Zulu People of South Africa , Lesotho, Mozambique.
Monday, September 12, 2022
Zulu People also known as Amazulu People can be found in South Africa , some parts of Lesotho and Mozambique with a small population, they are part of the Bantu speaking people also they are related to the Xhosa People of South Africa and others part of Nguni , Swazi and Ndebele People .
Zulu People are known for their beadwork, basketry , they have also been some figural sculpture questionably attributed to them and It is believed their architecture is quite complex their dress or fashion has been carefully studied .
According to other accounts ,It is believed they are descendants of the patriarch Zulu , who was born to a Nguni Chief in the Congo basin area , In the 16th Century , they migrated southward to their present day location in Present day South African Natal province , incorporating many of the customs of the San , including the well known linguistic clicking sounds of the region.
It is believed during the reign of King Shaka Zulu from 1816- 1828 , Zulu became one of the powerful military force in Present day South Africa, King Shaka Zulu was accompanied by Dingaan.
Mpande was the next King , during the rule of Mpande It is believed the British extensiver control over his people by 1872 , Zulu had enough of the English Invasion , Cetewayo replaced Mpande tried vainly for six years to avoid a confrontation with the British , yet in 1879 war erupted , although they Initially experienced success , Cetewayo was exiled to England, the British was said to have divided the Zulu Kingdom later Cetewayo was released when he was forced to escape from the Zululand he was poisoned by the British , Zulu were originally a major clan in Present day Kwa Zulu Natal founded by Zulu Ka Maladela in 1709 , iZulu means heaven or weather during that time the area was occupied by many large Nguni clans, Isizwe meaning the nation , people, isbongo meaning the clan or family name , Nguni had migrated down Africa’s east coast over centuries as part of Bantu migrations and It is believed they arrived in Present day South Africa in about 9th Century.
Zulu formed a powerful state in 1818 under the leadership of Shaka Zulu the King as a commander in the army of the powerful Mthethwa Empire , Shaka Zulu recruited young men from all over the Kingdom and trained them in his own novel warrior tactics, after defeating competing armies , he established his Zulu nation he had forged one of the strongest Empires the African has ever known however , during the 1800s.
It is believed the Zulu Chiefdoms were divided into 13 Chiefdoms when the British troops was claimed to have invaded a territory , According to Saho around the great lakes regions of Central and East Africa lived the Bantus , Nguni who also lived in this region and they were direct ancestors of the Zulus It is believed Zulu were called after a group who headed a migration from Present day Egypt to great lakes via corridor of the Red sea originally the Zulu originated from Kwazulu Natal , the homeland means the place of the Zulu after the end of apartheid in 1994, the province of Natal, which had existed between 1910 and 1914 which was remained Kwa Zulu Natal .
Zulu Oral traditions of King Shaka Zulu .
According to Mazisi Kunene , Shaka Zulu mother was Nandi she was the daughter of Bhebhe a past Chief of the Langeni tribe his father was Senzangakhona Ka Jama he was the Chief of the Zulu clan and notable as the father of three Zulu Kings who ruled , the oldest was King Shaka Zulu , Shaka Zulu grandfather was Jama kaNdaba and his grandmother was Queen Mthaniya Sibiya , Shaka's father succeeded his father’s death during the chieftaincy of his royal majesty King Senzangakhona .
Zulu were a small clan in the Mthethwa confederation which was ruled by Dingiswayo the word ‘’ Zulu ‘’means ‘’ he who acts with a good reason “ his father had at least 16 wives and the 14 sons It is believed the daughter were not counted and Mkhabayi was Shaka Zulu’s paternal Aunt and reagent before the rule of Senzangakhona , the epic follows the life narrative of Shaka Zulu and It is narrated from a third person perspective.
Nandi gave birth to King Shaka Zulu and he was raised by his mother they finally settled in a Kingdom where he grows , quickly showing himself as having a sharp mind and military prowess , King Shaka gained command of his own regiment , which he retains in a new fighting system instead of fighting with throwing spears from afar, which was a traditional method of warfare , King Shaka Zulu suggested that a large shield and a short stabbing spear should be used , his strategy relies on a quick approach to the enemy under the shield so that they could stab the enemy before Europeans could throw many spears , King Shaka Zulu earned a reputation as both fighter , warrior and saviour , when his father passed away , he led a military force into Zululand.
