Introduction
2. Socio-historical background
2.4. The isiZulu-speaking community in KwaZulu-Natal
2.4.4. Apartheid era and beyond
Behind the talk of etiquette and tradition, however, was a very real concern with the disintegration of the fabric of Zulu life under the impact of proletarianization and urbanisation during the 1930s. In particular, as the Charter of the Zulu Society makes clear, there was the fear that the 'departure from wholesome Zulu traditions' meant a lack of discipline in the home (ibid.).
Implicit in this argument is the assumption that despite the fact that Zuluness was mobilised for political purposes, a Zulu consciousness independent of a political identity existed among people. IsiZulu-speakers at the grass-roots level assumingly found it difficult to identify themselves with any of the political agendas. However, they had strong sentiments regarding their ethnic affiliation. The literature provides a large amount of references to xenophobia among isiZulu-speakers. Commonly employed derogatory terms, such as izilwane [animals] describe strangers and foreigners.
the issue of mother-tongue education became a controversial topic around this time. Marks notes that "there were differences, too, over the Society's readiness to accept the education of African children in the vernacular" (1989: 223). While distinguishing the traditional Zulu educational system from that of the European settlers, Vilakazi argued that "a child learned about its culture in the home by the methods of observation, imitation and play. Language played a very important role in this respect as it taught much of the value systems and symbols of the culture"
(Vilakazi 1958: 299).
Although isiZulu was the predominant and often only medium of communication in domestic settings and all other areas where Zulu people had no contact with whites, the first half of the 20th century was a time of drastic sociolinguistic change among the Zulu people. The missionary schools and the teaching of the English language and Christian faith represented a great contrast to the previous traditional Zulu social order. Vilakazi (1958: 311) argues that there existed a decrease in the respect for elders due to the fact that children who went to mission schools possessed knowledge that their parents and older family members did not have.
The young Africans who were suddenly confronted with a variety of 'identity options' negotiated a new lifestyle based on western values for themselves. The clashing of traditional Zulu customs and European (Christian) values created a substantial level of fusion and syncretism, but also lead to disputes about Christian faith and traditional value systems based on the belief in ancestors.
With regard to language, many westernised Africans in the late 1950s rejected to
"worship at the shrine of the mother tongue" and used any language that served them best in their work and in their struggle for liberation (Vilakazi 1958: 351).97 It was also in the late 1950s that Mangosutho Gatsha Buthelezi started to - at first unsuccessfully - promote 'Zuluness', the Zulu kinship as a 'constitutional monarchy' and Zulu national pride. Buthelezi was the driving force behind the political mobilisation of Zulu ethnicity. The 'politics of Zuluness' has been discussed elsewhere (Mare 1991, 1992, 1995; Marks 1989, 2004, Piper 1998) and
Needless to say, the chosen medium was English.
136
it is not the purpose here to discuss Buthelezi's political role with regard to a Zulu ethnicity. What is important in the context of this study is merely to acknowledge that "Zuluness" as a socially constructed ethnic identity existed alongside political identities based on Zulu ethnicity. It is imperative to remember that:
There is no monolithic and universal perception of what it means to be a Zulu. There exists a tension and a conflict between members of this linguistically homogenous community who espouse different variants of Zulu ethnicity and who attach different political significance to it (Forsyth 1991: 4).
Investigating 'Zuluness' from an apolitical perspective, as done in this thesis, demands a focus on the social and linguistic factors that constitute this ethnicity.
Forsyth (1991: 6) argues that two streams of Zulu ethnicity emerged, where one was attached to the KwaZulu bantustan and its leader, and the other acknowledged Zuluness, but did not affiliate with the bantustan and its leaders. What this argument implicitly implies is that 'Zuluness' has always existed as an ethnic identity construct, which is independent from a political identity and, draws from social, linguistic and cultural sources. Recently, Dlamini argues that the isiZulu- speaking youth participating in her empirical study were proud of their Zulu heritage and the use of the Zulu language, without attaching a political identity to it (2001: 204). Language, i.e. isiZulu, however, has not always been a neutral factor of this 'Zuluness' as will be explained below.
