Exploring the Indigenous Religions and Spiritual Practices of Southern Africa

Summary

· Integration of Ancestral Beliefs and Christianity: Indigenous religions in southern Africa, such as those of the Zulu, Shona, and Tswana peoples, often blend traditional spiritual practices with Christian elements. Ancestral reverence remains significant, influencing rituals and societal norms despite the prevalent Christian identity among these groups.

· Role of Ancestral Spirits and Supreme Beings: Ancestral spirits and Supreme Beings play a central role in the religious frameworks of the Zulu, Shona, and Tswana peoples. These entities are believed to govern various aspects of life, including health, fertility, and social order. Rituals and offerings to these spirits are essential for maintaining harmony and addressing misfortunes.

· Spiritual Specialists and Divination: Each ethnic group has spiritual specialists, such as diviners and herbalists, who are integral to their religious practices. These specialists, often believed to be chosen by ancestral spirits, perform divination to diagnose and remedy spiritual and physical ailments, protect against sorcery, and ensure alignment with ancestral and divine expectations.

Deep Dive

Much like indigenous West African religions, the indigenous religions of the peoples of southern Africa are deeply intertwined with their cultural fabric. Whether you consider the Zulu of South Africa or the Shona of Zimbabwe, native religious frameworks traditionally determined how people interacted with the divine, the society and the natural world.

In this article, we will explore the customs of the traditional religions of three major ethnic groups in southern Africa.

Zulu Religion

The Zulu are the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with over 13 million people mainly inhabiting the Kwazulu-Natal province in the southeast of the country. Today, the majority of the Zulu people identify as Christians, but there is an enduring number who still hold their ancestors (amadlozi) in high esteem.

Thus, they still carry out certain spiritual practices to appease the amadlozi as they believe that the amadlozi have the power to intervene in the lives of humans. Interestingly, these spiritual practices have been integrated into some of the African independent churches in South Africa. One such churches is the Nazareth Baptist Church (iBandla lamaNazaretha or the Shembe Church) which was founded in 1911. Within churches like iBandla IamaNazaretha, offerings may be offered to amadlozi to help with good health, fertility and prosperity. These offerings are typically cattle or goats whose meat is left overnight for the ancestors to taste and share with the living. Unlike in pure Zulu religion, the ancestral offerings are accompanied by orthodox Christian prayer.

Zulu religion and culture views death as the transition into ancestry rather than a final end to one’s life. Human beings are said to have a body (umzimba), a heart (inhliziyo), a mind (ingqondo), a shadow or personality (izithunzi) and most importantly, a distinct soul or spirit (idlozi). When someone dies, the izithunsi separates from the body and becomes an ancestral spirit. This transition can only happen after the ukubuyisa ceremony during which the izithunsi is called back and integrated into the ancestral community a year after the person’s death. Before then, the izithunsi is believed to be wandering around the world.

However, the amadlozi are only one—albeit important—aspect of Zulu religion. A more integral aspect is uMvelinqangi, the Supreme Being, who is said to be the source of the known social order as he gave human beings their ancestors and decided how the ancestors should be approached and appeased. Another key deity is iNkosi yeZulu, the lord of the sky and the heavens. He is believed to be responsible for thunder and lightning, which are feared by the Zulu. In fact, in Zulu culture, there are herbalists who are uniquely trained to offer protection from thunder and lightning.

The Zulu refer to the sky or the ‘above’ as ‘ezulwini’, and the ‘below’ as ‘phansi’. Ezulwini is the dwelling place of the lesser gods while phansi is the spirit world and thus the dwelling place of the ancestors. Accordingly, amadlozi are also referred to as abaphansi. iNkosazana yeZulu, or simply iNkosazana, is the princess of heaven who provides rain and bountifulness harvest. Believed to be the patron of women and (especially) young girls, she is also responsible for bestowing fertility on humans and livestock. At girls’ puberty ceremonies, songs are performed in honour of iNkosazana so as to herald fertility and good rains. Sometimes, women plant a small field near a river and pour a libation of beer for iNkosazana to complete a prayer for fruitful harvest.

