Zulu people

Lore & Background

The Zulu were originally a minor clan in what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal, founded by Zulu kaMalandela. In the Nguni languages, iZulu means heaven or weather. At that time, the area was occupied by many large Nguni communities and clans.

Nguni communities had migrated down Africa's east coast over millennia, as part of the Bantu migrations. As the nation began to develop, the rulership of Shaka (about 250 years after it was founded) brought the clans together to build a cohesive identity for the Zulu. The Zulu formed a powerful state in 1816 under the leader Shaka. Shaka was originally a chief of the Zulu clan who served under Dingiswayo of the Mthethwa; after Dingiswayo's death, Shaka broke away and built his own Zulu state, uniting what was once a confederation of lordships into an imposing empire under Zulu hegemony.

Kingdom

Shaka reformed and expanded an existing militarized system known as Impi, featuring conscription, a standing army, new weaponry, regimentation, and encirclement battle tactics. Zulu expansion was a major factor of the Mfecane that depopulated large areas of southern Africa. In mid-December 1878, envoys of the British crown delivered an ultimatum to 11 chiefs representing the then-current king of the Zulu empire, Cetshwayo.

Cetshwayo refused, and war began on January 12, 1879. Despite an early victory for the Zulus at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January, the British won a defensive victory at the Battle of Rorke's Drift on the same day, and decisively defeated the Zulu army by July at the Battle of Ulundi. After Cetshwayo's capture a month following his defeat, the British divided the Zulu Empire into 13 'kinglets'. The sub-kingdoms fought amongst each other until 1883 when Cetshwayo was reinstated as king over Zululand.

This still did not stop the fighting and the Zulu monarch was forced to flee his realm by Zibhebhu, one of the 13 kinglets, supported by Boer mercenaries. Cetshwayo died of a heart attack in February 1884, leaving his son, the 15-year-old Dinuzulu, to inherit the throne. In-fighting between the Zulu continued for years until in 1897 Zululand was absorbed fully into the British colony of Natal.

Reader's Guide

The Zulu nation's growth and strength were based on its military organization and skills during Shaka's reign and those of his successors. The military was organized around the ukubuthwa system, which did away with initiation ceremonies for the most part. Each age set was assigned to the same regiment (ibutho, singular; amabutho, plural), according to the system. Girls were also subject to ukubuthwa, but they were usually assigned to an age group rather than to a regiment.

The amabutho were housed in military barracks (singular, ikhanda; plural, amakhanda) located throughout the kingdom and under the command of a close relative to (or someone else appointed by) the king. The barracks were designed and laid out similarly to an umuzi, but on a much larger scale. Aside from military duties, the izinsizwa were also responsible for the repair and maintenance of their barracks. The Mvelase people descend from the independent AbaThembu nation through King Mthembu for generations, they ruled themselves as a separate kingdom in the regions of Msinga and Qhudeni.

During the early 19th-century expansion, King Shaka Zulu conquered the Mvelase people. His regiments launched military campaigns into their territories, forcing their prominent chief, Ngoza, to flee south. The Mvelase people who remained were absorbed into the Zulu empire, conscripted into Shaka's army, and integrated into Zulu culture. While they are proudly recognized as Zulu today, but historically not part of it their distinct royal lineage remains rooted in the AbaThembu nation.

Did You Know?

• The Zulu people celebrate an annual event called the Umhlanga or Reed Dance, established in 1984, at the royal capital near Nongoma.
• Beadwork known as iziqu, medallions of war, was worn by warriors as a symbol of bravery.
• Under apartheid, the homeland of KwaZulu was created for the Zulu people, and by 1993 approximately 5.2 million Zulu people lived in KwaZulu.