Zulu Language A Brief History

What is Zulu and who speaks this language? Loosely translated, ama-Zulu are people of the sky. That’s why core things have the word Zulu. People all over the world have an identity.

I understand the Chinese have different years, Year of the Dog, Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Tiger and so on. The Japanese also have their own things that define who they are. In Nigeria, the elephant seems to be very important for national identity. In Canada, indigenous artists love painting identity symbols like the canoe, raven or bison.

Brief Zulu History

Ama-Zulu = are people who speak isi-Zulu.

KwaZulu = is their country, like England for the English, France for the French.

Isi-Zulu = is their language.

Isi-Zulu = is beer made from maize and wheat.

i-zulu = is the sky.

i-zulu = is the weather, thunder, sun, rain etc.

I-zulu = is the Zulu King and he’s called ‘sky above’ in his praise poems.

I-zulu = when white missionaries came with the bible, converts called heaven ‘ezulwini’ (up above).

You might also meet people whose last name is Zulu. They might be related to the royal family. They might not. This surname has many tentacles (izithakazelo), but we will not include them in language lessons. Zulu speakers use tentacles of their surnames a lot on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. That’s how they address each other.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.