Last month Siboniso Langa, one of our enthusiastic Ulwazi fieldworkers, reported on the different clothes that Zulu men and women wear at different times of their lives, and in different contexts. Siboniso discussed everything from bridal outfits to the clothes that a Zulu prince wears, as well as everyday attire for traditional Zulu girls and boys. Follow the … Read more
It doesn’t seem possible, but Ulwazi is ten years old! A whole decade! Conceptualised by the ex-Head of Information Systems at eThekwini Libraries, Betsie Greyling, Ulwazi was initially run as a library project before joining the Local History Museums family where it now happily resides. The motivation for starting Ulwazi was threefold: Increase the volume of … Read more
Proverbs are found in all languages. They act as colourful lessons, offering advice that’s passed down from generation to generation in the guise of a clever sentence or two. In English there is a well-known saying, ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’, implying that some things are better done alone. The Zulu equivalent, as explained … Read more
Culture is something that is dynamic. We talk about ‘preserving’ culture, but in truth culture is something that is always changing and adapting, so at best we are are recording culture at a point in time. One of the stories that Nqobile researched last month is a good illustration of this point. In contemporary Zulu culture a … Read more
We had the most eventful Ulwazi meeting this month! Neli wrote about some of the traditional games that Zulu children play, and instead of telling us about them, she had us play them! It was great fun! What was interesting was how similar these games are to Western children’s games, and I wonder if you … Read more
In February this year one of our fieldworkers, Nelisiwe, wrote about the practice of ukusiselana ngemfuyo, whereby someone would lend a cow and a bull to a person in their community who was struggling financially. The idea is that the cow would provide milk, and would hopefully bear calves, and in this way the person … Read more