In the 1820’s, during a period of social unrest and warfare, the Zulu clan, a Bantu people, rose to political prominence under the great King Shaka in present-day South Africa. This period is called mfecane, or crushing because it was characterized by Shaka’s tyrannous reign during which he conquered neighboring peoples and established a kingdom for the Zulu people on South Africa’s eastern coast. The word zulu was used in 1824 to refer to a war-like race of South African Blacks.
The British characterization of Shaka as a monster, however, is now seen as a propagandist attempt to disguise their own interests in procuring land and labor in the region. In fact, much of the violent disruption and displacement of people was probably due to European intervention with the slave trade and their demands for land, cattle. Nonetheless, Shaka is called by many the Black Napoleon because of his short-lived, but impressive, period of glory.
This period of greatness came to an end with the eventual defeat of King Shaka and the annexation of the Zulu kingdom to Natal, the British state on the eastern coast. (Ngubane, 1977) The Zulu people are now enmeshed in South Africa’s modern, industrial economy and society, with the largest population of them still in the region of KwaZulu Natal on the eastern coast. There has been an adaptation of traditional beliefs to allow for Christian, medical, agricultural, mechanical and other rational, scientific approaches of the Europeans.
However, despite the cultural diffusion of Western thought and religion among the Zulu people, traditional thinking, according to Berglund (1976), is not only still very much present in Zulu society, but is receiving more and more attention especially by those who live in rural areas. Perhaps the survival of indigenous belief systems is due in part to the fact that in times of crisis, people turn to tradition as a comfort and as a means of unifying themselves.
Considering the social trauma associated with colonialism and apartheid the Zulu responded by clinging more tenaciously to their heritage as a means of psychological survival in a society which systematically degraded and disrespected them as a people. Berglund (1976) points out that it is the rituals and symbols of a society which express the relationships between members of that society and makes living in that society a meaningful experience. The focus of this paper will be centered on traditional Zulu spiritual beliefs and, to whatever extent possible, not those adapted to Western thought.
In providing first the basic cosmological beliefs and then moving on to the central theme of traditional spiritual beliefs involving deceased ancestors and their role in Zulu society, my goal will be to demonstrate how social harmony is maintained as a result of the observance of these spiritual beliefs and practices. According to traditional belief, uMveliqangi, the Lord of the Sky, emerged full-blown from the reeds in the realm of the sky. Man later emerged from the reeds and was let down to earth through a hole in the floor of the sky. This explains the origin of the Zulu clan name, zulu meaning of the sky.
The Lord of the Sky then sent a chameleon down to earth to tell the people that they will not die. Later on, he sent a lizard to tell the people they will die and, since the chameleon had stopped to feed on some berries along the way, the lizard easily overtook him and delivered his message of death first. When the chameleon later arrived, the people wouldn’t believe him and thus, humans are mortal. (Ngubane, 1977) The traditional concept of the sky is interesting, according to myth the sky is a big blue rock stretched across the surface of the earth (which is flat).
The earth is held up on the horns of four great bulls who at times, cause earthquakes by shaking their heads. The realm of the sky is believed to have perpetual light which filters through the floor of the sky at night (we see these holes of light as stars). These holes are made by the Lord of the Sky’s cattle as they tramp on muddy ground during the rainy season. This is regarded as proof of life in the realm of the sky. The sun and the moon run their course on the underside of the sky. (Berglund, 1976)
There are three deities in traditional Zulu spirituality, uMveliqangi, the Lord of the Sky, iNkosikazi, the Heavenly Queen, and Nomkhubulwana, the Heavenly Princess. The Heavenly Queen is only known in very rural areas and she apparently has no major role in the belief system of the Zulu people. The Lord of the Sky, as we have seen, is regarded as the first being. He is all-powerful over nature. However, he is not worshipped except in desperate circumstances and his only contact with the people is through lightening and rain, which are believed to come from him.
Historical evidence shows that he was once the center of the first fruits festival, however this festival is now obsolete. There are certain mountain tops where one goes to pray to him or the heaven-herds go to communicate with him and test their medicines against lightening. A heaven-herd is a man who has had some encounter with lightening either directly or by someone close to him. They become an apprentice to an experienced heaven-herd from whom they receive special instruction and medicine to drive away lightening.
He carries with him a sort of broom which he uses to sweep away the clouds where the lightening bird dwells (the Lord of the Sky is thought to send lightening to earth in the form of a bird). He also carries a flute of reed to drive away storms because the Lord of the Sky is said to recognize the reed and remember creation. (Berglund, 1976) The heaven-herd is called as such because he is believed to tend the clouds of the sky as if they were his herd. The Lord of the Sky is in the thoughts of the people though they do not speak of him out loud, this is out of respect.