In Zulu religion, it is believed that human beings are related to their environment both physically and psychologically and can thus be affected by harmful forces in nature. These forces may either operate on their own or be summoned by sorcerers (abathakathi) who devise misfortune, ill health and a general state of vulnerability known as isifo. The amadlozi may also harm human beings, but only to caution them when they are angry. Moreso, one of the main roles of the amadlozi is to protect their descendants from sorcery.

When sickness or misfortune befalls a person, diviners (collectively called izangoma) are consulted to determine the cause of the ordeal. The izangoma then offers advice on how to appease the ire of the amadlozi or, in the event of sorcery, recommend measures to counter its effects. They may also identify the sorcerers. No one chooses to be an isangoma (singular for diviner); instead, they are chosen by the ancestors who possess and guide them till they master their craft. There are herbalists (izinyanga) who also treat sicknesses and administer medicine, but they do not have divination powers since they are not possessed by the ancestral spirits.

Shona Religion

The Shona peoples are the predominant ethnic group in Zimbabwe, making up over 80% of the country’s population of 16 million. Most Shona religion devotees affirm the existence of a Supreme Creator called Mwari (also Musikavanhu, Musiki, Tensi or Ishe) who is so grand that they are far removed from everyday human affairs.‘They/them’ is used as the Shona traditionally do not ascribe a gender to Mwari. In post-colonial Zimbabwe however, Mwari is now widely referred to as ‘he/him’. This is because early Christian missionaries translated the Christian God, a male figure, as ‘Mwari’ in Shona. Thus, as Christianity spread, the male Christian God was increasingly conflated with the androgynous Supreme Being of the Shona.

Traditionaly, Mwari is believed to be an omnipotent being who rules over all spirits, blesses the land with fertility and controls the forces of Earth. The Shona believe that humans do not have the right to contact Mwari directly without first appeasing them or offering thanksgiving supplications through spirit-possessed individuals. It is also said that those who fail to perform such rituals before contacting Mwari will develop leprosy.

Originally, the Shona believed that divine beings existed in a hierarchy with Mwari at the top, followed by the spirits of ancient heroes, spirits of the land, spirits of ancestors and finally, spirits of strangers. However, nowadays, the relative status of the spirits is said to depend on the activities of their mediums; some mediums may have more convincing oracular pronouncements or have more sway with the public. Still, whatever the nature of the spirits, the Shona place heavy focus on interacting with them.

Spirits of the land, or territorial spirits, are essentially the ancestors of chiefly lineages as they are charged with overseeing all the people living in their territory. Rituals are held in their honour to request for good rains and to give thanks after the harvest. Such rituals typically involve the brewing of millet beer and ceremonial singing and dancing at a tree shrine in the grassland. There are designated holy days on which no traditional work may be done in the fields.

When someone is about to become a medium, they usually develop physical sickness and mental troubles. A diviner may then interpret these as signs that the sick person is being summoned to become a spirit’s host. From time to time, such a person will be possessed by the spirit, a time in which he or she loses consciousness and speaks and acts on behalf of the spirit. Mediums of very important spirits are revered as foremost religious specialists or even political figures. For example, Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana (1840-1898) was a medium of Nehanda, a powerful ancient hero. Nehanda Charwe was held in such high esteem that she led a revolt (Chimurenga) against the British South Africa Company’s colonisation of her people’s land. Till date, she is regarded as a national symbol of resistance.

Ancestral spirits also wield significant influence in Shona religion. The deceased patriarch of a family is responsible for the well-being of his progeny while the deceased matriarch also bears some responsibility, especially concerning the fertility of female descendants. Additionally, diviners may sometimes ascribe severe illness or misfortune to the influence of the spirit of a deceased ancestor who wishes to be honoured. Divination is then used to determine how the ancestor wishes to be honoured—sometimes, this may involve the sacrifice of bulls. It is believed that even powerful witches’ attacks are rendered futile without the cooperation of ancestral spirits.

