|
The amaZulu were originally a minor clan in what
is today Northern
KwaZulu-Natal. They were one of
many small Nguni tribes and clans that had migrated
down Africa's east coast over thousands of years.
By the 18th century, Zulu society encompassed a
number of chiefdoms north of the Tugela River. The
Zulu homestead consisted of an extended family and
others attached to the household through social
obligations.
This social unit was largely self-sufficient,
with responsibilities divided according to gender.
Men were generally responsible for defending the
homestead, caring for cattle, manufacturing and
maintaining weapons and farm implements, and
building dwellings. Women had domestic
responsibilities and raised crops, usually grains,
on land near the household.
Zulu chiefs demanded steadily increasing tribute
or taxes from their subjects, acquired great wealth,
commanded large armies, and, in many cases,
subjugated neighbouring chiefdoms.
 Military
conquest allowed men to achieve status distinctions
that had become increasingly important.
In the early 19th century, the large and
powerful Mthethwa chiefdom, led by Dingiswayo,
dominated much of the region north of the Tugela
River.
Shaka, a Zulu warrior who had won recognition in
1810 by skilfully subduing the leader of the warring
Buthelezi chiefdom, took advantage of Dingiswayo's
military defeat by the neighbouring Ndwandwe armies
to begin building the Zulu empire.
As King, Shaka Zulu (r. 1817-28) defied
tradition by adopting new fighting strategies, by
consolidating control over his military regiments
(impis), and by eliminating potential rivals for
power.
Spreading warfare, exacerbated by pressures from
Europeans, drove thousands of Africans north and
west, and the ensuing upheaval spawned new conflicts
throughout the region.
Lekker Links
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
The Zulu empire weakened after
Shaka's
death in 1828 and fragmented, especially
following military defeats at the hands of
the Afrikaners (1839) and British (1879).
Zululand, the area north of the Tugela
River, was incorporated into the British
colony, Natal, in 1887.
The KwaZulu homeland was carved out of
several unconnected plots of land in Natal
in the 1960s. In 1976 Mangosuthu (Gatsha)
Buthelezi, a member of the Zulu royal
family, was named chief minister of KwaZulu,
and the government declared KwaZulu a
self-governing territory a year later.
The amaZulu have made up a substantial portion of
South Africa's urban work force throughout the 20th
century, especially in the gold and copper mines of
the Witwatersrand.
IsiZulu, the language of the amaZulu, is a Bantu language
and
part of the Nguni subgroup of languages. It became
one of South Africa's 11 official languages in 1994
at the end of apartheid.
There are about 11 million speakers of
isiZulu, the majority (over
95%) live in South Africa where it is the most
widely spoken language in the home (24% of
the population).
In South Africa, 81% of the population have
isiZulu as their first language in
KwaZulu-Natal,
26% in
Mpumalanga and 21%
Gauteng.
IsiZulu and isiXhosa are mutually
intelligible.
Words & phrases
Sawubona
|
Hello, to one person
|
Unjani? / Ninjani?
|
How are you (sing.)? / How
are you (pl.)?
|
Ngiyaphila / Siyaphila
|
I'm okay /
We're okay
|
Ngiyabonga (kakhulu)
|
Thanks (a lot)
|
Hamba kahle / Sala kahle
|
Go well / Stay well (used
as goodbye)
|
Hambani kahle /
Salani kahle
|
Go well / Stay well, to a
group of people
|
Yebo
|
Yes
|
Cha
|
No
|
Angazi
|
I don't know
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
