Zulu

By Pearl Sithole and John Beierle

Isizulu, Zunda, Amazulu.

The Zulu are an African ethnic group mainly living in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, which is located between the Indian Ocean in the East and the Drakensberg mountain range in the West. It also stretches from the borders of Mozambique and Swaziland in the North to Umzimkhulu River in the South. This is an agriculturally fertile region, with summer being a very productive season. The summer season between October and April is warm and rainy, while winter between June and August is relatively cold and dry. Temperatures are moderate, seldom reaching the extremes. The Swazi people in the North, the BaSotho in the West, and the Xhosa and Mpondo communities in the South border the Zulu.

Zulu identity has changed over time. Before the ascendancy of king Shaka, Zulu referred to only one clan that recognized "Zulu" as its founding ancestor. After Shaka's mission of conquest and consolidation, Zulu referred to hundreds of clans under the control of the Zulu monarchy. After British colonial rule of Natal, which began in 1843, Zulu identity became more associated with particular territory, especially the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal Province, formerly known as Zululand. Today, the basis of Zulu 'ethnic' identity is linked to the language and the monarchy.

It is difficult to talk about numbers of Zulu people as not all people who speak the isiZulu language can be assumed to be Zulu. KwaZulu-Natal Province is also open to all South Africans and not all people who live there are Zulu. According to the South African Statistics 2000 report, in 1996, 9,200,144 people out of the total South African population of 40,583,573 speak isiZulu language. In 1997 there were an estimated 8,713,100 "black" people living in KwaZulu-Natal (out of 31 460 970 "black" people in the whole of South Africa). It is also estimated that out of all isiZulu speakers in South Africa 74.6 percent live in KwaZulu-Natal.

Zulu people speak isiZulu language, which is classified under what is known as Nguni languages in South Africa and includes the isiXhosa, the isiSwazi, and the isiNdebele languages. In Southern Africa the Nguni co-exist with the Sotho and the Khoisan who also have their own subdivisions within themselves. All these Southern African cultural-linguistic groups (with the exception of the Khoisan) are often classified as Bantu-speaking peoples as their languages show some linguistic similarities of a broader nature when compared to other African languages. There is some speculation that this might be because of some common origins. This is however debated.

Oral history lists eight kings including the currently reigning king Zwelithini Goodwill. Shaka Zulu is often recited as the first and most prominent of these - particularly with regard to military proficiency and command, and the integration and mobilization of smaller "tribes" into a kingdom. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Zulu, like some other tribes who command equivalent military respectability, attempted to subjugate others under them and to command political supremacy above all others. While this process was going on the colonial powers arrived on the scene. The British officially annexed Natal in 1845, while the Dutch-German-French descendents, locally referred to as the Boers, had already begun to colonize the same territory. However Natal's status as a Boer colony was shaky and short-lived. The Boer later annexed the Western part of Zululand in an attempt to form a Boer Republic. Brutality and mistrust characterized the relationship between the colonists and the indigenous Zulu population with the colonists always having the upper hand. Amidst political strife in the 1880s, the Zulu kingdom was weakened through arrests of the king and by provoking internal conflict. Through what was called the Shepstonian system, the British colonists later divided Zululand up into thirteen chiefdoms.

There is a great deal of doubt and uncertainty regarding Zulu history, because of its use as a political tool either to support apartheid or argue against it, and more recently in the early 1990s to argue for or against the Inkatha Freedom Party's (IFP) struggle for Zulu sovereignty. Despite all this the Zulu have maintained a strong sense of themselves as Zulu. They have done this through associating their surnames with being Zulu, and maintaining a good vocabulary of praise names, and by maintaining specific Zulu cultural practices.

KwaZulu-Natal is both urban and rural with Durban as its metropolitan city. The Zulu people in rural areas live in households that have nuclear family members or three-generation household structure. Their homestead physical structure often constitutes RONDAVELS, which are circular houses built of mud or concrete blocks and thatched with grass or sometimes iron sheets. Rectangular flat roofed houses of mud or concrete blocks are as popular as the RONDAVELS, but they often co-exist with RONDAVELS, as RONDAVELS are preferred for a kitchen or as a house where ancestors are consulted. A common housing structure before the second half of the twentieth century was the beehive huts. These were round strongly woven grass huts with small doors that could only be entered on knees. Kitchens often have the hearth as the center of the house.

