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Zulus
Zulu people (; ) are a native people of Southern Africa of the Nguni. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They originated from Nguni communities who took part in the Bantu migrations over millennia. As the clans integrated, the rulership of Shaka brought success to the Zulu nation due to his improved military tactics and organization. Zulus take pride in their ceremonies such as the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, and their various forms of beadwork. The art and skill of beadwork take part in the identification of Zulu people and act as a form of communication and dedication to the nation and specific traditions. Today, the Zulu people are predominantly Christian, but have created a syncretic religion that is combined with the Zulu's prior belief systems. History of the people of Zulu Origins The Zulu were originally a minor clan in what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal, founded by Zulu ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaka
Shaka kaSenzangakhona (–24 September 1828), also known as Shaka (the) Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that reorganized the military into a formidable force. King Shaka was born in the lunar month of ''uNtulikazi'' (July) in 1787, in Mthonjaneni, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The son of the Zulu King Senzankakhona kaJama, he was spurned as an illegitimate son. Shaka spent part of his childhood in his mother's settlements, where he was initiated into an '' ibutho lempi'' (fighting unit/regiment), serving as a warrior under Inkosi Dingiswayo. King Shaka refined the ''ibutho'' military system with the Mthethwa Paramountcy's support over the next several years. He forged alliances with his smaller neighbours to counter Ndwandwe raids from the north. The initial Zulu maneuvers were primarily defensive, as King Shaka preferred to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Ndebele People
The Northern Ndebele people (; ; ) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. Significant populations of native speakers of the Northern Ndebele language (siNdebele) are found in Zimbabwe and as amaZulu in South Africa. They differ from Southern Ndebele people who speak isiNdebele of KwaNdebele. Regional classification The Northern Ndebele language spoken by the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe is generally the same as the isiZulu language spoken by the Zulu people of South Africa with a few pronunciation and word meaning differences. Northern Ndebele spoken in Zimbabwe and Southern Ndebele (or Transvaal Ndebele) spoken in South Africa are separate but related languages with some degree of mutual intelligibility, although the former is more closely related to Zulu. Southern Ndebele, while maintaining its Nguni roots, has been influenced by the Sotho languages. Etymology The Northern Ndebele, specifically the Khumalo (amaNtungwa) people under Mzilikazi, were origi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zulu KaMalandela
This is a list of the monarchs of the Zulu nation, including chieftains and kings of the Zulu royal family from their earliest known history up to the present time. Pre-Zulu The Zulu King lineage stretches to as far as Luzumana, who is believed to have lived as long ago as the 16th century. Luzumana is the child of Mnguni, but details about him are unknown. * NkosinKulu * Mnguni kaNkosinKulu * Luzumana kaMnguni * Malandela kaLuzumana Chieftains of the Zulus ( 1600–1818) When Malandela died, he divided the kingdom into two clans, the Qwabe and the Zulu. * Zulu I kaMalandela ( 1627 – 1709), founder of the clan * Nkosinkulu kaZulu I * Ntombela kaNkosinkulu * Zulu II kaNtombela * Gumede kaZulu * Phunga kaGumede ( 1657 – 1727) * Mageba kaGumede ( 1667 – 1745), son of Gumede, chief 1727 to 1745 * Ndaba kaMageba, son of Mageba, chief 1745 to 1763 * Jama kaNdaba ( 1727–1781), son of Ndaba, chief 1763 to 1781 ** Mkabayi kaJama ( 1750 – 1843), daughter of Jama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xhosa People
The Xhosa people ( , ; ) are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group that migrated over centuries into Southern Africa eventually settling in South Africa. They are the second largest ethnic group in South Africa and are native speakers of the Xhosa language, isiXhosa language. The Xhosa people are descendants of Nguni people, Nguni clans who settled in the Southeastern part of Southern Africa displacing the original inhabitants, the Khoisan. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Xhosa people have inhabited the area since the 7th century. Presently, over ten million Xhosa-speaking people are distributed across Southern Africa. In 1994 the self-governing bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei were incorporated into South Africa, becoming the Eastern Cape province. the majority of Xhosa speakers, approximately 19.8 million, lived in the Eastern Cape, followed by the Western Cape (approximately 1 million), Gauteng (971,045), the Free State (province), Free State (546,192), KwaZulu-N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zulu Language
Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language of the Nguni languages, Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and other linguistic features. So, Zulu is one of the Nguni dialects which is spoken by the Zulu people, with about 13.56 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The word "KwaZulu-Natal" translates into English as "Home of the Zulu Nation is Natal". Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa (24% of the population), and it is understood by over 50% of its population. It became one of languages of South Africa, South Africa's 12 official languages in 1994. According to Ethnologue, it is the second-most widely spoken of the Bantu languages, after Swahili language, Swahili. Like many other Bantu languages, it is written ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dingiswayo