Similar to the Zulu, a ritual is performed at least a year after one’s death to settle their spirit in the family homestead. The spirit of the deceased can then be invoked through mediums—chosen members of the family—on special occasions.

Tswana Religion

The Tswana peoples make up about 79% of Botswana’s population and number over 3 million in South Africa. The traditional religion of the Batswana (Tswana people) is centred around the worship of a Supreme Being called Modimo and ancestral spirits known collectively as badimo (plural of modimo). The word ‘modimo’ is used to express awe and reverence towards elders, so the when the Supreme Being is referred to as Modimo (upper case “M”), it means that he is given the highest awe and reverence. Modimo and the badimo exist in a complex hierarchy of spiritual power.

According to the Tswana religion, Modimo is the root and source of all that exists as well as the guardian of the moral order. Modimo is a very complex being. He is intangible and omnipresent but cannot be directly sensed by humans. His pleasant qualities earn him the name of mme (mother) and lesedi (light) while his more dreadful qualities earn him the name of selo (monster). Much like the Zulu and Shona, the Tswana believe that humans cannot make direct contact with Modimo without great consequences, so they have to resort to communicating with the badimo as their intermediaries.

The badimo are deeply involved in everyday human affairs, working to preserve harmony in society and to ensure the fertility of humans, animals and crops. They watch over their descendants, seeking to correct their wrongdoings and to keep them from harm’s way. In return, they expect tirelo (service). The badimo enjoy human company and feasts. Whenever food or beer is prepared, a portion is to be set aside or poured for the badimo, in order to secure their favour. When someone has failed to honour the badimo, they are said to suffer from bolwetse, a term that encompasses physical illness and a range of other misfortunes. This means that they are in disharmony with the spiritual forces that sustain their existence.

The Tswana believe that each person is born with a heavy or light seriti (personality) that can act for bad or for good. If a child is born with a light seriti, it must be fortified and imbued with good intentions as healthy seriti heralds dignity, prosperity and respect. On the other hand, bad seriti causes ill will and social disharmony. If the patriarch of a household or chief of a clan has good seriti, it strengthens the diriti (plural of seriti) of the household or clan. In the same vein, a man’s bad seriti will negatively affect his children, crops or animals if he does wrong.

In times of hardship, people consult religious specialists or doctors, known collectively as ‘dingaka’ and singularly as ‘ngaka’. These doctors are grouped into six kinds, based on the divinatory and medicinal skills that they possess. However, there are two basic groups of dingaka: dingaka isedi dinaka (horned dingaka) and dingaka ise dichochwa (hornless dingaka). The horned dingaka’s divination involves interpreting the pattern created by the throwing of four tablets or two pairs of ankle bones. The four items represent the older and younger males and females of common animal species and humans. The hornless dingaka’s divination involves examining the patient. The methods of the dingaka have since been declared illegal in Botswana and South Africa.

The word ‘boloi’ is used to refer to sorcery, magic and more generally, the divine intervention of the badimo. There are two kinds of boloi that are regarded as socially constructive: boloi of the heart and boloi of the mouth. Both are invoked when an elder member of the kin group is offended. The elder ‘puts the badimo’ on the offender, meaning the badimo will rescind their support from the offender’s seriti. This makes the offender vulnerable to diseases and other ills, calling the offender to repent of his bad actions and make penance through animal sacrifice.

Two other types of boloi are boloi ba bosigo (night sorcery) and boloi ba motshegare (day sorcery). The former is believed to be practiced by elderly women (witches) who lead normal lives during the day, but gather at night in covens. They go around town causing mischief, with ashes and the blood of the dead smeared on their naked bodies. Day sorcery is much more nefarious as it targets particular victims with the intent to either inflict sickness on them or even kill them. It involves the use of harmful medicines and the manipulation of other materials which the targeted victim must have come in contact with. The dingaka perform various rituals to ward off sorcery.