From the early 1970s Inkatha claimed a monopoly over 'Zuluness', first, because it arose as a 'Zulu movement' representing a sub-formation under the approval of the ANC and, second, because there simply existed no other Zulu national organisation. "Inkatha effectively used a range of symbols and discourses to consolidate its role as a key regional actor and sole representative of the Zulus"
(Bonnin, Hamilton, Morrell and Sitas 1996: 170). In 1976, KwaZulu was granted autonomy and while the province became self-governed, Zulu ethnic influence in the region rose because areas such as Thongaland were controlled more decisively (Webster 1991: 248). When juxtaposing Thonga with Zulu ethnicity, it is clear that the latter was clearly the more desirable choice at the time. Particularly among men, isiZulu was the prestige language (Herbert 2002). The adoption of isiZulu in
137
conjunction with Zulu ethnicity was not only immediate, but also the safest step for people who resided in the KwaZulu rural area. This process contributed to the linguistic homogenisation of the province, and stirred the perception that KwaZulu-Natal residents are Zulu people, a notion that is essentially based on the symbolic construction of ethnicity.
Buthelezi continuously stirred Zulu ethnic nationalism from the mid-1970s and revived 'traditional' symbols and customs.98 The issue of language, i.e. the significance of isiZulu was, however, hardly mentioned in his speeches. This is not surprising in light of the fact that "this was the one thing that his constituency had in common" (Marks 2004: 192). Nonetheless, it is known that in the 1990s Inkatha warriors identified their enemies by the less 'pure' isiZulu that they spoke and, hence, the amaqabane [ANC comrades] often spoke a more urban variety of isiZulu (ibid.). From a more general perspective, however, it needs to be noted that isiZulu as a language cluster that consolidates various different dialects was fairly neglected as a symbol of Zuluness in the political mobilisation process. One could argue that isiZulu was perceived as too obvious of a cultural artefact and too immediate in order to employ it as a mobilisation tool. Ironically, however, it was more or less the only 'natural' and authentic facet of a Zulu ethnic identity at the time. Therefore, isiZulu as a mere symbol of Zuluness, was not only employed to construct ethnicity as a sociolinguistic phenomenon, but also used on the ground as a means by which to identify Inkatha membership and hence a political identity.
This gave rise to a substantial amount of political tension in the 1980s and 1990s as detailed below.
The association of Zulu language with a history of bravery was highly controversial in the late 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. This controversy was due to the fact that Inkatha had claimed ownership of Zulu symbolic resources, including language, which then made it difficult for other organisations to use the symbols in pursuing their aims. The use of Zulu language (and history), therefore, in particular situations, was conflated with Inkatha politics, resulting in those who used Zulu in particular public spaces being labelled Inkatha members (Dlamini 2001: 201).
98 Unsurprisingly, the authenticity of Buthelezi's ethnic revival has been widely questioned. The Zulu king himself, for instance, had never worn traditional royal costumes, such as leopard skin, feathers, and beads until Buthelezi motivated for it in the event of the annual 'Shaka Day' celebration (Chidester 1992: 211).
138
There was undoubtedly a period during which it was dangerous for an isiZulu- speaker to commit him or herself to Zuluness without being associated with the political party that promoted the Zulu ethnic message, i.e. Inkatha. Meanwhile, however, it has been argued that Zuluness transcends a political affiliation (Piper 1998). It has further been stated that it was merely an attempt by the KwaZulu government to equate Zuluness with Inkatha (Nzimande and Thusi 1998). Even during the IFP/ANC tension, people spoke isiZulu and identified themselves as Zulu without wanting to be affiliated with Inkatha. I, however, will show that ever since the political conflict of the 1980s and 1990s has quietened down, the use of isiZulu has further increased in significance. Although the ANC has persistently promoted 'many cultures one nation' strategies that focus on the use of English, one can very well affiliate him/herself with the ANC and yet be conscious about his/her Zuluness and proud of isiZulu. It is crucial to differentiate clearly between political identities and ethnic, or ethnolinguistic ones, as they are negotiated on fundamentally different grounds in the post-apartheid state.
