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Zulu traditional religion consists of the beliefs and spiritual practices of theZulu people ofsouthern Africa. It contains numerousdeities commonly associated with animals or general classes of natural phenomena.Unkulunkulu is known to be theSupreme Creator.
Similar to other Bantu religions, adherents of Zulu traditional religion believe in honoring ancestors (Amathongo & amadlozi) and God (uNkulunkulu/uMenzi). 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.[1] The roles and relationship of the creator, uMvelinqangi/uNkulunkulu/uMenzi, the highest god and creator of the universe, often change depending on the version of the story.[1]
UmkhuluwoMkhulu ("the greatest one") was created inUhlanga,[2] a huge swamp of reeds, before he came toEarth. Individuals base their morality or behavior ethics on his judgment or “apprehension of theUltimate Reality.”
[3] Unkulunkulu is sometimes conflated with the sky godUmvelinqangi[4] (meaning "he who was in the very beginning"), the god ofthunder,earthquake whose other name is Unsondo, and is the son of Unkulunkulu, the Father, andNomkhubulwane, the Mother.[citation needed]
The wordnomkhubulwane means the one whoshapeshifts 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 theGod of the bible to the people of Zululand.[citation needed]
According toIrvin Hexham (1981), "there is no evidence of belief in a heavenly deity or sky god in Zulu religion before the advent of Europeans".[5] However, other scholars such asEileen Jensen Krige,Isaac Schapera, Axel-Ivar Berglund (1976), Hammond-Took, andJohn 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".[6]
