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First Fruits (Southern Africa)
The First Fruits festivals of the Nguni peoples in Southern AfricaSnedegar, Keith, irst Fruit Celebrations among the Nguni Peoples of Southern Africa: An Ethnoastromical Interpretation ''Science History Publications'', 1998. Retrieved 2011/03/18. are a type of sacrificial ceremony of giving the first fruits in a harvest to God believed to be responsible for the abundance of food. It was performed by the high priests of the kingdom, and the king was always in attendance. Traditionally, it marked a time of prosperity in the good harvests experienced after the seasonal agricultural period. It also brought the nation together, unifying it at a time of merrymaking and quashing fears of famine. The tradition is still practiced mainly in the kingdoms of KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland. The ceremonies are headed by the kings of the tribes: Mswati III in Swaziland, celebrated as Incwala, and King Goodwill Zwelithini of the Zulu nation, celebrated as Umkhosi Wokweshwama Umkhosi Wokweshwama ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nguni People
The Nguni people are a Bantu ethnic group from South Africa, with off-shoots in neighbouring countries in Southern Africa. Swazi (or Swati) people live in both South Africa and Eswatini, while Northern Ndebele people live in both South Africa (as immigrants) and Zimbabwe. A group of the Nguni living in present day Malawi and Zambia originated from South Africa and are known as AbaNgoni (or Ngoni/Nguni). The name AbaNgoni can be translated to "People who doesn't commit sins". Both the Ndebele of Zimbabwe and the Ngoni migrated northwards out of South Africa in the early 19th century, during a politically tumultuous era that included the so-called Mfecane and Great Trek. In South Africa, the historic Nguni kingdoms of the Ndebele, Swazi, Xhosa and Zulu are in the present-day provinces of Southern and Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The most notable of these kingdoms are the Zulu Kingdom, which was ruled by Shaka, a warrior king whose conquest took ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom while the southern part was, briefly, the Boer Natalia Repu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swaziland
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast. At no more than north to south and east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry Veld, lowveld. The population is composed primarily of ethnic Swazi people, Swazis. The prevalent language is Swazi language, Swazi (''siSwati'' in native form). The Swazis established their kingdom in the mid-18th century under the leadership of Ngwane III. The country and the Swazi take their names from Mswati II, the 19th-century king under whose rule the country was expanded and unified; its boundaries were drawn up in 1881 in the midst of the Scramble for Africa. After the Second Boer W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mswati III
Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 1968) is the king (Swazi: Ngwenyama, Ingwenyama yemaSwati) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger wives, Ntfombi Tfwala. He was crowned as Mswati III, Ingwenyama and King of Swaziland, on 25 April 1986 at the age of 18, thus becoming the youngest ruling monarch in the world at that time. Together with his mother, Ntfombi Tfwala, now Queen Mother (''Ndlovukati''), he rules the country as an absolute monarch. Mswati III is known for his practice of polygamy (although at least two wives are appointed by the state) and currently has 15 wives. Early life Mswati III was born on 19 April 1968 at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, Manzini, the son of Sobhuza II (who had more than 125 wives during his reign of 82 years), and the only child of Ntfombi Tfwala, also known as ''Inkhosikati'' LaTfwala, one of Sobhuza's younger wives. He was born four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incwala
Incwala () is the main ritual of kingship in the Eswatini, Kingdom of Eswatini. This is a national event that takes place during the summer solstice. The main participant in incwala is the King of Eswatini; when there is no king there is no incwala. Incwala takes place over a period of time of about a month, starting with the small incwala, ''incwala lencane'', and culminating in the big incwala, ''incwala lenkhulu''. A number of activities—such as lusekwane, kuhlamahlama, and umdvutjulwa—mark the key events of this age old tradition. Main personnel The incwala ritual is controlled by national priests known as ''Bemanti'' (people of the water), or ''Belwandle'' (people of the sea), because they fetch river- and sea-water to strengthen the King. The leader of these men is a chief of the Ndwandwe clan who is assisted by other male relatives. Another leader is of the Ndwandwe clan from the Elwandle royal village. These men go and fetch water and herbs respectively in the natio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goodwill Zwelithini KaBhekuzulu
King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu (27 July 1948 – 12 March 2021) was the reigning King of the Zulu nation from 1968 to his death in 2021. He became King on the death on of his father, King Cyprian Bhekuzulu, in 1968 aged 20 years. Prince Israel Mcwayizeni acted as the regent from 1968 to 1971 while the King took refuge in the then Transkai province of South Africa for three years to avoid assassination. After his 21st birthday and his first marriage, Zwelithini was installed as the eighth monarch of the Zulus at a traditional ceremony at Nongoma on 3 December 1971, attended by 20,000 people. Zwelithini died on 12 March 2021, aged 72, after reportedly being admitted to hospital for diabetes-related illness. During preparations for his funeral, the king's traditional prime minister, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, announced that he had died of COVID-19. Political role In the power vacuum created in the 1990s as Apartheid and the domination of the country by White South Africans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zulu People
Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They originated from Nguni communities who took part in the Bantu migrations over millennia. As the clans integrated together, the rulership of Shaka brought success to the Zulu nation due to his improved military tactics and organization. Zulus take pride in their ceremonies such as the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, and their various forms of beadwork. The art and skill of beadwork takes part in the identification of Zulu people and acts as a form of communication and dedication to the tribe and specific traditions. The men and women both serve different purposes in society in order to function as a whole. Today the Zulu people predominantly believe in Christianity, but have created a syncretic religion that is combined with the Zulu's pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Umkhosi Wokweshwama
Umkhosi Wokweshwama ("first fruits festival"), recently also known as ''Umkhosi Woselwa'' ("calabash festival"), is the annual harvest festival of the Zulu people, observed around the December solstice. It takes place at the Enyokeni Royal Palace in Nongoma, KwaZulu-Natal, and is presided over by the Zulu King, who conducts a tasting ceremony as sacred king, closed by the dashing of a calabash to signify that the people may now enjoy the fruits of the harvest; this role was historically expanded by Shaka to have more military significance with a muster and parade. It was revived by the current king's father, the late King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu in 1990, after a ban by British colonial authorities following the 1879 Battle of Isandlwana and Zulu defeat in the Anglo-Zulu War (the last was held in winter 1877–78, though some claim continuity as a less elaborate event). The festival has mass participation by young men, as Umkhosi woMhlanga has by young women. There i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nguni
Nguni may refer to: *Nguni languages *Nguni cattle *Nguni people *Nguni sheep, which divide into the Zulu sheep, Zulu, Pedi (sheep), Pedi, and Swazi sheep, Swazi types *Nguni stick-fighting * Nguni shield * Nguni homestead *Nguni (surname) {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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