In a recent study, the links that underscore Zulu ethnic identity in KwaZulu-Natal have been examined within the social and political context of a changing South Africa (Dlamini 2001). Ethnicity, and thus Zuluness, is regarded as "a boundary phenomenon constructed within specific and competing discursive sites and with competing and conflicting practices" (ibid.: 197). Four criteria are identified as essential categories: history, language, culture and birthplace. What becomes evident throughout Dlamini's study is the fact that identities - as they are constructed in everyday life, in relation to various factors be it language, culture or other variables - are not only flexible and changeable, but often characterised through discontinuities and contradictions.
Hence, "it is clear, for instance, that while isiZulu-speaking people were considered by the state and political organisations as a well-defined homogenous group, the cultures of those who made up this group pointed otherwise" (Dlamini 2001: 219). The paper rightly questions the uniformity of 'cultures' and practices that constitute the ethnic boundary. Accordingly, individuals within one group, i.e.
139
the isiZulu speech community of Umlazi, hold different views with regard to sociolinguistic issues, for instance. What is important, however, is to identify these different perceptions and to analyse them in a holistic approach, which takes into account sociohistorical and socio-economic factors.
Although there has been a strong emphasis on and a drive for some kind of 'common South African identity' among individuals in the country, especially since the new dispensation, the case of the isiZulu-speaking community is 'somewhat' different. 'Zulus' appear to be particularly proud of their specific ethnic identity and their language: the status of isiZulu as a lingua franca in South Africa is a manifestation of this fact. The contemporary significance of language in the construction of this Zulu pride has not been adequately explored because of the sensitivity of the matter. Zuluness is frequently understated in public as leaders in the ANC-dominated post-apartheid South Africa deliberately refrain from giving recognition to the division of the Black population into ethnic or cultural groups.
In the early 1990s Zuluness was reinvented publicly as an ethnic identity that was not to be linked to any particular party, such as Inkatha, for example. Since 1994 the Arts and Culture Council in KwaZulu-Natal has promoted the revival of Zulu culture, and the ANC has recently drafted a discussion paper that outlined the significant role of 'traditional leadership' (Marks 2004). Although ethnicity, i.e.
Zuluness, undoubtedly already existed in some way or another in the past, the democratisation of South Africa has provided a less loaded political attachment to the phenomenon. As Mare (2004) recently argued, the 'rainbow nation' conceptualisation has revalorised ethnicity as a more politically secular social identity. The Renaissance in Zulu culture is all too obvious in KwaZulu-Natal cultural events, heritage sites and the new tourist industry.
To sum up the above, I argue that from a sociohistorical perspective isiZulu has played a crucial role in the construction of Zuluness as an ethnic identity throughout the past two centuries. Although the promotion of isiZulu played no
140
overt significant part in Zulu political mobilisation, I maintain that it has featured covertly as the most 'natural' constituent. Although English was and is the language medium in which most KwaZulu-Natal leaders express their political agendas, a commitment to isiZulu as an essential constituent of Zuluness needs not be questioned. Fairly recently, Campell, Mare and Walker (1995) investigated a commitment to Zuluness from a sociological perspective in the same area investigated in this thesis, namely the Umlazi Township. The authors conclude that:
Everyone expressed a great personal commitment to language as the cornerstone of Zuluness. This feature was consistently associated with Zulu identity across interviews. Informants made a pragmatic English- Zulu division in their lives. They stressed that it was vital that their children learned English in order to get ahead in life but they did not perceive any threat to their identity from this selective preference.
(Campell etal. 1995:295).
Thus, the mother tongue is a marker of the ethnic belonging and 'Zuluness', whereas English is a symbol of success. Campell et al. (1995) made another crucial observation about isiZulu and its significance in constructing Zulu ethnic identity.
Language, along with other factors, is identified as a highly valued marker of Zuluness among the informants of this study. Even though the general agreement was that isiZulu was not of economic value, there was no sense of it being under threat and confidence in its vitality appeared secure (Campell et al. 1995: 295).
Whether or not this confidence in the resilience of isiZulu still prevails, will be examined next.
141