He is regarded as a distant and unpredictable ruler who is to be revered and feared. (Berglund, 1976) The Heavenly Princess plays a major role in fertility or all kinds, human, livestock, and agricultural. Every spring, women and maidens perform special rites to ensure a good crop, healthy new calves and babies. There are groups of young girls of marrying age who go into the mountains to perform rituals to gain her favor. She is said to appear in the morning mist with words of advice and admonishment for young girls.
She is a perpetually youthful virgin and men are not to set eyes upon her if she appears in their presence. (Ngubane, 1977) Traditional Zulu make a distinction between three aspects of being. The physical body, inyama, the spirit or life-force of man, umoya, and the personality or force of character of man, isithunzi, which is conceived of as the shadow of man. Umoya is used to refer to a man’s instinct in concerning a given situation, one may say their umoya is not free about such and such a decision or such and such a place. Isithunzi literally means, shadow in Zulu.
The importance of isithunzi in Zulu thought is the belief that it may be removed by means of medicine, this is called thwebula. A man’s isithunzi is thought to bear the physical likeness of its owner, thus the captor has very dangerous powers over the person. One’s captor can make a umungcwi, a sort of ghost referred to in the literature as a familiar, out of that person and enslave them. The concept of familiars will be discussed in later sections. One’s isithunzi can become bad (in the sense of a bad personality) by using powerful medicines.
Once the umoya is gone out of the body, which is dying, it is believed to naturally decay after being buried in the ground. The umoya and isithunzi, which are inseparable, are said to go to uya kwabaphansi, those underneath. In fact, just after death the spirit (we will use the word spirit to refer to the combination of umoya and isithunzi) hovers in the air until a ritual called, buyiswa , meaning, to bring back, is carried out which integrate that spirit into the community of amadlozi, ancestral spirits.
In the Underworld, where the Shades (the word Shade is used in anthropological literature on Zulu traditional beliefs to refer to ancestral spirits) are said to live, everything is believed to be upside down and reversed. This is why when there is a death people do things the opposite way they normally do. Speech is reversed (saying yes when meaning no), clothing is worn inside out, objects are turned in different directions etc. Berglund (1976) suggests this is to help the new ancestral spirit to feel comfortable in their new surroundings. For this reason, diviners often routinely do things in reverse.
As will be discussed later, diviners have a special connection with the Shades and want to interact with them as much as possible therefore it makes sense they would want to create an environment where the Shades would feel at home. To the Shades, the night is like day, bitter is as sweet, warm is as cold, etc. This explains much more of Zulu symbolism involving the Shades. Gall bladders are thought to attract the Shades because the bitterness of the gall is sweet to them, therefore gall bladders are inflated and used for various ritual purposes.
This also explains why diviners don’t sleep at night because they are kept up by the Shade’s dialogue because to them it is day. Although everyone becomes a Shade, not every spirit is let into the community of ancestral spirits. For example, those who have committed an offense and not confessed it before death, are not allowed into the community of ancestral spirits. (Vilakazi, 1965) The ancestral spirits play a key role in traditional Zulu society and spirituality. It is the awareness of the constant presence of the Shades which brings spirituality into every activity of the daily life a traditional Zulu.
It is the ancestral spirits who act as mediators between the Lord of the Sky and the surviving members of the lineage group. The Shades are also believed to protect and help the surviving family members, however if they are angered they may cause temporary sickness or misfortune to fall upon those members of the family who have erred in some way. The Shades exercise legitimate anger in support of the moral code of law that lineage survivors are expected to follow. The Shades are recognized as having all of the normal flaws of human nature and so they are expected to act foolishly or irresponsible at time.
For this reason people may spend much time studying the whims and fancies of their Shades. It is customary after a death to talk directly or indirectly to the spirit of the deceased person since it is about to become a Shade, and to remind him/her of their task to watch over and protect the surviving lineage members. There may be strained relationships between the Shades and surviving lineage members which must be worked out through various rituals in order for communion to take place.
Berglund, 1976) Diviners are essential in traditional Zulu society because it is they who reveal where the error lies which has angered the Shades. This will be discussed much more in depth in a later section. Communion with the Shades is a huge part of traditional Zulu culture. Berglund (1976, p. 102) demonstrated the intimate way in which traditional Zulu people view their relationship with the Shades in a quote from and elderly Zulu woman who was asked about her conception of the Shades. She said, They are in me. When they are in me, I know that they are there.
