KwaZulu –Natal: A brief background 1

Having lived in KwaZulu-Natal for around 40 years, the people, the history and the magic of this province has had a great inluence on me. One can’t help but notice the pride of the Zulu people, the uniqueness of their culture and their rich heritage.

Image - Pixabay

The People of the Heaven

Image

The story begins deep back in the mists of time, somewhere around 1709, a major clan of the Nguni people, was founded by Zulu kaMalandela, there were other Nguni clans in the area, the Nguni communities had been moving south over hundreds of years via the East African coastline. By the ninth century they had reached South Africa. Malandela’s people settled into valley of the Mhlathuze River which has its source in the Babanango highlands and empties out into the sea at the town of Richards Bay.

Image - Pixabay

Image - Pixabay

iZulu in the Zulu language means Heaven or Weather, from this association the Zulu people are known as “The People of Heaven”. It would be an amazing feat to be able to go back and follow the wanderings of the Nguni communities over the centuries but as there were no written records one has to rely on the oral history of the elders. Just who the first men were in the area, one has only the rock paintings and information from archaeological sites to give substance to those long forgotten people.

Image - Pixabay

Today the modern Zulu living in a new age, still retain some of their culture, although I wonder with modern schooling, computers and cell phones how much of that rich cultural heritage will remain in years to come. There is a lot of work being done to preserve the culture and some of the videos I posted earlier on the traditional dances shows that an effort is being made to keep the culture alive.

Through a good friend who is the curator of our local museum, I have had a window into a world which is very different from ours. Today the Zulu people make up the largest ethnic group in South Africa with a total population of over 12 million people. I intend this post to be an introduction to the many faces of South Africa. I have touched on the history of the British in South Africa with my article on the experiences of my grandfather in Fort Napier. I will follow that post with a closer look at Fort Napier in relation to Pietermaritzburg and its effect on that city’s history. Forgive me for bouncing around in my writing but the writing process is in itself a way in which I can make sense of the province where I live.

Link to Zulu dancing post

We have such a rich history and as South Africans we should be proud of our multicultural roots.