Urban Zulu people live mainly in townships. These were built in the 1950s and 1960s by the government to enforce their policy of racial segregation. Townships were residential areas of "black" people and their families closer to places of work in the cities. The government of the time built numerous four-roomed houses that were rented out to people. In KwaZulu-Natal, Zulu people mainly occupied these. With a few exceptions the Zulu are still the main inhabitants of KwaZulu-Natal townships. However the houses are now under private ownership.

Since the abolition of apartheid in the early 1990s, some urban areas have become more integrated. In the inner city of Durban, for example, the Zulu people co-exist with people from other parts of South Africa and with people from other African countries who have come to KwaZulu-Natal for various reasons ranging from studying, seeking asylum, or seeking employment.

Before the mid-nineteenth century, the Zulu depended entirely upon horticulture and raising livestock. Their staple crop was maize, while cattle, goats and fowls were their most cherished livestock. Today they eat a variety of spinach, pumpkins, beans, potatoes and other vegetables, which they grow and buy. Although they like meat, many cannot afford to buy enough for an adequate diet. Maize, wheat flour, and lately rice, are the main staples.

A dual economy of subsistent horticulture and market economy was characteristic of the late nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century. This situation gradually changed when the Zulu people were crowded onto insufficient land and forced to work for money in order to pay taxes. The Zulu engage in small-scale trading as part of the informal sector to supplement money that other members of their households derive from working in the cities and small towns. Few Zulu people engage in serious commercial activities. Professional jobs are the main point of development of the Zulu. Although horticulture is still stringently practiced in rural areas, there is general dependence on the commercial market for food. Small-scale agriculture merely supplements money.

The Zulu people's main economic activities have traditionally been horticulture and tending to cattle and goats. The hoe is their main industrial implement. The grinding stone was also an important element in the house. However, its significance is fading. Historically, they also engaged in hunting as well. That is why they make IZAGILA (knobkerries or assegais) and IMIKHONTO (spears) of tremendous variety and artistic sophistication. Both of these were also used in warfare. Sticks and knobkerries were also used in combat competitions organized as part of ceremonial dances. Women made a range of pottery goods. These goods serve as cooking, storing and eating utensils. They are still made by those who have learnt the trade and they are sold in markets. However cooking is now mostly done in steel pots. Palm woven crafts such as baskets, mats, beer strainers and vessel lids are also made for commercial purposes. Zulu beadwork is now mainly made for tourists and specific ceremonial. In a few places traditional Z ulu dress is still worn.

No major trade can be attributed to the Zulu culture as such but the KwaZulu-Natal province is now accessible by sea, air and through roads for commercial trade.

The division of labor within a household is mainly between men and women. Traditionally men had the tasks of providing economic security for the household, to protect the household, lead ceremonial activity of the household, and do some outside-the-house physical tasks such as tending for livestock, building kraals, building new houses and so on. Men regard themselves as providers of their households, and for their status as household heads employment is imperative. Women still do the horticultural activities in rural areas. Women are faced with the day-to-day running of the house - cleaning, washing, cooking, fetching water, and child rearing. Women are also employable in order to provide for economic needs, but they have to see to it that their respective household routine is attended either by themselves before and after work, or by someone they employ.

All land in 'tribal areas' is under the control of a "chief" who allocates land for residential purposes as well as for cultivation at a household head's request. Historically, "chiefs" had full authority over incorporation of people into their chiefdoms. However, their roles were fully absorbed into the colonial system in which their role was reduced to tax collectors. Their land was taken away from them. The title "chief" is no longer acceptable among these traditional leaders, because it evokes their subjugation under colonial rule as 'busboys' of an oppressive regime. They prefer to be called by the Zulu alternative AMAKHOSI (singular: INKOSI). The people who live on farms under the employ of white farmers also have limited scope to practice subsistent agriculture for themselves as they do this under control and constraints that relate to their terms of rent and remuneration as farm workers. Urban Zulu dwellers live under various arrangements of rent, private ownership, and rate payments.