The soldiers and populace also referred as population flock to this great warrior and he ascends to the throne usurping his more legitimate brothers. White people which is the British came in contact with the Zulu though King Shaka Zulu never trusted Europeans It is claimed his brothers and aunts became frustrated with his rule and they wanted to overthrow him .
In the Zulu Concept the Amadozi or Abaphansi has been strong these are considered as the ancestral spirits , God among Zulu is attributed such as Umvelinqangi meaning the one who come first , UNkulunkulu meaning the very big one , Zulu gave attribute to the creator before the arrival of Europeans and Colonialism.
There is a story told by the Zulus It is believed God appeared first and far removed from the lives of the people and has never been seen by anyone therefore, no ceremonies are performed.
According to folklore It is said long life continued after death , getting old is seen as a blessing , the creator did not think that people should even die there was a chameleon send to the Zulus, the Creator is referred as Mvelinqangi which simply means God just like Ewe referred God as Mawu , Ga referred as Nyomo , Massai referred God as Ngai and Akan as Nyame and Mamprusi as Naa wuni.
Mvelinqangi told the chameleon to go and tell them that they are not to die although the chameloen was slow, Mvelinqangi did not mind but waited for reply however, after the long distance , chameleon saw a wild berrries and decided not to stop eating the berries , chameleon taught Mvelinqangi cannot see it unfortuantely because of the chameloen disobeident , Mvelinqangi was angry and called lizard to take over came swifly , Mvelinqangi told the lizard to go and tell the people due to the disobeident of chamelon they will die at some point , lizard sped off , passed the chameleon on the way to deliver the message after a long time , the chamelon appeared , breathing heavily Zulus were very angry instead of the chamelon to deliver the message long time ago they said to the chamelon ‘’ why do you waste the time? When the lizard had already deliver a message ‘’ Thus , grow old among them is seen as a special privilege they are now to die and they are respected by people .
According to other concept It is believed Mvelinqangi who lived in the sky is also referred as Inkosi Yezulu , Mvelinqangi relaxed when it was reported to him that a young man had played mischief , he had decided to ride Mvelinqangi’s sacred horse and Mvelinqangi expelled the young man and brought him down on earth there was a cord tied around the young man waist when he arrived on earth the cord reed used to cut the cord .
Among the Zulu People they celebrate Shaka Zulu’s day , they wear their full traditional attire clothing and weapons and gather at Shaka’s tombstone , IKwa Dukuza in stanger , this is a very colorful event , they used Izimbongi a praise poets sing the praises of Shaka and Zulu Kings . Zulu food includes barbecued and boiled meat , amasi a curdled milk , mixed with dry , ground corn or dry cooked mealie meal corn flour, amadumbe which is yams , vegetables and fruits, traditional beer is considered as a source of nutrition.
Zulu Folklore is transmitted through storytelling praise , poems, proverbs, stories , It is also explain oral history or oral traditions , moral lessons , praise poems recited about Kings and Warriors.
In their tradition they also make pottery , craftmaking and beadwork , women and children weave every day using mats, beer sieves, baskets and they also make calabashes decorated gourds used as untensils , bead making is this made by women as a symbol of sending messages without being direct and In Zulu Culture they performed dances such as Reed dance , ancient marriage dance, War dance, Ingoma , Indlamu, Imvunulo , Isicathamiya , Ingoma dance includes Ingoma Isizingii and Igoma Isishameni , Igoma Isizingii is performed by boys and girls without drums accompained by a chant , the girl wear a woolen skirts and are usually bare- chested and they also wear rattles made of seedpods around ankles to accent the high kicks.
Igoma Isishameni is a performance with boys and girls together while the girls dance with vice versa , Imdlamu is a dance performed with drums and full traditional attire derived from the war dances of the ancinet warriors and Isicathamiya is performed by men or boys standing in a straight line , this include the lead singer and it is also performed at wedding called Umbholoho with a special songs and dances.