The Culture of Zulu - Research Paper Example

 The Culture of Zulu Introduction The Zulus are the largest ethnic group in South Africa. Most of them are concentrated in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa although some of them are also found in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. Zulus are not being furious warriors. In fact the Zulus under their king refused to accept the authority of British. This led to the Battle of Isandlwana where the British suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Zulus. They were finally defeated by the British in the battle of Ulundi in 1979 (Dougherty & Sievert, 2008). During the apartheid years, Zulus were classified as third class citizens and were forced to suffer discrimination at the hands of the state. Zulus have played an important role in the end of Apartheid and in the development of modern South Africa. The two important political parties of the country – African National Congress and the Inkatha freedom party were both formed by Zulus. They also participated in large numbers in the struggle to end apartheid in both the parties. In this essay, discussions will be focused on the culture of Zulus especially their Religion, political organization of Zulus before the arrival of British and the Gender relations in Zululand (Dougherty & Sievert, 2008). Mode of Subsistence Farming and cattle rearing were the primary modes of subsistence of the Zulus. Cattle especially the Ox was very important for the Zulus. Cattle were also given great significance and there was also a special place for the cattle in the family .The cattle was reared largely for eating purposes. Although all the cattle and the farms were owned by the head of the family who was a man but each of his wife was provided with a set of her own farms and cattle which were used by her in order to feed her immediate family (Dougherty & Sievert, 2008). Zulu Religion The Spirit World Zulus placed a lot of importance on their ancestors and their spirits. These ancestors were supposed by them to be living in Unkulunkulu which was considered as the world of the spirits. The ancestors were the link between the living and the spirits. For this reasons they needed to be remembered by the family members, praised regularly and also appeased by making offerings to them. In case a family failed to do so, the spirits are said to have visit them in the form of troubles. These troubles can be solved only if the mistake of the family is rectified and the spirits of the ancestors are pacified by some offerings and by showering of praises on them. The Sangoma was the spiritual healer and the priest of the Zulus. In case of a mishap such as failure of crops, death of livestock, draught or any other natural calamity the Sangoma was the one who declared the reasons for the calamity. The calamity could have been caused by the unhappy spirits or by witchcraft. If it was the former, the family was supposed to appease the ancestors but if it was the latter a witch-hunt and the elimination of the witch responsible was carried out (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2005). Another important religious person among the Zulus is the Inyanga. The Inyanga can be said to be the doctor of the Zulu tribe. He mostly used local plants and animals in order to find cure of the common diseases like cuts, bruises. The cure was usually followed by religious rituals in which the spirits were praised and pacified and asked to restore the health of the person who is sick (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2005). It is not only ancestors whose spirits were worshipped by the Zulus. The spirits were also supposed to exist in animals, forests, mountains and caves. Thus animals should be fed properly and cared for, the forest and the mountains should not be made angry or the spirits living in them will have their vengeance on the people. The Zulus are afraid of the phenomenon of lightning. They believed lightning to be the justice of the spirits. A man can fool his fellow men and the chief of the tribe but he cannot fool the spirits. They will bring justice to an evil man by throwing lightning upon him. A man who was killed by lightning was not provided a respectful burial. Cattle or a tree which were harmed during lightning were discarded by the community and everyone stayed away from these trees and did not use their branches or any other product (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2005). Tokolshe was feared greatly by the Zulus. He was similar to a zombie as we know of today. Tokolshe was supposed to be created by witches and wizards in order to harm the Zulus. To protect themselves from Tokolshe, beds were usually raised from the ground level with the help of bricks. It was also assumed that if one hears a knock in the night on the door, then it signals the arrival of Tokolshe and such knocks should never be answered (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2005). Death and Burials As is evident from the above description, the Zulus placed a lot of importance on the spirit of the ancestors. They did not care about their bodies. Ordinary members of the Zulu tribe were left to be eaten by the wild animals. However the King or the chief or the head of the family were buried with proper respect to their spirits. They were usually buried in a sitting position and their belongings were also buried along with them in order to assist them in their journey to the spirit world. An Ox was killed and a feast was organized in order to give good luck on the journey of the deceased. If the chief was killed outside the village, his spirit is brought back in the village using a buffalo thorn tree (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2005). Present Times and Zulu Religion Most modern day Zulus declare their religion to be Christianity. Most of Zulus were converted to Christianity by the British and their missionaries. However along with Christianity many traditional cultures and beliefs are still retained in Zululand. The Zulus still strongly believe in Unkulunkulu or the spirit world. The belief that their ancestors will protect them from harmful spirits still