations. The zulu are an african ethnic group whose members live mainly in the south 1 african province of kwazulunatal, which lies between the indian ocean 2 to the east and the drakensberg mountain range to the west. Zulu traditional healing, afrikan worldview and the. Women in zulu culture traditionally do not work, they take care of the children, and do the household chores. Observations on plant usage in xhosa and zulu medicine a.
As they settled the zulu built beehive shaped grass huts to live in. Masculinity has been the subject of human sciences for the past two hundred years. It is said the fastest way to a mans heart is through is the stomach. The basotho origin of mathematics a public lecture. Beaded skirt the beaded skirt is part of the traditional attire.
Mar 03, 2016 traditional zulu culture is practically synonymous with south africa, and its iconic shields and spears are recognized throughout the world. The creation of the zulu kingdom, war, shaka, and the. As a matter of fact, the name zulu means the people of the heavens. The zulu language, of which there are variations, is part of the nguni language group. They are a branch of the southern bantu and have close ethnic, linguistic, and cultural ties with the swazi and xhosa. The first wife will initiate the acquisition of further wives as they are a help around the house. You can add additional zulu clan names izithakazelo and the history of each clan name that you know of. Today it is estimated that there are more than 45 million south africans, and the zulu.
Wright july 24, 2012 introduction in my cultural research i will share information on the zulu tribe which one of south africas largest ethnic group population is estimated about 1011 million people,majority of the people live in kwazulunatal natal province which is also referred as zululand, other tribes or groups live. Zulu, a nation of ngunispeaking people in kwazulunatal province, south africa. These explain zulu history and teach moral lessons. In zulu culture, for both the traditionalist and christian zulu, honouring.
Cooking is a long and honored tradition among the womenwives of zulu. Every african ethnic group has different requirements when it comes to bride wealth. The zulu grandmother is the object of reverence and exerts considerable influence. For zulu women there is power inequity, as they are often financially dependent and expected to be tolerant of genderspecific sexual behaviours.
The influence of zulu culture and social structure on deci sion making with regard to. The transmission of herbal knowledge within various social groups is outlined. Shaka, who became king in 1816, is the most well known zulu king who had total power over his tribe. Hutchings abstract the holistic concept of xhosa and zulu traditional medicine and sorne differences from western orthodox practice are briefly outlined. No men allowed childbirth among the zulu has always been the concern of women alone, and no men are allowed to be present at birth. Welcome msomi has chosen shakespeares macbeth in umabatha as its basic plot and.
Zulu words for merge include dibanisa, hlanganisa and hlangana. Indigenous knowledge of custodians of implications for. Ancestors are thought to live in the spirit world of unkulunkulu the greatest of the great and are regarded as intermediaries between the living and the spirit world. In the following section, impression management is defined and discussed. In contrast to recent literary analyses of myths of shaka, this book uses the richness of zulu. For migrant zulu men in rural kwazulu natal and johannesburg, ngoma performance is a form of participatory politics with regard to community life, while it offers a way of being in the world.
Zulu ethnicity was far weaker in natal than it was in zululand, which contained the heartland of the zulu. As a consequence, they are praised and offerings are made to them. The zulu people developed a strong social system with chiefs and royalty. A girl had to live inside a house in order for ancestors to see her and pass some blessings. Would it be possible to remove the alert message with testing if zulu is installed. Page 125 should and would are similarly used to form future in the past tenses. Pdf the zulu identity south african ingenious tribes. Rural zulus are generally farmers, with the chief crop planted being maize. Bhebhe makhedama, soyengwase, nina bakabhebhe kamthendeka. Today the zulu traditional structure clashes with the present central and democratic government of south africa. The zulu for merger is ukuhlanganiswa kwezinkampani ezithile.
The word zulu means sky and according to oral history, zulu was the name of the ancestor who founded the zulu royal line in about 1670. Zulu folklore is transmitted through storytelling, praisepoems, and proverbs. Feminists regard polygamy as undermining the universally human dignity of women. He will come courting, and at the appropriate time ask the girl to explain the meaning of her letter. Izintanga this green herb is known as izintanga, it is. There is a peer group with same behavior who come for support, during the week they escort the girl to the community for invitations and donation as gifts from the people. The sangoma diviner spiritual healer has to satisfy a demand for umuthi medicine, to prevent misfortune, lightning, to win the lottery, good luck when job hunting or finding a girlfriend the list is endless. Zanzibar swahili culture and history graboyes and bosire summer, 2017 9916 attendance to each class, you should bring the texts we are reading in addition to your notes on that text. There is nothing a rural zulu boy did that he didnt or couldnt do.
