AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY AND THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE
3.3. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND THE ZULU PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE Gender is a social construct. Customs like that of ukuthwala are cultural practices and
3.3.2. Zulu philosophy of life and religion
Worldview is a concept fundamental to German philosophy and epistemology, and refers to a “wide world perception” (Hiebert, 2008). In addition, it refers to the framework of ideas, beliefs, attitudes and values through which an individual or a group interprets the world and interacts with it:
77 A comprehensive world view (or worldview) is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing natural philosophy, fundamental existential and normative postulates, or themes, values, emotions, and ethics (Palmer, 1996, p.114).
The philosophy of life of the Zulus has been described by authors in several ways one of which is the interconnectedness of life. This means life is not disconnected;
everything is connected as one, and the life of a person is a journey characterised by stages in his lifetime and even after death. Life is viewed as a complete entity or as a whole (Msimang, 1991; Nyembezi & Nxumalo, 1995; Vilakazi, 1962). In addition, life does not end with death – there is an afterlife that has a place of its own, where ancestors live. That place is known as izwelobabamkhulu (the land of our forefathers).
The concepts of life and death are connected and the Belgian priest, Father Placide Tempels (1969) scholar of African religions, describes every misfortune that Africans encounter as “diminution of vital force”. Illness and death result from some outside agent: a person, thing, or circumstance that weakens people because the agent contains a greater life force. The belief is that there is a cause for every misfortune or fortune and the ancestors have the power to protect people from misfortunes or to plead to UMvelinqangi (God) for the people (Msimang, 1991, pp.16-24); misfortune is believed to be caused by either evil forces or angry ancestors.
Death does not alter or end the life or the personality of an individual, but only causes a change in its conditions. This is expressed in the concept of ‘ancestors’, people who have died but who continue to ‘live’ and communicate with their families (Msimang, 1991). According to Msimang (1991), the Zulus believe that whoever is deviating from the values and norms of society is punished while on earth through misfortunes. There was also inkosazane yezulu (a first woman called ‘a woman of rain’) known as uNomkhubulwano.UNomkhubulwano was known as indodakazi KaMvelinqangi (the daughter of God) since she appeared after God, who existed first before all the people.
The belief is that uNomkhubulwano gives community members good harvests from the fields and safeguards them against famine. UNomkhubulwano as a female figure is
78 highly respected. In other districts they used the term uNomhhoyi to refer to uNomkhubulwano (Nyembezi & Nxumalo, 1995, p.131).
In this life philosophy there is a connection between life and death, and there is life after death. Death although a dreaded event is perceived as the beginning of a person's deeper relationship with all of creation, the completion of the journey of life (Msimang, 1991, p.16) and the beginning of communication between the visible and the invisible worlds. The purpose of life is to be the ancestor one day, as the belief is that only those who lived a 'clean' life can become ancestors after death. The dead are believed to have power over the living; they can cause misfortunes or bring good luck.
In traditional Zulu culture there are only two genders being the male and the female (Msimang, 1991) who perform different gender roles. For example, males would do chores outside home such as cattle herding, looking after the livestock such as goats, sheep, donkeys or hunting animals in the bush, gardening, whilst females would do domestic chores such as cooking, tilling the soil, fetching water from the river and wood from the bush in order to make fire. These differential gender roles are based on the positions that male and female occupy in society as men are accorded superior status than woman and society view women as the property for men in the sense that women will get married and become subjugated under male domination. However, in contemporary Zulu communities such gender stereotypes are changing depicting that culture is forever changing suggesting that one cannot fix culture and tradition as authentic. Furthermore, there has been a tremendous amount written by feminist authors about Zulu culture and tradition through the lens of Jacob Zuma’s rape trial and the ways in which debates and theorising around the trial foregrounded contested interpretations of culture, tradition, morality and Zulu masculinities. However such debates will not be incorporated in this study as the focus of this study is mainly to understand the phenomenon of ukuthwala.