exists (Monteiro-Ferreira, 2005). Political Organization of Zulus The political organization of the Zulus was hierarchical .At the top was the king. The king had all the administrative, legislative and judicial powers over the Zululand. The title of the king was hereditary and was usually inherited by the eldest son. However there was always tension between the king and his brothers. The brothers of the king served as a check on the powers of the king. The king was also suspecting that his subjects could switch loyalty towards one of its brothers. The king could also have his brothers killed if he supposed that they were going to be threat to his rule (Kuper, 1993). The King in himself did not have any control over any of the Zulu territories. The Zululand was divided into a number of tribes and each tribe was headed by a chief. This chief was delegated some judicial and administrative powers by the king. However the chief was supposed to follow the general directions of the king and maintain law and order within his territory. The position of Chief was hereditary although he usually held this position at the pleasure of the king. The king usually did not interfere in the succession matters of large tribes unless there was a serious threat to his position by one of the chiefs or if the chief was exceptionally incompetent and the people below were dissatisfied with him. Theoretically the King was within his powers to remove a chief and appoint another one but the people of Zulu were more loyal towards their tribe chiefs as compared to the king. So force removal of a chief could lead to large scale dissatisfaction among the people of the tribe. Thus there was a sort of symbiotic relationship between the chiefs and the king as they both depended on each other for their survival (Kuper, 1993). Each tribe was further divided into wards which were headed by the Indunas. These Indunas were appointed by the Chief but usually turned into hereditary positions just like the position of the chief or the position of the King. Indunas were the head of homesteads which were called as the umuzi. The Umuzi was circular and consisted of about 800 homes. The outer circle consisted of huts and the inner circle was reserved for the cattle of the ward. The position of the huts in the Umuzi was also important and generally signified who lived in the hut. The largest hut was usually given to the mother of the chief; the chief’s hut was on the right of the mother’s hut, first wife to the right of chief’s mother and second wife to the left of chief’s hut. Unmarried girls and boys lived separately on either side of the entrance. The picture below shows how the umuzi was organized. The two eldest sons of the Indunas are responsible for manning the entrance around the clock (Kuper, 1993). Gender Relations Gender roles among Zulus are strictly traditional. The men are the owners of the huts and all the materials inside the huts; the women own nothing. Men are responsible for meeting outside visitors, arranging for food to be cooked by the females and also taking all the important decisions of the family such as which agreements to enter into or how much cattle is required for the family to survive. The women are supposed to look after household chores. They are expected to take care of the cattle and plant and reap the crops. These respective duties are taught to the boys and girls right from the childhood. As children boys are encouraged to engage in stick fighting which will prepare them to fight battles and women are encouraged to take care of the household activities. The men of the family are supposed to eat first; whatever is left behind is eaten by the women of the house and the children (Hanretta, 1998). Young boys and girls are allowed to engage in the practice of “uku-hlobonga” which is the name given by Zulus to sex without any penetration. If penetration occurs during the practice of uku-hlobonga; it is usually considered the fault of the man if an unwanted pregnancy occurs. He is supposed to pay a beast in the form of penalty to the parents of the women (Hanretta, 1998). Marriage is an important part of the Zulu culture. The Zulus practice polygamy i.e. a man can have many wives. Unmarried girls are considered to be worthless in the Zulu society as they are unable to give birth to children. Till their marriage, young girls are expected to remain bare-breasted. The women generally have no say in their marriage. This is usually arranged between the parents of the girl and the man. The man is supposed to pay a “lobola” which is a price to acquire the bride. The lobola is paid to the parents of the girl and is usually cattle. The women are not even informed who they are married off to; they are only made aware of the date on which they will leave their parent’s home. A woman who produces a child out of wed lock is looked at with disgrace in the Zulu community (Hanretta, 1998). The first wife and the Zulu grandmother are considered very important figures in the Zulu household. The grandmother has a great say in the affairs of the household. The first wife is supposed to start the acquisition of other wives in order to help around the household. Each wife is given a separate hut, her own fields and cattle in order to feed and look after her immediate family. Conclusion The Zulus have a rich culture and heritage which goes way back and is older than the recent state of South Africa. Although the people of Zulu are now largely integrated into the South African culture but they still retain some of their culture and religious beliefs. This paper is an attempt to understand some of the beliefs which were followed by the Zulu people. References Dougherty, T., and Sievert, T. (2008). Zulu Warriors. Mankato: Capstone. Hanretta, S. (1998). Women, Marginality and the Zulu state: Women's Institutions and Power in the Early Nineteenth Century. Journal of African History, 39 pp.389 - 415. Kuper, A. (1993). The 'House' and Zulu Political Structure in the Nineteenth Century. Journal of African History, 34 pp.469 - 487. Monteiro-Ferreira, A. (2005). Reevaluating Zulu Religion : An Afrocentric Analysis. Journal of Black Studies, 35 (3), pp.347 - 363. Read More