Even before the boer invasion, zulu rule had been weaker in natal, and the british found in natal large numbers of africans willing to. Traditional zulu society has chiefs and a king who represent all the zulu culture. An autoethnographic inquiry into zulu christians approaches to. This indicates that culture is the way of life which is unchanging given widespread criticism of this precolonial practice. Understanding zulu cultural ceremonies in zululand. The tradition begins with the virgin maids gathering reeds from the river and bringing them to the zulu king. Isandlwana in the early stages of the british invasion of the zulu kingdom in 1879. The zulu people clashed with the voortrekkers in the 1830s when piet retief was massacred by their chief dingaan.
New readers project, department of adult and community education, university of natal, 1995, 1992. A guide to zulu culture, traditions, and cuisine demand. I was an overt observer on many occasions for ethical as well as human reasons. Organ donation and transplantation within the zulu culture. In the 19th century they merged into a great kingdom under. Zulu language and culture acquisitions at columbia. Izintanga this green herb is known as izintanga, it is a source of food. The culture of a people is what marks them out distinctively from other human. The zulu chief dingane ambushed and killed about 500 boers in 1838. Welcome msomi is an african playwright, producer, director and an entrepreneur. In revenge the forces of andries pretorius killed about 3,000 zulus in the battle of blood river. In precapitalist zulu society, ilobolo was inextricably linked to the ownership of cattle. The zulu are the largest ethnic group in south africa with an estimated 1012 million people living mainly in the province of kwazulunatal.
Hammondtookes essay cattle symbolism in zulu culture as well as my zulu ladies for teaching me about ngunis. Durban is located in the ethekwini municipality in the province of kwazulunatal, where isizulu is the most widely spoken language. Combining the case study with the exploratory and descriptive methodologies satisfies. Symbols and meanings the zulu community basically uses the beadwork as a way to communicate with each other, just like the old tradition of weddings, men give women engagement rings so others know that they are not available in the dating community no more, and the zulu community uses beadwork as a form of communication with each other. Sculpting is done and usually in the form of a religious figure. Many studies have documented changes in nuptiality patterns among africans in south africa in recent decades, and specifically, an increase in age at first marriage and. War, shaka, and the consolidation of power this scholarly account traces the emergence of the zulu kingdom in south africa in the early nineteenth century under the rule of the ambitious and iconic king shaka. These are made by girls of courting age, and sent by a friend to the favoured boy. Subsequent boer intervention in zulu domestic affairs led in 1840 to the overthrow of dingane and the crowning of mpande, who became a vassal of the boer republic of natal. Apr 19, 20 traditional zulu society has chiefs and a king who represent all the zulu culture. After the death of zulu, his descendants called themselves abakwazulu people of zulu. The zulu are the single largest ethnic group in south africa and numbered about nine million in the. All absences should be reported to the instructor prior to the class meeting time.
The zulu people believe that they are the direct descendents of a chief called zulu which means heaven in the nguni language. Inyonikayiphumuli white cattle of the zulu monarch, characteristics include dark points on the ears, muzzle, horns, hooves and eyes. The zulu woman changed to and identified with the dress code that was furthest from her culture. Observations on plant usage in xhosa and zulu medicine. Understanding zulu beliefs and customs in relation to hiv. Christianity didnt succeed in the zulu culture as well as others, but some of their practices include some christian traditions. This term is particularly used by zulu people when it comes to bride wealth. Zulus are the largest black group inside south africa. Late 1800s 45 4 a brief archaeology of precolonial farming in kwazulunatal 47 gavin whitelaw 5 cattle symbolism in zulu culture 62 w. Dress carries culture, and culture carries the entire body of values by which we come to perceive ourselves and our place in the world. Nov 01, 2015 women in zulu culture traditionally do not work, they take care of the children, and do the household chores. The zulu people also trace their genesis to the heavens. The practice of having several wives indicates a mans social standing, wealth and virility.
