Zulus

According to archaeological data, the emergence of the ancestors of modern bantu-speaking peoples in South Africa dates back to the first centuries of our era ^[2] . In South Africa, the ancestors of the modern Bantu entered into interaction with hunter-gatherers of the Bushmen. It was thanks to such contacts that the clicks , the clicking sounds characteristic of the Khoisan languages, penetrated the languages ​​of Isikos and Izizulu. According to the testimony of the first Portuguese navigators, by the beginning of the 16th century, the southeastern coast of the modern KwaZulu-Natal province was already quite densely populated by Bantu communities, the ancestors of the modern Zulus. They lived in small groups, nominally recognizing the power of the supreme leader. By the beginning of the 18th century, population growth, the improvement of agricultural technology and trade competition with Europeans led to the need to centralize and expand the power of the leaders. Two clans achieved special success: the Ndwandwe north of the Umfolozi River and the mettawa south of it.

Originally, the Zulus themselves were one of the subgroups ( isizwe "people", or isibongo "clan") of the name. They received their name ( amaZulu , “children of heaven”) at the beginning of the 18th century, when, around 1709, the Kantombella founded a new clan. By 1781, there were about 1,500 members in the Zulus clan.

Traditional Zulus clothes include loincloths, aprons, and animal tails on forearms and calves. Honored warriors wore special hairstyles with a ring on the head of herbs and wax. Now traditional clothes are completely replaced by European ones and are preserved exclusively in folklore ensembles.

The rapid expansion of the ownership of the Zulus began in 1816, when Chaka, the illegitimate son of the leader Senzangakona , came to power. In 1817, the Ndvandwe were killed by the Inkosi Mtetwa Dingiswayo (the Zulus did not participate in this war), and Chaka became the supreme ruler of the Mettwa. Chuck conducted military and social reforms that contributed to the military successes of the Zulus and the integration of the conquered clans into his chiefdom . Already by 1819, the Zulus had defeated the Ndvandwe and forced them to retreat to the territory of modern Swaziland ^[3] . In 1824, the area of Zululand was 20,000 km², and the population was 250,000 people.

Military Reforms Chucky

Chuck conducted a complete reorganization of the military system of the Zulus: from conscription to tactics and weapons. They were called up for military service, all men from 20 to 40 years old, capable of carrying weapons. Of these, he formed several military units - amabuto (plural from Ibuto), which formed the core of the future Zulus army. The basis of his military organization Chuck put the principles that he developed while serving in Dingiswayo. Any violation of discipline or failure to comply with the order entailed death. Chuck also imposed severe restrictions on communication between opposite sexes. All the girls were united in women amabuto, which served mainly economic functions. Extramarital relations between representatives of the male and female "regiments", if there was no special order from Chucky, were punishable by death. Permission to enter into marriage was obtained only by warriors and veterans who had particularly distinguished themselves in battle, who had been dismissed from military service.

The armament of the Zulu army consisted of shields a little less than the height of a man, made of tanned and dried bull skin, stretched over a wooden frame, as well as a heavy shortened assembly unit for close combat. When Amabuto porter squads were formed, consisting of young boys, whose duties included carrying food supplies and the minimum necessary set of household supplies. In peacetime, the Zulu army was subjected to constant military training and exercises, which soon turned it into the most powerful military force of South Africa among Africans.

Chuck also used for the first time tactics called the buffalo horns ( izimpondo zankhomo ). The whole army was divided into three parts:

• "Horns" ( izimpondo ), covering the enemy from the flank. In these regiments were usually placed young, inexperienced warriors.
• The “chest” ( isifuba ) was the main striking force that carried out the frontal attack.
• In the "torso" included reserves and shelves designed to finish off the enemy. Mainly veterans served in these shelves.

Dingane Board

After the murder of Chucky in 1828, Inkosi became his stepbrother Dingane , who was among the conspirators who killed Chuck. Dingane has weakened Chuckie’s very stringent requirements regarding the age of marriage and the structure of the army. During the reign of Dingana, the first conflicts began with the Boers who reached Zululand during the Great Track . In 1838, the Zulu Inkosi killed in his krahal the leader of the party of the Boers, Pete Retif, and 70 of his unarmed satellites. After this, the Zulus attacked a caravan of boers near Bloukrans (a slaughter at Bloukrans ). However, the Boers chose a new leader - Andris Pretorius - and on December 16, 1838, the Zulus suffered a crushing defeat in the battle of the Inkome River , which then went down in history as the Bloody. Four days later, the Boers destroyed the capital of the Zulus, Mungunglovlov . In 1840, Brother Dingane Mpande, with the support of the Boers, overthrew the leader and took his place. Under Dingana, the Zulus gave up part of their lands to the Boers. The Natal Republic was founded on them, and the power of the supreme ruler weakened somewhat. However, the Zulu Power remained a powerful force in this region.

