The Zulu People

Remember when I said I wanted to do more research on modern day tribal life in South Africa? Well, now I'm doing it. Today I want to talk about the Zulu people. The Zulu are the largest single ethnic group in South Africa, numbering over 8 million people. They live primarily in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, but they are not originally from South Africa at all. Rather, they were part of a Bantu migration down from East Africa thousands of years ago. In my previous history entry, you may recall a Zulu leader named Shaka, who welded the scattered Nguni tribes into the powerful Zulu Kingdom, which was divided by the British in the late 1800s. I'm not sure about you, but I needed some clarification as to what "Bantu" and "Nguni" refer. Bantu refers to more than 60 million people who speak Bantu or a variation of Bantu and who live primarily in the regions that straddle the equator and continue southward into southern Africa. It is believed that in about 1000 BCE, the massive migration South began and lasted until around the 4th century ACE. Nguni is a little bit more confusing to describe. Nguni is a group of people whose ancient history lies in oral history. According to legend, they were a people who migrated from Egypt to Central/East Africa and eventually into South Africa. Nguni peoples are traditionally pastoral and considered part of the greater Bantu ethnic group. Many of these Nguni tribes in South Africa were forcibly united under that Shaka Zulu character I mentioned earlier.
As far as culture goes, the Zulu are known for their work with beads and baskets.

Their attire ranges from traditional tribal clothing for ceremonies to modern westernized clothing for everyday use. Women dress differently depending on whether they are single, engaged, or married. An unmarried woman who is still eligible wears only a short skirt made of grass or beaded cotton strings. An engaged woman will let her traditionally short hair grow longer and will cover her bosom with a decorative cloth which is done out of respect for future in-laws and to show that she is spoken for. A married woman covers her body completely to show other men that she is off-limits.

Interestingly enough, most Zulu people state their religion to be Christian, although many Zulus retain their traditional belief system of ancestor worship in parallel with their Christianity. The traditional Zulu religion involves belief in a creator (Unkulunkulu) who is above and interacting in daily human affairs, but this may have roots in early Christian missionaries who tried to put the idea of a Christian God in Zulu terms. The more strongly held Zulu belief was in ancestor spirits who had the power to intervene in people's lives. This belief continues to be widespread in the modern Zulu population.
Jacon Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is currently the President of South Africa, and is also a member of the Zulu nation. he was born in Nkandia, which is now located in Natal Province.
In the 1994 Disney film The Lion King, the opening chant in "The Circle of Life" is sung in the Zulu language. The phrase "Ingonyama nengw' enamabala/ Nants ingonyama bakithi Baba/Siyonqoba" roughly translates to "A lion and a leopard come into this open place/ Here comes a lion, Father/ We will conquer)

The Cheetah fact for the day is how to say "cheetah" in the Zulu language. It is ingulule.