Editing Zulu traditional religion

{{Short description|Traditional religion of the Zulu people}}
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{{Traditional African 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=African religions: beliefs and practices through history |date=2019 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-752-1 |editor-last=Thomas |editor-first=Douglas |location=Santa Barbara |editor-last2=Alanamu |editor-first2=Temilola}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />

[[UmkhuluwoMkhulu]]  ("the greatest one") was created in [[Uhlanga]],<ref>Callaway, Henry, ''The Religious System of the Amazulu ... in Their Own Words'', J. A. Blair (1868), p. 57-8 [https://books.google.com/books?id=9roNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA58] (Retrieved 11 July 2019)</ref> a huge swamp of reeds, before he came to [[Earth]].  Individuals base their morality or behavior ethics on his judgment or “apprehension of the [[Ultimate reality|Ultimate Reality]].”

'''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mafuta |first=Willy L. |last2=Kaunda |first2=Chammah J. |date=2021-05-04 |title=Recovering African Religions as "World Religions": The Case of the Zulu Religion |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14769948.2021.1955179 |journal=Black Theology |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=122–134 |doi=10.1080/14769948.2021.1955179 |issn=1476-9948}}</ref>''' Unkulunkulu is sometimes conflated with the sky god [[Umvelinqangi]]<ref>Callaway, Henry (1868) [in] ''Umkhuluwomkhulu: The tradition of creation as existing among the Amazulu and other tribes of South Africa, in their own words, Volume 1'', (1868), pp. 41-3 [https://books.google.com/books?id=x3yOVtckoJIC&pg=PA41] (Retrieved 11 July 2019)</ref> (meaning "he who was in the very beginning"), the god of [[thunder]], [[earthquake]] whose other name is Unsondo, and is the son of Unkulunkulu, the Father, and [[Nomkhubulwane]], the Mother.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

The word ''nomkhubulwane'' means the one who [[Shapeshifting|shapeshift]]s into any form of an animal. Another name given for the supreme being Umkhuluwomkhulu is uSomandla, the ultimate source of all existence. European settlers used the word Unkulunkulu in order to try to explain their belief in the [[Yahweh|God of the bible]] to the people of Zululand.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

According to [[Irving Hexham|Irvin Hexham]] (1981), "there is no evidence of belief in a heavenly deity or sky god in Zulu religion before the advent of Europeans".<ref>*Hexham , Irvin ((1981), ''Lord of the Sky-King of the earth: Zulu Traditional Religion and Belief in the Sky God'', Sciences Religieuses Studies in Religion, vol. 10: 273-78)</ref> However, other scholars such as [[Eileen Krige|Eileen Jensen Krige]], [[Isaac Schapera]], Axel-Ivar Berglund (1976), Hammond-Took, and [[John Mbiti]] disagree with Hexham's analysis. They argue that the "lord of heaven" or Zulu sky god has always existed in the traditional Zulu belief system, a deity who they argue is greater than the "archetypal ancestor and creator, Unkulunkulu".<ref>Chidester, David; Kwenda, Chirevo; Petty, Robert ; Tobler, Judy; and Wratten, Darrel;  ''African Traditional Religion in South Africa: An Annotated Bibliography: An Annotated Bibliography'',  ABC-CLIO (1997), p. 246, {{ISBN|9780313032257}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=RlHs4yC0eP0C&pg=PA247] (Retrieved 11 July 2019)</ref>

=== Other deities ===

* Nomhoyi/[[Mamlambo]], the [[goddess]] of [[river]]s
* Nomkhubulwane, sometimes called the Zulu [[Demeter]], who is a goddess of the [[rainbow]], [[agriculture]], [[rain]] and [[Umqombothi|beer]] (which she invented)
* [[Inkosazana]], another fertility goddess
* uNgungi, the deity of the blacksmiths
* iNyanga the Moon goddess is associated with healers who are called IziNyanga, the word ''nyanga'' is a Zulu word for the Moon
* Sonzwaphi the deity of healing
* Ukhulukhulwana (or UkhuluKhukwan) a star being ancestor who came from the stars and found the ancient Zulus living like animals and without laws. He taught them to build huts and taught them the high laws of isiNtu. The word ''unkulunkulu'' is suspected to be a corruption of the word ''umkhuluwomkhulu''.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

==See also==
*[[Bantu religion]]
*[[List of African deities and mythological figures|List of African deities]]
*[[Traditional African religions]]
*[[Usiququmadevu]]

==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}
* {{cite book |first1=Patricia Ann |last1=Lynch |first2=Jeremy |last2=Roberts |title=African Mythology, A to Z |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2010 |page=138}}

==Further reading==
*Hexham, Irvin, ((1981) ''Lord of the Sky-King of the earth: Zulu Traditional Religion and Belief in the Sky God'', Sciences Religieuses Studies in Religion, vol. 10: 273–78)
*Berglund, Axel-Ivar, (1976) ''Zulu Thought-Patterns and Symbolism'', London: C. Hurst 
*[[John Mbiti|John S. Mbiti]], ''African Religions and Philosophy''. [[African Writers Series]]. Heinemann [1969] (1990). {{ISBN|0-435-89591-5}}
*Werner, Alice, ''Myths and Legends of the Bantu'', Library of Alexandria (1968)

{{Religion in South Africa}}
{{Paganism}}

[[Category:Traditional African religions]]
[[Category:Religion in South Africa]]
[[Category:Zulu mythology| ]]