Topic summary
Buffalo thorn
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Ziziphus mucronata.
Cultural practices and beliefs
Historically the Zulus planted a buffalo thorn on the grave of a deceased chief as a reminder of where the chief was buried, hence the Zulu name “umLahlankosi”, meaning “that which buries chief”. Even today a branch from the buffalo thorn is used to retrieve the spirit of a deceased person from where he or she died. A family member will go to the place where death occurred carrying a branch of the buffalo thorn which the spirit is able to hold onto. This will be taken back to the deceased homestead and the spirit will be given a new resting place. During the transportation of the spirit the carrier will at no time look backwards, he will pay for two seats on a bus or a taxi and communicate with the spirit explaining exactly what is transpiring. If for example they are to cross a river the holder will tell the spirit “we are now crossing the river, we will get a lift on the other side”, etc.