Unkulunkulu (/uɲɠulun'ɠulu/), often formatted as uNkulunkulu,Weir, Jennifer. "Whose Unkulunkulu?" ''Africa (pre-2011)'', vol. 75, no. 2, 2005, pp. 203-219''.'' is the Supreme Creator in the language of the

Zulu people Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Nata ...

. Originally a "first ancestor" figure, Unkulunkulu morphed into a creator god figure with the spread of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

.Worger, William H. "Parsing God: Conversations about the Meaning of Words and Metaphors in Nineteenth-Century Southern Africa." ''Journal of African History'', vol. 42, no. 3, 2001, pp. 417-447.

Pre-Christian Role

In general usage, before the spread of Christianity, Unkulunkulu was a general term referring to an "old-old one," or an ancestor. In this situation, these Onkulunkulu (the plural form) could be male or female, and most tribes and families had one, regarding them with great respect. Unkulunkulu also existed in a broader role as a sole, ancient figure; this figure being male, he played a role in broader

Zulu mythology Zulu may refer to: Zulu people * Zulu Kingdom or Zulu Empire, a former monarchy in what is now South Africa * Zulu language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa * Zulu people, an ethnic group of southern Africa Arts, entertainment, and me ...

as the ancestor of humanity, but was given little attention.

Post-Christian Role

With the spread of Christianity in the mid-1800s, various Zulu populations began referring to Unkulunkulu in a different light. This new form of Unkulunkulu was a creator deity rather than an ancestor archetype. This form closely resembles the Christian God and is referred to in the same context.The Library of His Excellency Sir George Grey, KCB: A catalogue Compiled by W H I Bleek, Sir George Grey and J Cameron Vol 4, London and Cape Town 1867 Other names for this being used in similar cultures include ''uMdali'' (meaning "Creator") and ''uMvelinqandi'' (meaning "Before everything"; analogous to ''

Umvelinqangi UMvelinqangi is a Nguni word which translates to "the Most High" or "Divine Consciousness"; that is considered the source of all that has been, that is and all that ever will be. UMvelinqangi, contrary to widespread belief is not personified. Umv ...

'' in the

isiXhosa Xhosa (, ) also isiXhosa as an endonym, is a Nguni language and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Xhosa is spoken as a first language by approximately 8.2 million people and by another 11 million as a secon ...

language). While he still often represented the first man, he also began to represent a creator/originator of humanity and all creation.Callaway, Henry. ''The Religious System of the Amazulu: Unkulunkulu; or, the tradition of creation as existing among the Amazulu and other tribes of South Africa''. 1868. This version of Unkulunkulu originated from reeds; he then created humans and livestock from the same reeds, and created everything else afterwards from no original source.Leeming, David Adams; Leeming, Margaret Adams (2009). ''A Dictionary of Creation Myths'' (Oxford Reference Online ed.). Oxford University Press. After he created all, Unkulunkulu is said to have forgotten his creations and abandoned them, and there are no myths of him beyond this point of creation.Burgess, Andrew. ''Unkulunkulu in Zululand''. Board of Foreign Missions, 1934.

Notes

External links

uNkulunkulu ”
Zulu gods Creator gods Names of God in African traditional religions {{Deity-stub