The Zulu are the largest South African ethnic group of an estimated 10 million people who live mainly in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal. It is called the garden province and is the home of the Zulu nation. Located in the southeast of the country, it borders three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho, along with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean. The Zulu are more advanced in western culture than the Maasai and Samburu tribes of Kenya and Tanzania. However, this does not mean that their plight is any less severe.

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ORIGINS:  The Zulu believe that they are descendants from a chief from the Congo area and migrated south during the 16th century. They were originally a major clan in what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal.

 

CULTURE AND LANGUAGE:  Rural Zulu raise cattle and farm corn and vegetables for subsistence purposes. The men and boys herd and are primarily responsible for the cows, which are grazed in the open country, while the women do most, if not all, of the planting and harvesting. The women also are the owners of the family house and have considerable economic clout within the family. The Zulu women are best known for their bead work and basketry. All Zulu products found on this website come from the small village of Hluhluwe where they are handcrafted by the women (pictured below) of Sivusenkosi Arts and Crafts cooperative. The language of the Zulu people is Zulu or "isiZulu". Zulu is the most widely spoken language in South Africa, where it is an official language. Many Zulu people also speak English.

 

MARRIAGE: A Zulu man may have as many wives (polygamy) as he can raise lobola (dowry) for. He can even have unmarried ‘sweethearts’, but a wife may only be married to one man, and should she have an affair, the consequences are dire. The courting process usually begins with the woman sending a gift of beaded adornments to the man. The message of the gift is determined by the color or the beads. For example, blue means great appreciation, gold means you adore the person, white means the person brings light to your life, white and red means you want to marry. If he accepts her message of love, then courtship begins. They continue to exchange messages coded in beads until they are ready to marry. Though this is a very exciting time for the lovebirds, it is out of question that they may engage in sexual relations before marriage. Zulu customs are very clear about this, and the girl must be married a virgin. The man must present the lobola agreement to the bride’s father. The lobola usually consists of a set amount of cattle that the bride’s father receives as compensation for the loss of his daughter.  

 

RELIGION:  Most Zulu people state their beliefs to be Christian. Nevertheless, many retain their traditional pre-Christian belief system of ancestor worship in parallel with their Christianity. Pre-Christian Zulu believe in a creator god known as Nkulunkulu. This god, however, is above interacting in day-to-day affairs and has no interaction with humans. Traditionally, the more strongly held Zulu belief was in ancestor spirits (Amatongo), who had the power to intervene in people's lives, for good or ill. This belief continues to be widespread among the modern Zulu population. In order to appeal to the spirit world, a diviner (sangoma) must invoke the ancestors through divination processes to determine the problem. Then, a herbalist (pictured below) prepares a mixture to be consumed (in order to influence the ancestors). As such, diviners and herbalists play an important part in the daily lives of the Zulu people. However, a distinction is made between white muthi (umuthi omhlope), which has positive effects, such as healing or the prevention or reversal of misfortune, and black muthi (umuthi omnyama), which can bring illness or death to others, or ill-gotten wealth to the user. The first picture below is a sangoma who demonstrated the ritual for us in the village of Hluhluwe.

 

CLOTHING AND ADORNMENTS:  The Zulu are more inclined toward western clothing than the Maasa and Samburu who still practice most of their ancient traditional customs. However, for various celebrations and rituals the Zulu dress and adorn themselves with the clothing of their ancestors. Traditional male clothing is usually light, consisting of a two-part apron (similar to a loincloth) used to cover the genitals and buttocks. The front piece is called the umutsha and is usually made of springbok or other animal hide twisted into different bands which cover the genitals. The rear piece, called the ibheshu, is made of a single piece of springbok or cattle hide, and its length is usually used as an indicator of age and social position; longer amabheshu (plural of ibheshu) are worn by older men. Among the Zulu, different types of dressing define a person's status in society. For example, a young unmarried girl wears heavily beaded, short hip-length skirts (as shown below) and is adorned in bead necklaces and walks around bare-chested. When she gets married she wears a black pleated leather skirt, decorated with beadwork. Older Zulu women wear clothes that cover their bodies.

 

HOUSES: A traditional Zulu homestead is a circular shape, consisting of a number of round homes encircled by a stockade made of tamboti wood, which is poisonous to insects. The building of a Zulu home in Zulu culture is the man's responsibility. However, both men and women gather to build the structure. The women weave the ropes and mats used for used for building, and also weave the top notch of the house. The mats are wound around the sapling framework, from bottom to the top. For the floor the women plaster with a mixture of cow dung and ant-heap soil, which is on the ground. Only one door is as a point of entrance and exit. Normally the entrance is made lower and a normal size person has to bow over to enter. The houses last for about ten to fifteen years before any rebuilding is needed.