ORIGINAL
OF ZULU
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Nguni’s followers sprit up into several
family groups and clans and settled down in his own valley.
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One of these was a man named Malandella.
He later had two son, the young of whom was called Zulu which means heaven.
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The Zulu were originally a major clan in
what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal.
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It founded in 1709 by Zulu nKantombela.
According to, The World Book Encyclopedia (1993) states that, “Zulu, Zoo loo,
are the main Bantu- speaking people of Africa. About 7 million Zulu lived in
the Republic of South Africa, mostly in the Province of Natal.”
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In the Nguni languages, Zulu or ilizulu
or litulu means heaven or sky. At that time , the area was occupied by many
large Nguni communities and clans.
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They had migrated probably arriving in
what is now South Africa in about the 19th century.
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According to Ngwane(1997:9) stated that,
“In the Zulu language, Amazulu means the Zulu people and the word Zulu means
heaven.
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According to a Zulu Version of the
Creation Story, this name refers to the belief that the Zulu people come down
from heaven.”
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A small number also lived in Zimbabwe,
Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. Their language Zulu is a Bantu Language.
SOCIAL
ACTIVITIES ZULU
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Socially Zulu people were engaged in
different social activities as follows:-
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Traditionally the Amazulu had trainings
which prepared the youth to adulthood. After that the girls had written a
letter to a boy for courtship by using beads with different colors that had
different messages to relationship. It led the Amazulu to practice polygamy
system.
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Isichei () analyzed that, during
marriage celemonies, were slaughted animals.
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Monogamous marriage is common among the
Zulu especially after converted to christianity.
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Polygamy is still practiced particularly
in rural kwaZulu-Natal. Post marital residence is patria local, and woman often
adopt the identity of the of the households in which she has married, even
though in daily communication she is called by the bio name or the name of her
father, with the prefix of ma- added.
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Children belong to their father lineage.
The Zulu value marriage, and the process of getting married involves a host of
expensive exchanges with bride-wealth being the men feature, making the divorce
difficult.
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According to Golan (1990), states that,
“Men could not marry till they left the Butho, and girls often resented their
marriage to older men and sometimes eloped”
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Food, traditionally the Zulu are nomadic
farmers whose diet revolved around meat, grains and wild plants.
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Meat is served with phutusamp (maize and
beans), yams and seasonal greens.
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Zulu meals are a social rituals. Sharing the
same plate or wp is symbolic of friendship and welcome. As a part of a cultural
tenet of sharing. Children eat from one large dish.
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Before eating hands are washed
afterwards. Mounts are rinsed.
ZULU
BELIEFS
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Refers to the confidence or the truth
that something is right or good.
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The
religious system of amazulu basically mounts the early Zulu life which
lies on traditional worship and Christianity.
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Ancestral spirits are important in Zulu
religious life.
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Offerings and sacrifices are made to the
ancestral for protection, good health and happiness
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Ancestral come back in a world in form
of dreams, illnesses and sometimes in a shape of snakes
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Traditionally the more strongly held
Zulu belief was in ancestor spirits (Amatongo or Amadhozi)who had the power to
intervene in peoples lives for good or ill.(Henry:1870). This beliefs continues
to be widespread among the
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Modern Zulu (Adam:2005).The Zulu also
believed in the uses of magic . Anything beyond their understanding such as bad
lucky and illness is considered to be send by an angry spirit.
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Zulu people were good in rainmakers.
Queens in Zulu were special for creating clouds by using magic beliefs. These
queens were known as majuji. They sacrificed their first daughters secretly in
order to transform clouds to rain.
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Zulu religion also includes belief in a
creator God (unkulunkulu) who is above interacting in day to day human affairs
, although this belief appears to have originated from by early Christian
missionaries to frame the idea of the Christian God in Zulu terms.(Hexham:1979)
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