King Dingiswayo () ( – 1817) was a king of the Mthethwa Kingdom, well known in history for his mentorship over a young Zulu general, Shaka kaSenzangakhona, who rose to become the greatest of the Zulu Kings. His father was the Mthethwa King, Jobe kaKayi. It was under King Dingiswayo that the Mthethwa rose to prominence, mostly employing diplomacy and assimilation of nearby chiefdoms to strengthen his power base. According to Mthethwa (1995), the Mthethwas are descended from the Nguni peoples of northern Natal and the Lubombo Mountains, whose modern identity dates back some 700 years. Lineage Dingiswayo's lineage can be traced back to Mthethwa the first. It is possible that Dingiswayo and Zwide kaLanga shared the same lineage through Xaba KaMadungu. Zwide was the king of the Ndwandwe, Khumalo, Msene, and Jele peoples. (There does not appear to be a direct family link between Zwide kaLanga and Soshangane kaZikode of the Nxumalo people). Dingiswayo's Mthethwa famil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umhlanga (ceremony)
Umhlanga , or Reed Dance ceremony, is an annual Swazi event that takes place at the end of August or at the beginning of September. In Eswatini, tens of thousands of unmarried and childless Swazi girls and women travel from the various chiefdoms to the Ludzidzini Royal Village to participate in the eight-day event. The young, unmarried girls were placed in female age-regiments; girls who had fallen pregnant outside wedlock had their families fined a cow. History Umhlanga was created in the 1940s Eswatini under the rule of Sobhuza II, and is an adaptation of the much older Umchwasho ceremony. The reed dance continues to be practised today in Eswatini. In South Africa, the reed dance was introduced in 1991 by Goodwill Zwelithini, the former King of the Zulus. The dance in South Africa takes place in Nongoma, a royal ''kraal'' of the Zulu king. South Africa In South Africa, the ceremony is known as Umkhosi woMhlanga, and takes place every year in September at the Enyokeni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and Natal Province. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean. It shares borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban, which is also the Port of Durban, city with the largest port in sub-saharan Africa. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, after Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nguni People
The Nguni people are an ethnolinguistic group of Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic groups native to Southern Africa where they form the single largest ethnolinguistic community. Predecessors of Nguni people migrated from Central Africa into Southern Africa during the late Iron Age, with offshoots in neighboring colonially-created countries in Southern Africa. Swazi people, Swazi (or Swati) people live in both South Africa and Eswatini, while Ndebele people live in both Ndebele people (South Africa), South Africa and Ndebele people (Zimbabwe), Zimbabwe. The Xhosa people, Xhosa, local to the Eastern Cape, established tribal sub-federations—the Gcaleka, Rharhabe, and Gqunukhwebe—in the 16th century. The homeland of the Xhosa people is marked by lands in the Eastern Cape from the Gamtoos River up to Umzimkhulu near Natal, bordered by the frontier of an expanding Dutch Cape Colony. Both the Matabele people, Matabele of Western Zimbabwe and the Ngoni people, Ngoni migrated northward out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zulu Religion
Zulu traditional religion consists of the beliefs and spiritual practices of the Zulu people of southern Africa. It contains numerous deities commonly associated with animals or general classes of natural phenomena. Unkulunkulu is known to be the Supreme Creator. Beliefs The Creator and the ancestors Similar to other Bantu religions, adherents of Zulu traditional religion believe in honoring ancestors (Amadlozi) and in a multitude of gods. These beliefs are passed down orally through stories across generations. While the details of these stories may vary, they generally share the same themes, such as that the human world and the spirit world are interconnected, with divination practices used to bridge these realms. The roles and relationship of the sky god Umvelinqangi and Unkulunkulu, the highest god and creator of humanity, often change depending on the version of the story. UmkhuluwoMkhulu ("the greatest one") was created in Uhlanga, a huge swamp of reeds, before he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hlubi People
The Hlubi people or AmaHlubi are an AmaMbo ethnic group native to Southern Africa, with the majority of population found in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ....https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=1c047c188ca9f7cf64bf84dd0bd77a7495766185 Language The AmaHlubi speak a dialect closely related to the Swati language, one of the Tekela languages in the Nguni branch of the Bantu language family. The Hlubi (AmaHlubi) dialect is endangered and most Hlubi speakers are elderly and illiterate. There are attempts by Hlubi intellectuals to revive the language and make it one of the eleven recognized languages in South Africa. See also * Hlubi Kings * Matiwane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religious Syncretism
Religious syncretism is the blending of religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation of other beliefs into an existing religious tradition. This can occur for many reasons, where religious traditions exist in proximity to each other, or when a culture is conquered and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in eradicating older beliefs and practices. Many religions have syncretic elements, but adherents often frown upon the application of the label, especially those who belong to "revealed" religions, such as Abrahamic religions, or any system with an exclusivist approach, seeing syncretism as corrupting the original religion. Non-exclusivist systems of belief on the other hand feel more free to incorporate other traditions into their own. Ancient history Classical Athens was exclusive in matters of religion. Some sources assert that the Decree of Diopeithes made the introduction of and belief in foreign gods a crimin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
