An indaba (;
) is an important conference held by the
izinDuna (principal men) of the
Zulu and
Xhosa peoples of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
.
(Such meetings are also practiced by the
Swazi, who refer to them using the close cognate '.) Indabas may include only the izinDuna of a particular community, or they may be held with representatives of other communities.
[
The term "Indaba" comes from the Zulu and Xhosa languages. It means "business" or "matter".][{{cite book, last=Pettman, first=Charles, title=Africanderisms; a glossary of South African colloquial words and phrases and of place and other names, year=1913, publisher=Longmans, Green and Co., page=225, url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924026563795#page/n245/mode/2up]
References
Zulu culture
Xhosa culture
Swazi culture
Languages of South Africa
Zulu words and phrases
South African English
Meetings