Mpande Board

After the victory over Dingany, the Boer colonists, led by Pretorius, founded in 1839 the short-lived Republic of Natal south of Tugela and west of the British settlement of Port Natal (now Durban ). At this time, Pretorius and Mpande maintained peaceful relations. In 1842, a war broke out between the Boers and the British , in which the latter won. The Republic of Natal was annexed to the British possessions. In this war, Mpande supported the British.

In 1843, Mpande began to struggle with dissenters among the Zulus. As a result, thousands of people fled from his possessions, including the British Natal. Many of the refugees took cattle with them; Mpande, seeking to capture the cattle back, invaded the neighboring lands. In 1852, he made a raid on Swaziland , but the British forced Mpande to abandon these plans.

At the same time, the struggle for the succession to the throne between the sons of Mpande Kechvayo and Mbuyazi broke out . As a result, Mbuyazi was killed in battle, and Kechvayo gradually began to seize power. When Mpande died in 1872 at the age of 74, Kechwayo became the supreme ruler of the Zulus.

Reign of Quechway and the Anglo-Zulu War

In 1873, a special mission led by Minister of Natural Affairs T. Shepstoun was sent to Zululand from Natal to conduct an official enthronement ceremony, but a few days before its arrival, the Zulus already had all the rituals relied upon in the tradition. The “coronation” ceremony, which was held on September 1, 1873, by T. Shepstone symbolized only the official recognition of the power of Kechvayo by the British colonial authorities.

In 1877, Zululand (almost completely surrounded by British lands) began to pose a problem for the colonial administration, which sought to consolidate its power in South Africa. In 1879, British troops crossed the border and invaded Zululand. Despite the fact that at first the Zulus managed on January 22, 1879, to smash one of the British troops that invaded Zululand at the Battle of Izandlvan , after the defeat of July 4 at the Battle of Ulundi, the Zulu power virtually ceased to exist.

After the defeat in the war, Zululand was divided into 13 small chiefdoms, with the British “adviser” assigned to the ruler of each of them. The Zulu military recruitment system has been canceled. In 1882, Quechvayo visited Great Britain, where Queen Victoria received him warmly. Upon his return to Zululand, Kechvayo came into conflict with Zibeb , the ruler of the largest chiefdom in Zululand, and was defeated (again under Ulundi). In 1884, Quechvayo died in Eshov . The belief that he was poisoned is still common among the Zulus.

Dinozulu and total loss of independence

After the death of Kechvayo, his son Dinizulu called for help from Transvaal troops under the command of Luis Botha against the rebels. In return, he promised them 10,400 km² of land, which accounted for more than a third of the entire Zululand; after the victory of the Boer mercenaries, Dinuzulu fulfilled his promise. In 1887, Zululand, formally remaining independent, became a British protectorate , and in 1897 was completely attached to Natal. In 1906, the Zulus under the leadership of the leader of the probe clan Bambaty Kamankinza revolted against the British . In July, they suffered a heavy defeat from the united corps of the British army and the native police of Natal: Bambat himself and about 600 people died from his 1,500 unit; about 5,000 people who sympathized with the rebels were sentenced to fines or expulsion. Dinzulu was also charged with assisting the rebels and sentenced to 10 years in prison on St. Helena . In 1910, Louis Bota became Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa , and he ensured that Dinuzulu was serving his term on a farm in Transvaal. There Dinozulu and died in 1913.

The son of Dinizulu, Solomon Kadinuzulu, was never recognized by the authorities as the ruler (Inkosi) of the Zulus: officially he was only a local leader, but he had great authority among other leaders of the Zulu clans, politicians such as John Langalibalele Dube , and the common people. In 1923, Solomon created an organization called Inkatha YaKwaZulu ' ("Inkata ^[4] Zululand") to assert his right to the throne. However, this organization did not play a major role in politics until it was revived by Mangozut Buthelezi in the 1970s, who was the chief minister of bantustan KwaZulu . In December 1951, Cyprian Bekuzulu , the son of Solomon, was proclaimed supreme leader of the Zulus, but the real power belonged to South African officials who ruled through local puppet leaders.

Apartheid

Bantustan KwaZulu

In the era of apartheid , Bantustan KwaZulu was created for the Zulus. In 1970, according to the Black Region Citizenship Act, all Zulus were to become citizens of KwaZulu, losing their South African citizenship. Bantustan consisted of many separate areas in the current province of KwaZulu-Natal . Thousands of Zulus who lived on private lands outside Kwazulu were deprived of their property and resettled on the lands of Kwazulu. By 1993, about 5.32 million Zulus lived in KwaZulu, and about 2 million more in other parts of the country. Since its creation in 1970 (called Zululand), the Prime Minister of Kwazulu was the leader of Mangosutu Buthelezi . In 1994, KwaZulu was merged with Natal and the province of KwaZulu-Natal was created.

Incata

In 1975, Butelesi revived the organization Inkatha YaKwaZulu , creating the Inkata Freedom Party . Formally, this party was a protest movement against apartheid, but still adhered to more conservative views than the ANC . For example, Inkata opposed the armed struggle and international sanctions to which South Africa was subjected. Initially, the relations of "Inkata" and the ANC were good, but in 1979, after the uprising in Soweto, they entered into opposition.

