Abstract

Physical death as a means of an end to life is unknown in African Religion. When a person has died, the Zulu would he/she has gone to be with the forefathers. For the African people, a human being as a unit consists of mind, body and spirit. African Religion knows no dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual. Human nature is a unit consisting of the two. This paper is intended to analyze the after death life in Zulu culture.

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Discussion and Analysis3

Background3

Religion4

Political Organization4

Ancestors in Zulu Culture5

Conclusion6

Zulu' s Belief about Afterdeath

Introduction

In the Africa religions, with death, life does not finish but keeps on in another region. The "life" and "death" concepts are not mutually exclusive, and between them, there are no apparent distinctions. Existence of human is a dynamical process implying the rise or decline of "power" or "soul," of "living" and "dying," and of life and death, there are diverse levels. This fact is expressed in many African languages that things are not heading best, for instance when there is illness, "we are living a little," is said which means that the degree of life is very dispirited. Placide Tempels, an African religion's scholar explains every misfortune that is stumble upon by Africans as "a diminution of vital force." Poor health and death are brought about by some external driving force, thing, a person, or condition that deteriorates people since the driving force holds a greater life force. The life or an individual personality is not altered or ended by Death, but only brings about an alteration in its circumstances. (www.deathreference.com, para. 1)

Discussion and Analysis

Background

The Zulus are an ethnic group African more than ten million people who live mainly in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, but also found in small amounts in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. Before 16th century, they were resided in the Congo Basin in the north of Africa. AmaZulu consider Patriarch Zulu as their ancestor and they themselves as his direct descendants.

Religion

Zulu religion considers belief on (Nkulunkulu), their creator god. According to them, all the powers belong to him but he has nothing to do with the everyday issues. People of the Zulu tribe worship the ancestors. The spirits of the ancestors are invoked via divination processes (AmaDlozi). The divination process is always performed by a woman. Death, misfortune and the happenings of the bad events are considered as a consequence of evil magic, offended spirits or necromancy. In traditional Zulu religion, it is conceived that after death of a person, his spirit looks out the other members of his family from the spirit world. The diviners play a key role in contacting people with their ancestor's spirits. The spirits are offered different things including beer and meat etc. to make them pleased. (Derwent, p. 14- 32)

Political Organization

Conventional Zulus followed a hierarchical political organization. The King was at the acme. Authorization was then deputed to the District's chiefs and then delegated from the chiefs to the heads of the homesteads. 'Umuzi' was considered to ...