Surnames are a symbol of identity for individuals and families. Surnames include praise names that reflect the interrelatedness of surnames and some important occurrences in the history of the people. People of the same surname once belonged to the same localized clan. At the beginning of the twentieth century this residential pattern has changed drastically; yet even when people of the same surname meet only for the first time at the airport in Johannesburg they regard themselves as related. Zulu people observe exogamy with immediate relatives of their mother's kin and with people who hold the same surname as their mothers.

Nuclear families are now the most common operational units of kin. Children depend on their parents for as long as they are not married and are not financially or economically independent. The extended family is important for economic assistance and on ritual and ceremonial occasions. Matrilineal kin are also vital and expected to appear in important ceremonies concerning their daughter or sister's children. Children born by unmarried women belong to their mothers' kin.

Kinship terminology as far as the nuclear family is concerned is: UMAMA for mother; UBABA for father; UDADEWETHU for sister; UMFOWETHU for brother; UDODAKAZI for daughter; and UNDODANA for son. This is the commonly used terminology sometimes used by people generally towards each other as recognition of their respective age as they interact. In-laws use the same terminology modified to enshrine the affinal nature of the relationship. Thus for a young woman who has married into another household her husband's mother is known to her as MAMEZALA even though in her usual address she will call her "MAMA". Her husband's father is UABABEZALA even though when addressing him she will call him "BABA". Other notions of respect to refer to sister/sister-in-law, and brother/bother-in-law are 'SISI and 'BHUTI' respectively. These may have origins from other languages, but they are popularly used as a sign of respect for people one does not want to mention categorically by name. Cousins call each other "MZALA" or "GAZI", the latter being used mostly among parallel cousins related through mothers. One's father's brother is called BAB'OMKHULU or BAB'OMNCANE depending on whether they are older or younger than one's father respectively. One's father's sister is called BABEKAZI (even though the English derived 'anti' is gaining more popularity in the beginning of the twentieth century). For the mother's side - one's mother's sisters are called MAM'KHULU or MAM'NCANE according to whether they are older or younger respectively. The mother's brother is called MALUME. The mother's brother calls his sister's child MSHANA. Male grandparents (whether patrilineal or matrilineal are called) UGOGO for grandmother and UMKHULU for grandfather. A man's in-laws are UMUKHWE for his wife's father, UMKHWEKAZI for her mother, UMLAMU or USIBALI for his wife's siblings.

Monogamous marriage is popular amongst the Zulu, even though historically polygamy was encouraged. Polygamy is still practiced particularly in rural KwaZulu-Natal. Post-marital residence is patrilocal and women often adopt the identity of the household into which they are married even though in daily communication they are called by the surnames or names of their fathers with the prefix 'MA' added on. Their children belong to their father's lineage. The Zulu value marriage and the process of getting married involves a host of expensive exchanges with bride wealth being the main feature, making divorce difficult.

The typical domestic unit for the Zulu constitutes a man, his wife or wives and their children. In some households the parents of the man form part of the unit as the most senior household members who direct most of the activities of the household. Even though frowned upon, out-of-wedlock births are becoming rife in KwaZulu-Natal. Single mothers tend to remain with their matrilineal relatives. Their children adopt matrilineal identity since their fathers' kin groups would have paid no bride wealth.

Inheritance of property follows the patrilineal line. Inheritance of important positions such as 'chiefship' follows primogeniture.

Children are socialized to inculcate the division of labor that associates women with running the inside of the house and men to manage the economic, the outside and public relations of the household with others. The school (and later tertiary education institutions for those who can afford them) occupies the lives of boys and girls. Different stages of a person's life are marked by ceremonial occasions in Zulu culture which help in an internalization of new roles.

Social status is traditionally encapsulated in the respect for kinship positions and leadership. Just as there is serious respect for the household head and patrilineal kin, there is general respect for men as principal carriers of identity, and tremendous respect for the INKOSI ('chief') and his kin as the royal household of the chiefdom. There is socio-economic inequality amongst the Zulu people caused by differential access to the monetary resources of a capitalist economy. Economic differentiation co-exists with different lifestyles: a traditional Zulu lifestyle reflected in religion, dress code, and a defiant attitude towards western standards and mannerisms, and an alternative western competitive capitalist lifestyle. However, given all this there are definitely no pure Zulu and no perfect western convert.