Since the views of Inkata’s management were relatively close to the government’s policy, it was the only organization that it recognized as a voice of the black majority (all others, including the ANC, were banned). In recent years, apartheid, in its support for Inkata, the government has even reached the secret supply of the party with money and instructors for guerrilla warfare. Nevertheless, despite the strong pressure from the government, Buthelezi did not accept the “independence” that Pretoria managed to impose on the Bentustans of Siskei , Transkei , Bophuthatswana and Venda .

Collisions

Since 1985, supporters of opposition protest movements in today's KwaZulu-Natal have participated in bloody clashes. Mainly they were attended by members of the ANC and Inkata, and both sides committed crimes. They believed that many of them were members of state security agencies - the “third force”. The clashes continued throughout the 1980s and became more violent in the 1990s, during the campaign before the 1994 elections.

Now, although Kwazulu-Natal remains the main settlement site for the Zulus, many have moved to the economically more prosperous Gauteng , where Zulu is the most common home language, ahead of the sesoto . Zulu is also common in the predominantly rural province of Mpumalanga .

Zulus play an important role in South African politics. For one presidential term, Mangosutu Buthelezi was one of two vice-presidents of the country when a national unity government was formed, and the normalization of relations between supporters of the ANC and Inkata was one of the top priorities. Two more Zulu members of the ANC were Vice-Presidents: Jacob Zuma and Pumzile Mlambo-Ngkuka . In 2007, Zuma was elected president of the ANC. Since May 6, 2009 holds the post of President of South Africa .

To date, there is the title "King of the Zulus", which since 1971 has been carrying Goodwill Zvelitini. In the course of the struggle against apartheid, the king held a largely passive role, which led to the transformation of the title into a ceremonial rather than a position associated with real power.

As in other African societies, in the Zulus, music plays an important role as a means of expressing emotions beyond words. For Zulu music, not only rhythm and melody are important, but also harmony, known as isigubudu .

Other popular genres of Zulu music are Maskand and Mbakanga .

Зулусская музыка хорошо известна и за пределами ЮАР; свою роль в этом сыграли и белые музыканты, игравшие вместе с зулусами или исполнявшие песни зулусских композиторов. Среди таких белых музыкантов — Пол Саймон и южноафриканец Джонни Клегг .

Как пример собственно зулусской группы, делающей музыкальные традиции своего народа известными по всему миру, можно назвать популярный ансамбль Ladysmith Black Mambazo . Выступив совместно с Полом Саймоном на его альбоме Graceland , они отправились в собственное мировое турне и получили две премии « Грэмми ».

Собственный язык зулусов — зулу , или isiZulu , язык семьи банту , принадлежащий к группе нгуни и близкий языкам коса и свати . Зулу — самый распространённый язык в ЮАР. При этом многие зулусы также говорят на английском , португальском , сесото и других языках ЮАР.

Среди зулусов есть христиане (в основном протестанты и католики ); многие, даже христиане, сохраняют приверженность традиционным верованиям. Большинство христианских общин (церквей) носят синкретический характер.

В доколониальный период у зулусов в религиозной жизни доминировали анимистические верования и культ предков. Зулусы почитали высшего или небесного духа — Ункулункулу . Он выступает в роли одновременно первопредка и демиурга. Зулусы считали, что он является предком Чаки , и почитали его как предка всех зулусов. Зулусы верили, что он не вмешивается в частные, обыденные проблемы человеческой жизни, но под его влиянием находятся природные стихии. Он научил людей добывать огонь, пользоваться орудиями труда, возделывать землю и использовать скот. Но в обычной жизни зулусы к Ункулункулу практически не обращались ^[5] . Основным содержанием религиозных воззрений зулусов являлось поклонение духам предков. Умершие предки — во всех поколениях и на разных уровнях родства — рассматриваются как полноправные члены рода, общины. Тем самым подчёркивается непрерывность семейно-родовых уз. Духи предков выступают посредниками между людьми и более важными духами, как Ункулункулу ^[6] .

• Образец зулусской музыки
• Статья о Пите Ретифе, описывающая его отношения с Дингааном
• Исторический раздел на сайте округе Зулуленд
• Отчёт Human Rights Watch о состоянии дел с правами человека в 1993 году Подробное описание новейшей истории зулусов до 1993 года

• Биннс Ч. Т. Динузулу. Конец династии Чаки / Пер. from English Е. В. Пантюшевой. — М.: Наука, Главная редакция восточной литературы, 1978. — 294 с.
• Брайант А. Т. Зулусский народ до прихода европейцев / Пер. from English К. К. Лупандина. — М.: Изд-во Иностранной литературы, 1953. — 436 с.
• Риттер Э. А. Зулус Чака. Возвышение зулусской империи / Пер. from English В. Я. Голанта. — М.: Наука, Главная редакция восточной литературы, 1989. — 3-е изд. — 374 с.: ил. — ISBN 5-02-016583-2 .