THE CONTINUITY OF LIFE IN AFRICAN RELIGION

WITH REFERENCE TO MARRIAGE AND DEATHAMONG THE ZULU PEOPLE.

by

WILMOT RONALD MUSA NGOBESE

submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF THEOLOGY

in the subject

RELIGIOUS STUDIES

at the

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

SUPERVISOR: PROF GJA LUBBE

NOVEMBER 2003

STUDENT NUMBER 434-530-4

I declare that THE CONTINUITY OF LIFE IN AFRICAN RELIGION WITH

REFERENCE TO MARRIAGE AND DEATH AMONG THE ZULU PEOPLE

is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been

indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references.

..SIGNATURE DATE(REV. W R M NGOBESE)

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SUMMARY

THE CONTINUITY OF LIFE IN AFRICAN RELIGION WITH

REFERENCE TO MARRIAGE AND DEATH AMONG THE ZULU

PEOPLE.

The world has become more and more religiously plural. It is thereforeessential to acknowledge the meaningful aspects in the essence of all religions,including African Religion.

The dissertation seeks to highlight the concept, continuity of life in AfricanReligion. Special emphasis is placed on the Zulus due to the vastness of the Africancontinent. Three areas are investigated to show that there is the belief in life afterdeath in African Religion, as it is the case with all great world religions, such asJudaism, Islam and Christianity. These are the sacredness of life, marriage with thegift of children as a blessing from the ancestors, as well as rites and ceremoniesassociated with death which show that the dead are still alive in a mysterious form.

The conclusion is therefore that African Religion has a world status and shouldbe included amongst the great world religions.

TITLE OF THESIS:

THE CONTINUITY OF LIFE IN AFRICAN RELIGION WITHREFERENCE TO MARRIAGE AND DEATH AMONG THE ZULUPEOPLE.

KEY TERMS:

African Renaissance; Intrinsic values; Polygamy; Death; Marriage; Continuityof Life; African religion; Myth; Ancestor.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My sincere thanks and appreciation goes to the following people:

My sister and brother-in-law, Hlengi and Pat Mkhize for their support.

My friend and colleague in the ministry, Rev Martin Mnguni, for his

encouragement and providing me with relevant information as an

expert in Zulu literature.

Dr P Mngadi and S Hlongwane for their wise advice as experts in Zulu

culture and literature.

Lynn Pitts for her time and patience in editing the script.

Winifred Tshabalala for her time and patience in repeatedly typing the

script and making relevant corrections.

Prof G A J Lubbe for support and encouragement. Without his

guidance the dream of this dissertation would not be realized.

and most importantly, I wish to thank Florence, my wife and our

daughters, Thuli, Pam and Ndumi, as well as my grandson, Njabulo for

their love, support and understanding.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

1. Introduction 1

1.1. Parameters of the dissertation 1

1.2. Relevance of the topic 1

1.3. Reason for a particular interest in the topic 2

1.4. Personal interest in the continuity of life 3

1.5. Reason for concentrating on the Zulus 4

1.6. Four main components of the theme 4

1.7. African Religion as a religious tradition 6

1.8. Centrality of marriage and death in Zulu Culture 12

1.9. An outline of Zulu religion 13

1.10. Methodology 15

1.10.1. The things themselves 15

1.10.2. Intentionality 16

1.10.3. Epoche 17

1.10.4. Essences 17

1.11. Data collection 18

1.12. Definition of Concepts 20

1.13. Literature Survey 24

2. Life 29

Concept of life amongst the Zulus 29

2.1. The Zulus as a people 29

2.2. The Zulus and the Supreme Power 30

2.2.1. Some creation myths 32

2.3. Manifestations of the deity among the Zulus 34

2.4. Continued life through the ancestors 37

2.5. The concept of ubuntu

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44

2.6. Life as a vital force 45

2.7. Enemies of life and its restoration 47

2.8. Morality or Ethics 49

2.9. The restoration of life 51

3. Marriage 56

African marriage in general 56

3.1. Forms of marriage 60

3.2. Marriage related matters 62

3.3. The continuity of life and marriage rites 64

3.4. Zulu marriage 66

3.5. Marriage and the continuity of life 70

3.5.1. Farewell dance 70

3.5.2. The role of prayer in a wedding ceremony 71

3.5.3. Clans national anthem 72

35.4. Procreation and barrenness 73

3.6. Corporate nature of marriage 76

4. Death 79

Definition of death 79

4.1. Cause of death 80

4.2. Types of death 83

4.3. Rites 84

4.3.1. Farewell speech 84

4.3.2. Burial and possessions 85

4.3.3. The bringing back ceremony 87

4.4. An analysis of Zulu poems on death 92

4.5. Connection between death and marriage 96

5. Conclusion

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98

5.1. Summary of chapters 2, 3, 4 98

5.2. Concluding comments 110

Annexure I 111

Interview questions 111

Annexure II 113

The important role played by women 113

Bibliography 116

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