The Zulu have a monarch who commands respect over a large number of people who live under the immediate authority of their AMAKHOSI ('chiefs'). AMAKHOSI pay respect to the king through attending the House of Traditional Leaders and mobilize support for any festivities organized by the king. The 'chiefs' have sub-divisions (IZIGODI) within the chiefdoms, which are looked after by headmen (IZINDUNA). In some chiefdoms, 'chiefs' have additional councilors who, together with headmen form part of what is called the Tribal Authority, which aids the 'chief' to govern the chiefdom. In addition structures of the democratically elected local government administer access to facilities and services to all people of the KwaZulu-Natal Province. These structures work closely with KwaZulu-Natal provincial government and their relationship with 'chiefs' is a contentious issue.

The Zulu have become influenced by individualism to some extent. Although the older generation boasts of a time where discipline of the younger generation was a responsibility of everyone in the community, most people tend to mind their own business. Institutions such as the church and the family have some limited control on moral behavior, but sanctions are not as communally levied as the older generation has led people to believe. Discipline of specific misbehavior is also a responsibility of respective alerted institutions such as schools, the police and the Tribal Authority (the chiefs' structure of governance).

Conflict occasionally arose between various chiefdoms, particularly over boundaries. Colonial land policies and relocations exacerbated such conflict. These usually lead to feuding between concerned parties with an intervention of other state institutions such as the police, defense force, and courts. Other kinds of conflict involve clashes between various political parties over political issues. In the precolonial period there was some conflict between different tribes over property or boundaries, but also as a result of a bid by other groups to subdue others and expand their boundaries, which occasionally involved non-Zulu groups such as the Xhosa in the South and the some BaSotho groups.

Zulu people have a strong belief in the potency of their ancestors. God characterizes their cosmology first and foremost in various forms, namely UMVELINGQANGI (a male God responsible for all life), UNOMKHUBULWANO (a female God who provides for food security particularly through good harvests), and others think there is God for the control of weather as well, particularly thunder. Their cosmology also includes ancestors who can have a significant positive impact on their families' lives as long as they are properly appeased. The cosmology of the Zulu also includes the potency of the natural world, particularly herbs and animals when made to UMUTHI (medicine), can be used or abused to affect people negatively or positively. This is mainly in the realm of traditional medicine.

Christianity has also significantly influenced the Zulu. The majority of Zulu combine the traditional religious beliefs with Christianity; there are also those who profess to be entirely converted to Christianity - mostly those who follow the evangelical Christian traditions.

The Zulu religion is essentially a household-based religion. It is characterized by an obligation by household heads to fulfill the necessary ceremonial rituals. These ceremonies often require the sacrifice of appropriate domestic animals (usually goats) while addressing the ancestors through the medium of burning IMPEPHO, an incense herb.

There are also churches known as African indigenous churches, which combine aspects of western Christianity with Zulu ways of communicating with ancestors. These have priests and healers who dedicate themselves to these practices for the benefit of all who consult them. Diviners have traditionally existed amongst the Zulu and they diagnose the causes of illnesses or misfortunes. Their diagnosis often relates to dissatisfied ancestors or evil manipulation of UMUTHI for harmful effects, in other words, witchcraft.

There are numerous ceremonies that relate to an individual's stage in the domestic cycle and linked to ancestors. Zulu babies are named and then introduced to the ancestors in a ceremony called IMBELEKO. A girl's first menstruation is celebrated through a ceremony called UMHLONYANE. Both these ceremonies involve slaughtering a goat. Young women are declared adults and ready for marriage through a ceremony called UMEMULO, which involves slaughtering a cow. Marriage is celebrated through a wedding ceremony (UMSHADO or UMGCAGCO). Death is also a ceremonial occasion accompanied by appropriate rites of passage observances. Another important ceremony is done a year after a household member died and it is supposed to link the deceased with his/her long departed relatives and elevate him/her to 'ancestor hood'. Moderation in practice or observance of these ceremonies characterizes life in KwaZulu-Natal. When there is omission in fulfilling such ceremonies, diviners often point to this as the cause of ill luck for an individual or a household.

