ZULUS

[s. 829] : The Zulus, according to tradition and the testimony of generations that have but lately pa ed away, came, something more than a century since, from the north and took ujs their abode, first on the Imfolosi and Umhlatusi rivers, and then farther south as far as the Umzimkulu, and farther east in the vicinity of Delagoa Bay. Not to go back beyond a somewhat definite knowledge of them, we find them a small tribe under the chieftain Usenzangakona, son of Jama, and father of Chaka. Chaka, born in 1787, was a chieftain of great enterprise in his way, of great ambition, military prowe , and succe . Starting out at the head of a small army, he a ailed and subdued tribe after tribe, and incorporated all into his own, till he had mastered a considerable territory and made himself feared by the Dutch and English at the Cape, the tribes on the west, and other far-distant tribes on the north and east. Finally, in 1828, he was a a inated through the jealously of two brothers, one of whom, XuluB Dingan, took his place in power. During Dingan’s reign, or rather at the close of it, which came through a war with the Boers, as a result of which he was chased out of the country and died of his wounds in the wilderne , his kingdom was divided, in 1840, and the southern half of it, called the Natal District, came into the hands of the Dutch, and then, in 1842, into the hands of the English, and so became a British colony; while the northern half, which has since gone by the name of Zululand, came under the rule of Umpande, brother of the two previous kings. Umpande continued nominally at the head of affairs till the day of his death, in October, 1872, when his son Ketchwayo was installed king. He held office till the English-Zulu war in 1879, when he was taken captive and carried to Cape Town and thence to England. The British Government, now profe ing to have a kind of moral protection and authority over the Zulu realm, divided it into thirteen sections, and over each appointed a kind of petty chief or kinglet, the result of which was confusion, strife, and anarchy. Then Ketchwayo was carried back to Zululand and reinstated king, January 31, 1883, over at least a part of his former realm, but soon died, some say of heart disease, some of grief and disappointment, while others think he was poisoned by his late antagonist. The division of the country into sections under native chiefs continued for some years But in 1897 Zululand in Zululand proper. was made a part of Natal, with the Governor of Natal in control, and with Zululand represented The in the legislative body of the Province. negro population of Natal, including Zululand and the recently annexed districts of Vryheid and Utrecht, in 1901 amounted to 836,912 souls. The Zulu is a man of many marked and ready parts, self-respecting, sometimes haughty, of a martial spirit, quick-witted, a studious and keen observer of men and things, and, within all lines of his own observation and experience, a good judge, a good logician, a good reader of character, and a good narrator of facts and One of them, having heard his mi ion events. ary tell of the great power and goodne of God, how He hates sin, and how the race was beguiled to their ruin through the temptations of the adversary, promptly challenged his teacher with the sharp inquiry, “But why didn’t God kill the devil at once and stop all that mischief in the beginning?” Another Zulu, being once asked by his mi ionary, “What is the best color for man?” replied, “For you Americans no doubt white is the best, but for us Africans there is nothing better than a good, clear, shiny black, The famous with just a little of the red in it.” Zulu chief Pakade, who used to come now and then into sharp collision with the English, was once visited by Bishop Colenso, who tried to interest him in his translation of the Lord’s Prayer into Zulu; but right in the midst of the Bishop’s laborious effort, he was suddenly pulled up by his pupil’s breaking in upon him with the remark, “Yes, yes, that is all very good, but how do you make gunpowder?”, The dre , habitations, and pursuits of the Zulus are all in accord with what should be looked for among a people living for ages in a tropical climate and without refining, quickening influences. 