The image of a proud Zulu man wearing an animal skin is something that most South Africans are quite used to and wouldn’t really think twice about, but maybe it’s time that we did. The congregation of the Nazareth Baptist Church, commonly known as Shembes, use leopard skins in their ceremonies, which might have been … Read more
Anyone who’s a regular early morning beachgoer is likely to have seen those curious groups of people dressed in white performing baptisms in the rather choppy Indian Ocean. You might also have driven past those circles of white stones dotted around Durban’s public spaces, and wondered what they mean. Well if you have a curious … Read more
Mwelela Cele interviews Mr Ximba as part of the Memories of Inanda documentary, produced for the eThekwini Municipality’s Ulwazi Programme. Mr Ximba discusses the Shembe Church. Nazareth Baptist Church (Alternatively called “The Nazarite Church” “iBandla lamaNazaretha”, or the “Shembe Church”) is an African Initiated Church founded by Isaiah Shembe in 1910. It has approximately 4 … Read more