Royal ceremonies include the reed dance ceremony, or UMKHOSI WOMHLANGA, in which young women show pride of their womanhood (with an emphasis on virginity) through parading at the king's palace in view of thousands of cheerful onlookers. The king maintains a traditional privilege of choosing a wife among these women, if he so pleases. The Shaka Zulu celebrations are held on the twenty-fourth while this day was historically called Shaka's day and is important for Zulu people; in the new South African democratic era it is now called Heritage day, and is supposed to have meaning for all South Africans. The Zulu still commemorate Shaka Zulu on this day. The king also has other activities such as a twenty-minute address of the Zulu nation on radio UKHOZI (an isiZulu radio station) every Christmas morning.

The Zulu are known for their pottery. The art of making the pots and the decoration of these remain an important skill for the Zulu women. Beadwork, and grass and palm weaving are also essential as part of the Zulu arts and crafts. Skill and creativity determine the scale of fame for the artists. Artistic woodcarving by men also takes place in certain parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

Medicine among the Zulu takes two forms. Firstly, there is the kind of medicine that targets physical ailments and deals with physiological problems of the human body. Secondly, there is medicine with suggestible potency that works magically to produce a negative or positive impact unto those towards whom it is used. This type of medicine is used more like a weapon and is often implicated in the acts of animosity people sometimes level against each other. Zulu people use Western medical practitioners as well, but the relationship between the two systems of healing is not characterized by mutual respect. However, most Zulu people use both systems depending on what they perceive to be the source of their problems.

Death is regarded as a time of tremendous loss among the Zulu. A death by illness is treated differently from a death by "a spill of blood". Accidents and death by being killed are regarded as deaths by "a spill of blood" and medicinal healing is expected to accompany the funerals in these cases in order to stop such misfortune (UKUVALA UMKHOKHA). Generally, deaths are considered polluting and various rituals and ceremonies need to be observed to slowly remove the impurity. These also serve to gradually send the deceased into the next world.

Documents referred to in this section are included in the eHRAF collection and are referenced by author, date of publication, and eHRAF document number.

The Zulu file consists of 47 documents, all in English, covering a time span from about 1800 to the late 1990s. The basic orienting document in this file is Krige, 1965, no. 1, a general ethnography based primarily on works from the nineteenth century, and written in the ethnographic present. This ethnography is supplemented by the works of Shooter, 1857, no. 19, Grout, 1864, no. 36, and Krauss, 1969, no. 44, all of which deal with traditional ethnography and describe Zulu life at various times in the nineteenth century. Religion, symbolism, magic, divination, are extensively covered in this file and will be found in the studies of Ngubane, 1977, no. 2, Berglund, 1976, no. 8, Callaway, 1870, no. 12, Raum, 1973, no. 15, Lee, 1958, no. 20, Krige, 1969, no. 26, Bodenstein and Raum, 1960, no. 27, Fernandez, 1967, no. 29, Dutoit, 1971, 1971, nos. 33 and 34; Lugg, 1929, no. 35, Scotch, 1976, no. 41, and Rounds, 1982, no. 52.

Another major topic given much attention in this file is that of socio-political organization. Documents dealing with this aspect of Zulu culture are: Gluckman, 1955, 1940, nos. 5 and 21; Reader, 1966, no. 6; Krauss, 1969, no. 44; Golan, 1991, no. 54; Kuper, 1993, no. 55, and deHass and Zulu, 1994, no. 56. Culture history, with emphasis on the Anglo-Zulu wars of the mid nineteenth century, are covered in: Cettiwayo, 1978, no. 38; and Edgerton, 1988, no. 46.

For more detailed information on the content of the individual works in this file, see the abstracts in the citation preceding each document.

This culture summary is from the article "Zulu" by Pearl Sithole in the Encyclopedia of World Cultures Supplement, 2002, Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, and Ian Skoggard, eds. New York: Macmillan Reference, Gale Group. The SYNOPSIS and indexing notes were written by John Beierle in June 2004.

