Zulu traditional religion contains numerous

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

commonly associated with animals or general classes of natural phenomena.

Unkulunkulu Unkulunkulu (/uɲɠulun'ɠulu/), often formatted as uNkulunkulu,Weir, Jennifer. "Whose Unkulunkulu?" ''Africa (pre-2011)'', vol. 75, no. 2, 2005, pp. 203-219''.'' is the Supreme Creator in the language of the Zulu people. Originally a "first ancest ...

is the highest god and is the creator of humanity.

("the greatest one") was created in Uhlanga, a huge swamp of reeds, before he came to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

. Unkulunkulu is sometimes conflated with the sky god

Umvelinqangi UMvelinqangi is a Nguni word which translates to "the Most High" or "Divine Consciousness"; that is considered the source of all that has been, that is and all that ever will be. UMvelinqangi, contrary to widespread belief is not personified. Umv ...

(meaning "he who was in the very beginning"), god of

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

whose other name is Unsondo, and is the son of Unkulunkulu, the Father, and Nomkhubulwane, the Mother. The word ''nomkhubulwane'' means the one who

shapeshift In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...

s into any form of an animal. Another name given for the supreme being Unkulunkulu is uSomandla, the ultimate source of all existence. According to Irvin Hexham (1981), "there is no evidence of belief in a heavenly deity or sky god in Zulu religion before the advent of Europeans". However, other scholars such as Eileen Jensen Krige,

Isaac Schapera Isaac Schapera FBA FRAI (23 June 1905 Garies, Cape Colony – 26 June 2003 London, England), was a social anthropologist at the London School of Economics specialising in South Africa. He was notable for his contributions of ethnographic an ...

, Axel-Ivar Berglund (1976), Hammond-Took, and

John Mbiti John Samuel Mbiti (1931–2019) was a Kenyan-born Christian philosopher and writer. He was an ordained Anglican priest, and is considered "the father of modern African theology". Early life John Mbiti was born on 30 November 1931 in Mulango, ...

disagree with Hexham's analysis. They argue that the "lord of heaven" or Zulu sky god has always existed in the traditional Zulu belief system, a deity who they argue is greater than the "archetypal ancestor and creator, Unkulunkulu".Chidester, David; Kwenda, Chirevo; Petty, Robert ; Tobler, Judy; and Wratten, Darrel; ''African Traditional Religion in South Africa: An Annotated Bibliography: An Annotated Bibliography'', ABC-CLIO (1997), p. 246,

(Retrieved 11 July 2019) Other deities include Nomhoyi, the

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s, and Nomkhubulwane, sometimes called the Zulu

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...

, who is a goddess of the

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

and

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(which she invented). Still other deities are uNgungi, the deity of the blacksmiths; iNyanga the moon goddess associated with healers who are called IziNyanga, the word ''nyanga'' is a Zulu word for the moon; Sonzwaphi the deity of healing; and Ukhulukhulwana (or UkhuluKhukwan) a star being ancestor who came from the stars and found the ancient Zulus living like animals and without laws. He taught them to build huts and taught them the high laws of isiNtu. The word ''unkulunkulu'' is suspected to be a corruption of the word ''umkhuluwomkhulu''. Unkulunkulu is a word used by European settlers to try to explain God to the people of Zululand. Mvelinqangi is the Zulu word for God and amazulu use their ancestors to connect to God as do other religions.

See also

Notes & References

Further reading