They are happy with me and I am happy with them. I think of them always. They know I am thinking of them. There is complex ritual communion between the Shades and the lineage members in the widest, most intimate sense of the word. There is ritual beer drinking, during such times a large portion of beer is set aside for the Shades and it is believed that they drink and socialize right along with the living family members. There are special clan songs called inhubo, which are sung at special lineage occasions and unify all the members dead and living.
There is the constant remembrance of the Shades during these events. The most important and effective from of communion with the Shades is the ritual sacrifice. These events are looked forward to and remembered for a long time after the event. As previously mentioned, however, these ritual communions cannot not take place if there is strife among members of the lineage, living or Shade. Therefore, before these events take place there is usually a speech delivered by the lineage head, on whatever may be troubling or concerning him about happenings within the homestead, this may be accompanied by a dance.
Berglund, 1976) There is also the ritual of cooling with water, where the two quarreling parties are seated across from each other in the presence of the lineage head and each is asked to explain his grievance. After this an agreement is reached and each washes his hands in the same water. Then ashes are mixed in the water and each take a small sip then spits it out (symbolic of spitting out the anger) , beer is then shared and the issue is considered closed. (Ngubane, 1977) Communion with the Shades is not limited to these great occasions either, the Shades are considered just as much present in the homestead just as the living members.
There are specific places within the homestead which are associated with the Shades including the back wall where there is a shrine called a umsamo, the doorway, and the cattle enclosure. (Vilakazi, 1965) It is customary in traditional Zulu society that a good housewife leave the cooking pots unwashed, on the floor near the back of the hut so that the Shades can lick them. The Shades may materialize to visit their children if they wish. Male Shades materialize in the form of a snake while female Shades take the form of house lizards. These animals are usually revered because one never knows if they are the incarnation of an ancestor.
The most important Shades are those of the surviving lineage member’s parents and grandparents followed in importance by the uncles on the father’s side of the family. The Shades which have the ability to punish or reward are those who had these powers in life. The spirits of people who die as minors live in the spirit world with elder ancestors and accompany them to sacrificial occasions. The Shades of the mother are not of importance in the homestead because she has been incorporated into her husband’s lineage through rituals of marriage.
The Shades may also reveal themselves in dreams or omens. The Shades are also said to be active in the physical body of lineage members. The Shades are linked with concepts of fertility and the sex act itself. Male lineage Shades are associated with seminal fluid and those of the female with menstrual blood. While the child is in the womb, the female’s ancestral Shades are believed to be nourishing it with blood and continuing to strengthen it with seminal fluid. The Shades then continue to work in the woman’s breasts while the child is nursing to create food for the child.
Beglund, 1976) The other time when the Shades are said to be active within the human body, is when they are calling a diviner (which are considered servants of the Shades). These signs are sneezing without a cold and yawning without tiredness and in more advanced stages of the calling, belching and hiccuping (this is why when someone sneezes the appropriate response is Thuthunka! meaning, Increase! ). A future diviner may also experience pain in the shoulders, sides, upper back and lower neck. Another sign that one is being called by the Shades is an inability to sleep at night.
Beglund, 1976) The role of the diviner in traditional Zulu society is absolutely essential. Diviners are called, ingoma, if male, and isangoma if female. It is the diviners who interpret the sentiments of the Shades to their lineage members. Ngubane (1977) proposes that if a woman becomes a diviner she is possessed by the spirits of her own ancestors not those of her husband. It is therefore women who marry into a homestead who are suspected of being sorcerers because they do not fear reprisal from the ancestors of that homestead.
However, Berglund (1976) attributes the vast majority of diviners being women to the fact that they may be called by ancestral spirits of either their own lineage or that of their husband. Whichever is correct, both agree that it is important for the diviner to find which ancestor in particular was responsible for calling them. Ngubane (1977) explains the three types of diviners in traditional Zulu society, each of which use a different method of interpreting the desires or dissatisfactions of the Shades. Head diviners are those who simply listen to the Shades using no material objects.
There are also bone-throwers, diviners who throw bones (usually snake vertebrae) to interpret the wishes of the Shades. During the initiation of these diviners, they must catch a snake to prove the Shades protect them as well as for the bones which their teacher will make into a necklace for them and which will be used in their divination. The most prestigious form of divination is done by those who can interpret the whistling great ancestors. The diviner sits with his back to the door of his hut and interprets the whistling sound said to come from the thatch roof.