• ABANTU ABAKHONZILE -- menials, dependants -- category 357

• ABANTWANA -- princes and princesses -- category 565

• ANC -- the African National Congress -- category 665

• Cane-grower's Association -- category 474

• Farmer's Association -- category 474

• HLONIPA -- avoidance; respectful restraint --784, 571, 576

• IBUNGA -- local council -- category 623

• IKHANDA -- heads of royal homesteads -- categories 644, 701 (depending on context)

• IMBONGI -- poet or bard -- category 5310

• INDUNA of army -- category 701

• INDUNA, "great" -- prime minister-- category 645

• INDUNA, of ward -- categories 622, 634

• INKATHA -- the Zulu National Cultural Liberation Movement -- categories 665, 668

• INKOSANA -- heir-designate of the UMNUMZANE -- category 622

• INKOSI -- the king -- category 643

• INTANGA -- regiments -- categories 561, 701

• INYANGA --herb doctor, medicineman -- categories 759, 756, 791

• IPHOYISA -- "policeman"; modern equivalent of the UMNUMZANE -- category 622

• ISANGOMA -- witchdoctor -- categories 754, 756, 791

• ISIBONGO -- sib, clan, clan praise-name -- categories 614, 554, 551

• ISICATHAMIYA -- a genre of Zulu dance and song -- categories 535, 533

• ISIFUNDA -- ward group or super district -- category 634

• ISIGODI -- neighborhood, district, or sub ward -- category 634

• ISIGODLO -- members of the king's household -- category 644

• ISIKUZA -- see ABANTU ABAKHONZILE

• ISILOMO -- royal favorites of the highest status -- category 644

• ISIQINTI -- sub ward or neighborhood -- category 634

• ITHWASA -- diviner in training -- category 791

• IZINDUNA -- traditional headman -- category 622

• IZINYANGA -- diviners -- category 791

• IZUNDUNA ZAMACALA -- INDUNAS of cases -- category 693

• KHONZA -- patron-client relationship -- category 571

• King's council -- category 646

• LAAGERS -- defensive positions -- category 712

• 'NKULU YAMABUTHO -- great captain of the regiments -- category 701

• South African Native Trust -- category 657

• Tribal chief -- categories 622, 635

• "Tribe" -- category 635

• UGOGO -- grandmother -- category 603

• UMNUMZANE -- head of KRAAL, descent group, or village head -- category 592

• UMSENGI -- royal favorites of lower status -- category 644

• UMUZI -- KRAAL, homestead, or village -- categories 592, 621 (depending on context)

• USENDO (UMDENI, ABAZALUSANE) -- lineage -- category 613

Argyle, John. "Dingiswayo Discovered: An Interpretation of his Legendary Origins." In Social System and Tradition in Southern Africa, edited by John Argyle and Eleanor Preston-Whyte. London: Oxford University Press, 1978.

Brookes, E.H. & Webb, C.deB. A History of Natal. Pietermarizburg: University of Natal Press, 1965.

Bryant, A.T. Olden Times in Zululand and Natal. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1929.

Cope, Nicholas. To Bind the Nation: Solomon kaDinuzulu and Zulu Nationalism 1913 - 1937. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press, 1993.

De Haas, Mary, and Paulus Zulu. "Ethnicity and Federalism: the case of KwaZulu-Natal," Journal of Southern African Studies 20(3): 433 - 446. 1994.

Gluckman, Max. "Kinship and Marriage among the Lozi of Northern Rhodesia and the Zulu of Natal." In African Systems of Kinship and Marriage, edited by A. R. Radcliffe-Brown and D. Forde. London: Oxford University Press, 1950.

Hamilton, C. Terrific Majesty: The powers of Shaka Zulu and the Limits of Historical Invention. Cape Town: David Philip Publishers, 1998.

Laband, J. and Thompson P. "The Reduction of Zululand 1878 - 1904." In Natal and Zululand from Earliest Times to 1910, edited by Andrew Duminy and Bill Guest. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter and Shooter, 1998.

Leech Stephen. "Rewriting the Zulu Past beyond the Washing of Spears," Alternation 7(2): 113-134. 2000.