812 In their untutored condition the woman’s dre is a half cow-hide, tanned soft, dyed black, bound about the loins, and coming down about And when it is old, and worn, to the knees. and torn, as it will be in time, she goes to one bush and tears off the bark, and to another for a thorn, punches a hole here, another there, puts in the string and sews up the rent. The man’s wardrobe is only about a fourth part as much as that of the woman, and the little he has is generally from the fur of wild beasts; while the children are left to go for some years as on the day they were born. But all men, — women, and children, young men and maidens are fond of ornaments, such as beads and bra bangles or charms, of wood or bark, bones, horns, hoofs, teeth, and claws of birds and beasts. The distinguishing mark of the married man is a head smooth shaved, all but a ring of blackened hair around the crown; while the married woman’s head is also smooth shaved, all but a tuft of hair on the crown colored with Under pure native rule the Zulu red ochre. could never marry or build himself a house or kraal till he had served his king as a soldier for a term of years, got his discharge, and with his discharge a piece of ground on which to build. Having a right to build, he selects a dry, oval spot for his kraal, which consists of a circular enclosure for his cattle; and around this a circular row of houses, one for himself and one for each The house is of his wives and her children. hemispherical in shape, seven or eight feet high, with a diameter of fifteen or twenty feet. The frame consists of wattles about the size and length of fishing-rods, over which is laid a thick coating of long thatch gra for covering. On one side is a door two feet high and eighteen The floor is made of hardened inches wide. clay or earth from the ant-heap; near the center is a shallow basin, saucer-like in shape, for the There is no chimney, nor is there any fire. opening for light and air, save the door. A portion of the border of this one room is set apart for a calf or goat for the night, and the rest is used as a place for stowing wood, bedding, millstone, calabashes, earthern pots, and spears and The rest of the shields for hunting and fighting. hut, or central portion, serves as a place for cooking, eating, sitting, and sleeping. The house is built chiefly by the women, the In times of war the enclosures by the men. men are engaged in war. In times of peace they are expected to prepare the fields, if need be, for the pick, and either fence them or watch The them against cattle and wild beasts. men tan the hides for their wives’ dre es; they and the boys herd the cattle and milk the cows; they hunt, smoke, bask in the sun, drink beer, make offerings to their divinities, the shades of the dead, and institute interminable suits at law. In their heathen state the women keep the house, so far as it is kept at all, do all the drudgery, carry the burdens, and cultivate the fields. With their baskets and heavy, clumsy picks they do the digging, planting, harvesting the work of the plow, harrow, cart, ox, and horse. When the corn or other ^rain is gathered and dry, they do the threshing, winnowing, and grinding; or if the grain must go to the market ten or twenty mile’s away, they must carry it there in baskets on their heads. The matrimonial affairs of the Zulus are based upon a belief in polygamy and correspond — — 813 to their faith. Native law prescribes no limit to the number of wives a man may have, provided he can find them, and has the means five or ten head of cattle each with which to — obtain them. The Zulu who would woo has great confidence subduing, winning potency of certain medicinal preparations. The more common way would be to prepare a delicate powder and send it by the hand of some unsuspected person, to be given in a pinch of snuff or sprinkled upon thfc person whose will is to be changed or affections won. The engagement made and the wedding at hand, the parents and friends of the bride, all in their best attire, make up a party and escort her to the home of the bridegroom. Arriving there, they begin to sing and dance; nor is it long before the young men of the kraal join them. At length the master of the kraal slaughters an ox, and all give up dancing and in the singing after for feasting and carousing. And so, an exchange of presents and other exera joj’ous character, the man and woman become husband and wife after the manner of a cises of Zulu marriage. Mi ionary Work for Zulus: The first mi ionary enterprise among the Zulus was that of Capt. Allen Gardiner, who afterward lost his life in an attempt to establish a mi ion in Patagonia. He went to Zululand in 1835 and obtained permi ion from the Zulu chief Dingan to establish a mi ion near Port Natal (now Durban). He then induced the CMS to send the Rev. Mr. Owen to Natal. Mr. Owen established himself at Dingan’s kraal in 1847, but the outbreak of a war of reprisals between Zulus and Boers forced him to retire. Work has been carried on by the Church of England diocesan initiative among the Zulus ever since, aided by the SPG to some extent. The SPG now has in Natal 16 mi ionary stations, with 8,588 profe ed Christians, It also has in of whom 