Editing Zulu people (section)

== Religion and beliefs ==
{{main|Zulu traditional religion|Zulu Christianity}}
[[File:AAC Worshippers.jpg|thumb|Zulu worshippers at a [[United African Apostolic Church]], near [[Oribi Gorge]]]]

Most Zulu people state their beliefs to be [[Christianity|Christian]]. Some of the most common churches to which they belong are [[African Initiated Church]]es, especially the [[Zion Christian Church]], [[Nazareth Baptist Church]] and [[United African Apostolic Church]], although membership of major European Churches, such as the [[Dutch Reformed Church|Dutch Reformed]], [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] and [[Catholicism|Catholic]] Churches are also common. Nevertheless, many Zulus retain their traditional pre-Christian belief system of ancestor worship in parallel with their Christianity.

Traditional Zulu religion includes belief in a creator God (''uNkulunkulu'') who is above interacting in day-to-day human life, although this belief appears to have originated from efforts by early Christian missionaries to frame the idea of the Christian God in Zulu terms.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.ucalgary.ca/~nurelweb/papers/irving/skyking.html|title=Lord of the Sky-King of the Earth: Zulu traditional religion and belief in the sky god|author=Irving Hexham|publisher=[[University of Waterloo]]|year=1979|journal=[[Studies in Religion]]|access-date=26 October 2008}}</ref> Traditionally, the more strongly held Zulu belief was in ancestor spirits (''amaThongo'' or ''amaDlozi''), who had the power to intervene in people's lives, for good or ill.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Religious System of the Amazulu|author=Henry Callaway|year=1870|publisher=Springvale|chapter-url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/rsa/index.htm|chapter=Part I:uNkulunkulu}}</ref> This belief continues to be widespread among the modern Zulu population.<ref name="ashforth">{{cite journal|title=Muthi, Medicine and Witchcraft: Regulating 'African Science' in Post-Apartheid South Africa?|journal=[[Social Dynamics: A Journal of African Studies]]|author=Adam Ashforth|url=http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/cas/default.php?pageName=social.php|year=2005|volume=31|issue=2|access-date=16 November 2008|archive-date=4 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604205912/http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/cas/default.php?pageName=social.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Traditionally, the Zulu recognize several elements to be present in a human being: the physical body (''inyama yomzimba'' or ''umzimba''); the breath or life force (''umoya womphefumulo'' or ''umoya''); and the "shadow" prestige or personality (''isithunzi''). Once the ''umoya'' leaves the body, the ''isithunzi'' may live on as an ancestral spirit (''idlozi'') only if certain conditions were met in life.<ref name="asante">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of African religion, Volume 1| author=Molefi K. Asante, Ama Mazama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B667ATiedQkC&q=zulu+ancestor+isithunzi&pg=PT209|year=2009|publisher=Sage| isbn=9781412936361}}</ref><ref name="berglund">{{cite book|title=Zulu thought-patterns and symbolism| author=Axel-Ivar Berglund|url=https://archive.org/details/zuluthoughtpatte0000berg|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/zuluthoughtpatte0000berg/page/85 85]|quote=isithunzi.|year=1976|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers| isbn=9780903983488}}</ref>  Behaving with [[Ubuntu (philosophy)|ubuntu]], or showing respect and generosity towards others, enhances one's moral standing or prestige in the community, one's ''isithunzi''.<ref name="mzondi">{{cite thesis|title=Two Souls Leadership: Dynamic Interplay of Ubuntu, Western and New Testament Leadership Values|author=Abraham Modisa Mkhondo Mzondi|url=http://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za:8080/dspace/bitstream/10210/3240/1/Mzondi.pdf|year=2009|publisher=submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctorate in Theology, University of Johannesburg}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  By contrast, acting in a negative way towards others can reduce the ''isithunzi'', and the ''isithunzi'' can fade away completely.<ref name="tshawane">{{cite thesis|title=The Rainbow Nation: A Critical Analysis of the Notions of Community in the Thinking of Desmond Tutu| author=Nwamilorho Joseph Tshawane|url=http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/3761/thesis_tshawane_n.pdf?sequence=1|format=PDF|year=2009|publisher=submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctorate in Theology, University of South Africa}}</ref>

[[File:Sangomas-greeting.jpg|thumb|Zulu [[sangomas]] (diviners)]]
To appeal to the spirit world, a diviner (''[[sangoma]]'') must [[Invocation#A form of possession|invoke]] the ancestors through divination processes to determine the problem. Then, a herbalist (''[[inyanga]]'') prepares a mixture (''[[muthi]]'') to be consumed to influence the ancestors. As such, diviners and herbalists play an important part in the daily lives of the Zulu people. However, a distinction is made between white ''muthi'' (''umuthi omhlope''), which has positive effects, such as healing or the prevention or reversal of misfortune, and black ''muthi'' (''umuthi omnyama''), which can bring illness or death to others, or ill-gotten wealth to the user.<ref name="ashforth"/> Users of black ''muthi'' are considered witches, and shunned by society.

Christianity had difficulty gaining a foothold among the Zulu people, and when it did it was in a [[Syncretism|syncretic]] fashion. [[Isaiah Shembe]], considered the Zulu [[Messiah]], presented a form of Christianity (the [[Nazareth Baptist Church]]) which incorporated traditional customs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Zulu.html|title=Art & Life in Africa Online - Zulu|publisher=University of Iowa|access-date=6 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070531061804/http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Zulu.html|archive-date=31 May 2007|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Furthermore, the Zulu people also practice a ceremony called [[Umkhosi Wokweshwama|Ukweshwama]]. The killing of the bull is part of Ukweshwama, an annual ceremony that celebrates a new harvest. It is a day of prayer when Zulus thank their creator and their ancestors. By tradition, a new regiment of young warriors is asked to confront a bull to prove its courage, inheriting the beast's strength as it expires. It is believed this power was then transferred to the [[Zulu king]].<ref name="Bearak-2009">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/world/africa/09safrica.html|title=Spilling the Blood of Bulls to Preserve Zulu Tradition|last=Bearak|first=Barry|date=2009-12-08|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-09|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>