The literature refers to this type of divination as ventriloquism. Ventriloquists can charge the highest fees for their services. Some diviners equate their dialogues with the Shades as a form of prayer. The diviner has the all important task of pointing out the source of disorder within the society, which may at times make him unpopular among certain members of the community. Beglund (1976) points out another down side associated with a diviner’s life. He explains that diviners must abstain from many of the small luxuries of life.
For example, certain foods must be avoided and to a certain extent social activities are limited due to the necessary avoidance of certain hot people (menstruating women, those who have just had sexual relations, nursing women, pregnant women), because if their shadow falls on the diviner he could be killed. According to Ngubane (1977) the diviner also gives legitimacy to a decision or response to a particular crisis. In this way he/she takes the responsibility for a decision off of the person making the decision and instead reflects the responsibility onto the ancestral spirits.
When sickness or misfortune is excessive, meaning to the point of being lethal to the person, it is no longer attributed to the work of the Shades, but rather the work of a sorcerer. The traditional Zulu concept of ubuthakathi, evil, is associated with jealousy, greed, with illegitimate anger at the root. Abathakathi are the doers or evil, or, sorcerers. According to Ngubane (1977), there are three types of sorcery, night sorcery, day sorcery and lineage sorcery. Day sorcery is always performed by a man who is evil hearted.
It is said that the sorcerer rides backwards, naked on a baboon which he keeps as his familiar (a sort of subject), and raises the dead to make zombies of them and force them to work in his fields during the night to gain an advantage over his neighbors. He is jealous and mean and so he scatters harmful medicine in people’s paths. He can make his son a sorcerer also by incising his rectum and rubbing medicines into the wounds. Ngubane (1977) points out that traditional Zulu society was very dependent on mutual assistance and sharing and so it is not surprising that those who appear selfish or malicious are labeled sorcerers.
Day sorcerers act only in cases of personal animosity, according to Ngubane (1977). They may be male or female although most are female. This may be due to the fact that women cannot be either night sorcerers nor lineage sorcerers, or it may be due to the fact that the main technique used by day sorcerers involves poisoning food and, women being the ones who handle food all of the time, it would be very easy for them to practice this sorcery. Finally there is lineage sorcery which, as previously mentioned, can only be practiced by men.
This is because the sorcerer must be able to sacrifice for himself and women cannot. The goal of a lineage sorcerer is to deprive the victim of the protection of the ancestors and thereby expose him to misfortunes and sickness. (Ngubane, 1977) In general, men are expected to use sorcery to harm other homestead heads, while women are assumed to use sorcery to harm particular people they are in conflict with. Berglund (1976) and Ngubane (1977) are in conflict again over the issue of female sorcerers. Berglund proposes that women may also be night sorcerers and create zombies of the deceased.
He characterizes female sorcerers as being in a constant lustful state and taking all sorts of lovers, from baboons, to wild cats, to snakes, to a trickster character who is said to have a penis so large it is slung around his shoulder. Their goal is always to interfere with other women’s fertility. There is a very real fear of sorcerers within traditional Zulu society. This is fear is often associated with women because of the reasons already mentioned (women who marry into the family are not under the control of that homestead’s Shades, women handle much of the food therefore it would be easy for them to poison it).
One must have good reason to accuse someone of sorcery and most likely will have already privately consulted several diviners to confirm his suspicion as well as having made sure that public opinion would be most likely on his side, before making the accusation in public. (Beglund, 1976) There are many material substances which are believed to obtain amandla, power, these could include stones, vegetation, earth, etc. These powerful materials collectively are called imithi.
Their power is neutral and can be used for good or evil depending on who is manipulating them. Diviners and herbalists usually work in conjunction with each other to heal people both physically and psychologically as well as to provide them with protection from evil. Medicines may be concocted to encourage fertility, success in a risky undertaking, for courtship purposes, protection of homesteads, to adapt personality traits, etc. (Berglund, 1976) There are three symbolically color-coded forms of medicine in traditional Zulu healing practices.
Black medicines are used to drive off darkness, white medicines are used to fortify and strengthen and green medicines are used to promote healthy growth. These medicines many times perform a function similar to their physical characteristics or symbolic significance. For example, roots which have the appearance of male or female genitalia are eaten by pregnant woman to influence the gender of the child. Snakes are symbolic of unity and togetherness, therefore snake meat may be given to someone whose thoughts tend to wander in hopes it will help their thoughts stay together.