79 3.3.3. Zulu customs, traditions and the use of umuthi (traditional medicine)
Zulus believe observing customs and tradition is a way of life. A person who does not observe customs invites trouble and misfortunes that will be brought to him by angry ancestors (Msimang, 1991, p.12). Among the Zulu communities stages in life such as birth, puberty, marriage and death are all marked by specific rituals and customary practices, as well as the slaughter of animals such as cows and goats. For example, for a newborn baby izinyamazane (parts of certain animals which are burnt and inhaled by a child) are burnt for the baby, and if this is not done properly it is believed that the person will be affected later on in life. Communication with the ancestors also happens in each stage of life.
The Zulus also believe in the use of magic as well as of umuthi (traditional medicines).
Anything beyond their understanding, such as bad luck and illness, is considered to be sent by an angry spirit. When this happens, the help of a diviner (soothsayer) or herbalist is sought, who in turn seeks power from the spirits of the dead. He or she will communicate with the ancestors or use natural herbs and prayers to get rid of the problem. Zulus also believe in traditional healers, witchcraft and sorcerers.
Many Zulus converted to Christianity under colonialism. Although there are many Christian converts, ancestral beliefs have far from disappeared. Instead, there has been a mixture of traditional beliefs and Christianity, which is particularly common among urbanites. In deep rural areas the Shembereligion (mixture of traditional beliefs and following the prophet Isaiah Shembe) is dominant. There are also fervent
Christians who view belief in the ancestors as outdated and sinful (Haskins, 1995;
West, 1976).
80 3.3.4. Zulu concept of ubuntu (humaneness)
Contrary to being known for ‘warriorism’ during the period of Shaka and the Mfecane wars, the Zulu people nowadays in South Africa are quite diverse and like in many cultures some are violent and others are not. However, the culture of Ubuntu is still prevalent.
Respect is one of the key underlying values in life, and it is embedded in the concept of ubuntu (Msimang, 1991; Nyembezi & Nxumalo, 1995). Ubuntu (which literally means
‘humaneness’, ‘good moral nature’, ‘good disposition’) shapes the everyday life of the Zulu people. This comes from the notion that a human being is the highest of all species. As a result, there are lots of proverbs written about ubuntu, relating to the treatment of people, good and bad behaviour, pride, ingratitude, bad manners, moral degeneracy, conceit, cruelty, obstinacy, pretence, helping others and so forth (Khuzwayo, 1994).
Ubuntu has always been alluded to as humanity, and is indeed the promotion of ethics for humankind (Ramose, 2003). Ubuntu promotes peace and is also associated with generosity. In this thesis I argue that ubuntu is a traditional Zulu philosophy that provides an understanding of the Zulus as human beings in relation to the rest of the world. The Zulu proverb “Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu” (I am what I am because of you/because of other people)states this clearly. In spite of temporary misery, the Zulu people would keep a positive sense of life while trying to overcome the situation because it is important to maintain harmonious relationships with all people because one needs other people for his / her own survival. South African Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his book titled No Future Without Forgiveness (1999) and (as cited in Ubuntu Women Institute, USA, 2009) describes ubuntu as follows:
It is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others; do not
81 feel threatened that others are able and good. For they have the proper self assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are. The quality of ubuntu gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to dehumanise them.
Mandela (1994, p.542), the first President of post-apartheid South Africa, narrates his profound conviction rooted in the ubuntu approach:
I have always known that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than the opposite. Even at the grimmest times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure me and keep me going. Man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.
Mandela's narration is profoundly deep-rooted in the ubuntu perception of life, providing an understanding of how being human is the key meaning of life for any human being.
The fact that he could still find humans’ goodness in spite of extreme hardship indicates how deep-rooted the philosophy of ubuntu is in the hearts of the African people. He further outlines how being human is the key meaning of life for any human being (Mandela, 1994, p.544):
It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred; he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity […] When I walked out of prison, that was my mission to liberate the oppressed and the oppressor both […] For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
Mandela asserts that both the oppressor and the oppressed are robbed of their humanity; they are both losers. He argues that the oppressor has lost humanness, just
82 like the oppressed. Furthermore, Mandela (2006), gives us his explanation of Ubuntu, in an interview with South African journalist, Tim Modise:
A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?
This understanding underpins the philosophical dimension of communalism (people are people through other people) found in Zulu communities, as well as the religious dimension in ubuntu perceptions about relationships among human beings. Mandela's assertion also reinforces the philosophical dimension of ubuntu which embraces diversity.