ZULU EXPERIENCE |
The Zulu people have a distinct culture that distinguishes them from other ethnic groups. Each year they hold ceremonies that revive their culture and tradition including Heritage Day which is held to celebrate the life of Shaka Zulu – the most powerful Zulu King and creator of the Zulu Nation.
The history of the Zulu people can be traced back to the 19th century hero, Shaka Zulu, who, after the death of his father King Senzangakhona, conquered many peoples and amalgamated them under his reign, creating the sizeable Zulu nation.
King Shaka called his kingdom KwaZulu, “Place of the people of heaven”. Shaka was born in 1789 as the illegitimate child of the Zulu woman Nandi. His father, King Senzangakhona rejected them and the Mtetwa Tribe eventually accepted them. At the age of 21, he became a soldier and distinguished himself in battle under the Mtetwa chieftain Dingiswayo.
When King Senzangakhona died in 1816, Dingiswayo set him up as the new Chief of the Zulu, in preference to the legitimate heir. Shaka reorganized the Zulu into a military clan, and he soon made them into a force unchallenged in Southern African kingdoms.
Many of the cultures, customs and traditions of Shaka’s time remain the corner stones of the Zulu people. While travelling around Hluhluwe, Zulu villages set the ethnic African scene. A visit to one of these ‘living museums’ provides a unique experience of Zulu traditional life and culture.
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