You can mark you interesting snippets of text that will be available through a unique link in your browser.


Zulu

Translation
Zulu
/zooh"looh/, n., pl. Zulus, (esp. collectively) Zulu for 1, adj.
n.
1. a member of a Nguni people living mainly in Natal, Republic of South Africa.
2. the Bantu language of the Zulu.
3. a word used in communications to represent the letter Z.
adj.
4. of or pertaining to the Zulus or their language.

* * *

Nguni-speaking people living in KwaZulu/Natal province in South Africa.

Numbering about 9.5 million, they are South Africa's largest ethnic group. Traditionally grain farmers, they also kept large herds of cattle. European settlers wrested grazing and water resources from the Zulu in prolonged warfare during the 19th century; with much of their wealth lost, modern Zulu depend largely on wage labour on farms owned by whites or work in the cities. The Zulu provide the main support for the Inkatha Freedom Party. Many Zulu belong to independent or separatist African churches, though the traditional religion, based on ancestor worship and belief in a creator-god, witches, and sorcerers, remains strong. See also Shaka.

* * *

▪ people
      a nation of Nguni-speaking people in KwaZulu/Natal province, South Africa. They are a branch of the southern Bantu and have close ethnic, linguistic, and cultural ties with the Swazi and Xhosa. The Zulu are the single largest ethnic group in South Africa and numbered about 9 million in the late 20th century.

      Traditionally grain farmers, they also kept large herds of cattle on the lightly wooded grasslands, replenishing their herds mainly by raiding their neighbours. European settlers wrested grazing and water resources from the Zulu in prolonged warfare during the 19th century, and, with much of their wealth lost, modern Zulu depend largely on wage labour on farms owned by individuals of European descent or work in the cities of South Africa.

      Before they joined with the neighbouring Natal Nguni (see Nguni) under their leader Shaka in the early 19th century to form a Zulu empire, the Zulu were only one of many Nguni clans; (clan) Shaka gave the clan name to the new nation. Such clans continue to be a basic unit of Zulu social organization (kinship); they comprise several patrilineal households, each with rights in its own fields and herds and under the domestic authority of its senior man. Paternal authority is so strong that the Zulu may be called patriarchal (patriarchy). polygyny is practiced; a man's wives are ranked by strict seniority under the “great wife,” the mother of his heir. The levirate, in which a widow goes to live with a deceased husband's brother and continues to bear children in the name of the dead husband, is also practiced.

      The genealogically senior man of each clan is its chief, traditionally its leader in war and its judge in peace. Headmen (induna), usually close kin of the chief, continue to have charge of sections of the clan. This clan system was adopted nationwide under the Zulu king, to whom most clan chiefs are related in one way or another. When the Zulu nation was formed, many chiefs were married to women of royal clan or were royal kinsmen installed to replace dissident clan heads. The king relied on confidential advisers, and chiefs and subchiefs formed a council to advise him on administrative and judicial matters.

      Boys in this highly organized military society were initiated at adolescence in groups called age sets. Each age set constituted a unit of the Zulu army and was stationed away from home at royal barracks under direct control of the king. Formed into regiments (impi), these men could marry only when the king gave permission to the age set as a whole.

      Traditional Zulu religion was based on ancestor worship and on beliefs in a creator god, witches, and sorcerers. The king was responsible for all national magic and rainmaking; rites performed by the king on behalf of the entire nation (at planting season, in war, drought, or famine) centred on the ancestors of the royal line. Modern Zulu Christianity has been marked by the growth of independent or separatist churches under prophets, some of great wealth and influence.

      The power and importance of the king, chiefs, and military system have declined substantially, and many of the young men leave KwaZulu/Natal to seek work elsewhere in South Africa. Knowledge of and strong pride in traditional culture and history are, however, almost universal among contemporary Zulu.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

  
Share  

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Zulu — steht für: Zulu (Volk), eine südafrikanische Volksgruppe isiZulu, die Sprache der Zulu (südafrikanisches Volk) Buchstabe Z im ICAO Alphabet Zulu Klasse, NATO Codenamen einer sowjetischen U Boot Klasse Zulu Zeit, die Einheitszeit in der zivilen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • ZULU — ► adjetivo 1 De un pueblo que habita en el sudeste del continente africano. IRREG. en plural también zulúes ► sustantivo masculino femenino 2 Persona natural de este pueblo. ► sustantivo masculino 3 LINGÜÍSTICA Lengua hablada por este pueblo. * * …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Zulu — u lu (z[=oo] l[=oo]), n. [Also Zooloo.] 1. Any member of the tribe of Zulus; a Zulu Kaffir. See {Zulus}. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. (Philol.) One of the most important members of the South African, or Bantu, family of languages, spoken partly in… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • zulu — 1> зулус; зулуска Ex: the Zulu(s) собир. зулусы 2> зулусский язык 3> зулусский 4> ам. сл. условное обозначение буквы Z 5> косм. жарг. среднее гринвичское время …   Новый большой англо-русский словарь

  • Zulu — 1. adj. зулусский 2. noun 1) зулус; зулуска 2) зулусский язык …   Англо-русский словарь Мюллера

  • Zulu — Zulu, so v.w. Sulu 5) …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Zulu — Infobox Ethnic group group = Zulus pop = 10,659,309 (2001 census) [http://www.southafrica.info/ess info/sa glance/demographics/census main.htm South Africa grows to 44.8 million] , on the site [http://www.southafrica.info southafrica.info]… …   Wikipedia

  • Zulu — I. noun (plural Zulu or Zulus) Etymology: Zulu zula (as in isiZulu the Zulu language Date: 1824 1. a member of a Bantu speaking people of Natal 2. the Bantu language of the Zulus • Zulu adjective II …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Zulu — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. le Peuple zoulou, peuple de l Afrique australe, dirigé autrefoirs par Chaka Zulu. la langue zoulou. la Zulu, rivière de la République démocratique du… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Zulu — 1. adjective /ˈzuːluː/ Pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language. 2. noun /ˈzuːluː/ a) An individual member of the Zulu people. b) The letter Z in the ICAO spelling alphabet Syn: isiZulu …   Wiktionary