This is a list of zulu clan names, please feel free to suggest and add more in the comments section below. Praisepoems poems recited about the kings and the high achievers in life are becoming part of popular culture. Procreation is highly valued in african cultures and so in zulu culture, and involves lineage, ancestors, religion and the fulfilment of family and gender roles 7,8. Dust of the zulu of the mchunu chiefdom in msinga kwazulu natal. The white colour in particular, embodies the ideal values the zulu society strives for. In northern botswana where i lived in exile in the anc camp of dukwe, the dominant ethnic group the makhalanga meaning the people of the sun also trace their genesis to the cosmos. The reinterpretation of traditional zulu ethnicity and africanzulu culture among gay zulu men. But there is far more to zulu culture than than just from the annual reed dance to historic battles, here are 10 things you probably didnt know about traditional zulu culture.
A gay subculture in contemporary south africa nordic journal of. Through the writings of numerous journalists and fictionwriters, particularly the popular novelist rider haggard, this image of the zulu was rapidly becoming entrenched in western literary circles. As a participant observer on some occasions i was able to gain direct contact with the families involved. Notions of zulu identity are highly contested in the postmodern space in which are implicated ideas of tradition and culture carton, laband and sithole, 2008. Many zulus were scattered all over southern africa as a result of king shakas turbulent reign. The girls dance with the reeds in front of the king, and then he chooses.
This website design by warthog web design the zulu people. The zulu are a traditional huntergathering ethnic group in south africa. In zulu culture, there are certain basic principles of ethical behaviour that are required from young people of both genders so that they act with integrity in their romantic relationships. Impression management within the zulu culture scielo sa.
Unfortunately, this respect for the ancestors has been misunderstood by many and labeled as worship or, more recently, as veneration. Men also who uphold male headship think in this essential way. As the clans integrated together, the rulership of shaka brought. The zulus like to assert their might, beginning with the exercise of authority within their households. Cattle have always been the primary form of subsistence for this. The spread of zulu ethnicity in colonial south africa the other zulus michael r. Jun 09, 2009 packed with fascinating visuals of the rich traditions of zulu culture, this video take the viewer into the heart of zululand where archaeological diggings show a heritage extending back into the. Zulu people refer to themselves as the people of the heavens and they are the largest ethnic group of south africa, with an estimated 10 million zulu residents in kwazulunatal. Today there are about 3 million zulus, who mostly live in the natal province of south africa. The zulu people do beadwork and basket weaving as the majority of their artwork. A a festival involving snakes, a reed dance with thousands of zulu dancers or a large religious gathering of the shembe are all cultural outings available to you when exploring eshowe in zululand at certain times of the year the cultural calendar in zululand has particular ceremonies of interest and you can attend one of these events as part of a guided tour. The researcher is a zulu by birth and therefore familiar with the zulu rituals and customs.
The zulu culture and traditions documentary is packed with fascinating visuals of the rich traditions of zulu culture, this video takes the viewer into the heart of zululand where archaeological. He grew up with the zulu people, learned to stickfight, to zulu dance, and about courtship at the river. Men play the dominate role in the zulu family, the zulu women are renowned for the bead craft, basket weaving, and pottery, the men are crafted in. Men play the dominant role by taking care of the cattle, their wives, and the family. Aug 06, 2012 the zulu culture draft michell mcgilvery anthropology 101 professor. In zulu culture, for both the traditionalist and christian zulu, honouring parents, whether alive or dead, is to relate to them with great respect.
Although south afrika is comprised of san bushmen, nguni people xhosa, zulu, swati, ndebele, sotho tswana, sesotho and sepedi, tsonga people, venda people, coloureds, indians, afrikaaners and english, we will focus on the zulus of the kwa zulu natal. Zulu culture brief history of the zulu kingdom the nguni peoples, normally grouped as isi zulu speaking people, isixhosa speaking people, isiswati speaking people, isiswati speaking people had been gradually moving southwards with their herds for over one thousand years, eventually reaching the region of the white umfolozi river. This area is some times called zululand, and has a very warm. Zulu culture, traditions, battles, history and superstitions. Izithakazelo zakwazulu ziningi kakhulu, zingangezihlabathi zolwandle. Zulu customs vary region to region with the zulu kingdom but there are some generally constant customs in most parts of the zulu kingdom such as these. This goes back to the days of king shaka who built up the zulu nation to be a force to reckon with. List of books and articles about zulu online research. Indigenous knowledge of custodians of zulu culture implications for multilogical dialogue in the academy nadaraj govender ronicka mudaly angela james abstract south african academic institutions and the government have recognized the importance of indigenous knowledge systems iks in the development of the country. Another reason for concentrating on the zulus is historical. In townships, you may still find a hut, outside the main house.