2,714 are communicants. Zululand proper 5 stations, with 4,982 profe ed Christians, of^whom 1,522 are communicants. The ABCFM was urged by Dr. Philips of the LMS as early as 1833 to open a mi ion to the mi ionaries. Rev. Zulus. It sent out six Me rs. Alvin Grout, Champion and Adams, M.D., for Zululand, and Rev. Me rs. Lindley, Venable and Wison, M.D., for the Matabili. The two parties reached Cape Town in 1835, and the party for Matabililand established themselves m 1836 at Mosiga Valley, about 100 miles west Pretor i a was afterward of the spot where built. Within six months, however, an irruption of Boers destroyed the people of Mosiga Valley and compelled the mi ionaries to withdraw. The mi ionaries made their way to the coast and joined their colleagues, who meanwhile had become established near Port Natal with In 1838, the consent of the chief, Dingan. however, the war between Dingan and the Boers broke up the mi ion and drove the mi ion Altho work aries to le troubled regions. was resumed when the country became more quiet, the Board decided in 1844 to close the mi ion, and was only prevented from doing so by the conviction of its mi ionaries on the ground, led by Dr. Adams and supported by official and clerical opinion at Cape Town, that In 1847 the mi ion this would be a mistake. was reenforced and the stations of Amanzimtote, Ifume and In and a in Natal were permanently It was only about this time, ten occupied. Znlns years after the work began, that the first Zulu Con convert, an old woman, was baptised. nected with the ABCFM mi ion are now (1903) 23 self-supporting churches of Zulus, with 14,000 profe ed Christians, of whom 3,256 are communicants. These churches support their own pastors and carry on home mi ionary work at their own expense. The was the next to establish a mi ion among the Zulus. Rev. Mr. Archbell of that Society came from Kaffraria into Natal in 1841. The mi ion grew and prospered until, with changed conditions, the whole work was ga ed over in 1882 to the South African Wesley an There onference as an indigenous church. are at hand no data for separately enumerating Zulu members the members among the 95,000 who form the Wesley ans of South Africa to-day. The Norwegian Mi ionary Society under Schreuder established a station near Verulam in Natal in the year 1845. At present this Society has three stations and 988 profe ed Christians, WMS of whom 323 are communicants. The Berlin Evangelical Mi ionary Society commenced its work in Natal in 1847, Me rs. Po elt and Dohne being its first mi ionaries. Mr. Po elt founded the station of Emmaus, near the sources of the Tugela River, and Christianenburg, near Pine town, ten miles west of Durban. The mi ion afterward opened stations in the northern part of Zululand, but were driven out, and changed tlie line of their expansion to the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. The society has now four stations in Natal, with-2,752 profe ed Christians and 1,457 communicants. It has in the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony 38 stations, with 28,704 profe ed Christians, of whom 13,804 are communicants. The Herm anns burg Mi ionary Society opened a station at Herm anns burg in Natal in 1854 and afterward extended its work into Zululand and westward to the Transvaal Marico region, among the Bechuanas. This Society now has in Natal and Zululand 15 stations, with 3,709 profe ed Christians, of whom 2,092 are communicants. The Free Church of Scotland began its permanent establishment in Natal in 1857, taking up the work at Pie term a ritz burg and Empolweni commenced by the Rev. Mr. All is on, who had The UFS been laboring under the WMS. has now in Natal 4 stations, with a full complement of workers, both native and foreign, and with 2,241 communicant church members. The Swedish Church Mi ionary Society has two stations in Natal and Zululand, where it has gathered about 350 communicants. The Boers have often been charged in ma with hostility to mi ion work among the negroes. It is a case of judging the ma by the conduct of some. As a body they are working earnestly for the evangelization of the Zulus who live with and around them. They do this not by organized mi ionary societies, but as individuals, families, committees, ministers, and laymen. Quite a number of Zulus have been formed into churches in connection with the Dutch Church, but statistics on this point are not at hand. Brooks (B..) Natal, London, 1887; Ru ell (R.), Natal, the Land and Its Story, 6th ed., London, 1900; Baynes (A. H.), My Diocese durina the War, London, 1900: Tyler (J.), Forty Years in Zululand, Boston, 1891; Stewart (J.), Dawn in the Dark Continent, London and New York, 1903 Mi ioTiary Review of the World, Vol. II., p. 738.;