Unkulunkulu

Unkulunkulu (/uɲɠulun'ɠulu/), often formatted as uNkulunkulu,[1] is the Supreme Creator in the language of the Zulu people. Originally a "first ancestor" figure, Unkulunkulu morphed into a creator god figure with the spread of Christianity.[2]

Pre-Christian Role

In general usage, before the spread of Christianity, Unkulunkulu was a general term referring to an "old-old one," or an ancestor.[3] In this situation, these Onkulunkulu (the plural form) could be male or female, and most tribes and families had one, regarding them with great respect.[1] Unkulunkulu also existed in a broader role as a sole, ancient figure; this figure being male, he played a role in broader Zulu mythology as the ancestor of humanity, but was given little attention.[2]

Post-Christian Role

With the spread of Christianity in the mid-1800s, various Zulu populations began referring to Unkulunkulu in a different light. This new form of Unkulunkulu was a creator deity rather than an ancestor archetype. This form closely resembles the Christian God and is referred to in the same context.[4] Other names for this being used in similar cultures include uMdali (meaning "Creator") and uMvelinqandi (meaning "Before everything"; analogous to Umvelinqangi in the isiXhosa language).[5]

While he still often represented the first man, he also began to represent a creator/originator of humanity and all creation.[5] This version of Unkulunkulu originated from reeds; he then created humans and livestock from the same reeds, and created everything else afterwards from no original source.[6] After he created all, Unkulunkulu is said to have forgotten his creations and abandoned them, and there are no myths of him beyond this point of creation.[7]

Notes
  1. Weir, Jennifer. "Whose Unkulunkulu?" Africa (pre-2011), vol. 75, no. 2, 2005, pp. 203-219.
  2. Worger, William H. "Parsing God: Conversations about the Meaning of Words and Metaphors in Nineteenth-Century Southern Africa." Journal of African History, vol. 42, no. 3, 2001, pp. 417-447.
  3. Hexham, Irving. "Lord of the Sky-King of the Earth: Zulu traditional religion and belief in the sky god." Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, Vol. 10, Issue 3, 1981, pp. 273–285.
  4. The Library of His Excellency Sir George Grey, KCB: A catalogue Compiled by W H I Bleek, Sir George Grey and J Cameron Vol 4, London and Cape Town 1867
  5. Callaway, Henry. The Religious System of the Amazulu: Unkulunkulu; or, the tradition of creation as existing among the Amazulu and other tribes of South Africa. 1868.
  6. Leeming, David Adams; Leeming, Margaret Adams (2009). A Dictionary of Creation Myths (Oxford Reference Online ed.). Oxford University Press.
  7. Burgess, Andrew. Unkulunkulu in Zululand. Board of Foreign Missions, 1934.
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