ZULULAND - rovolunteers.com · journey to Zululand. This is a short booklet to give you extra...
Transcript of ZULULAND - rovolunteers.com · journey to Zululand. This is a short booklet to give you extra...
ZULULAND
A cultural guide to help you make the most of your trip.
It does not pretend to be comprehensive. It’s just an
introduction with a few useful links and some books
that you might want to check out.
If you have any additional questions feel free to contact
us and we will try our best to answer your question or
find someone who can!
If you haven’t already, join our ‘Reach Out Volunteers’
Facebook page. This way you can follow our progress,
contact us easily, and look out for other volunteers
who might be in your group when you join us in
South Africa!
We hope you enjoy this little Introduction.
Congratulations. You are about to embark on an amazing journey to Zululand. This is a short booklet to give you extra information about the culture you are entering, the people you meet with and the animals you may see while you are there.
A CULTURAL GUIDE TO HELP WITH your trip. www.rovolunteers.com
• ‘The Zulu’ – people of heaven
• Zulu people are the largest ethnic group in South Africa.
• When a Zulu person hands something to you or
shakes your hand they will use their right arm to
pass the object, then shake your hand and place the
palm of their left hand under their right forearm.
This is to signal no weapons and that they are
peaceful. At first it may seem unusual but it is just
“good manners” in Zululand.
• Dancing and singing is a big part of Zulu culture.
There is a dance or a song for almost anything that
occurs. The singing is one of the strong memories
you will take home with you and something that
makes Zulu culture so fantastic.
• Married women cover themselves fully to indicate
that they are not available. It is an idea not to
dress too provocatively as this is seen as a sign of
availability.
Culture
• Food: Meat is only eaten on special occasions or
by those with more wealth, as it is expensive. This
means a lot of the meals they eat are vegetarian.
Amazi is a favourite food amongst most Zulu
people and is considered a delicacy. This is mostly
made up of curdled milk. Each person will have
their own plate to eat from and correct behavior is
to wash your mouth after eating.
• Religion: A mixture of traditional beliefs
and Christianity.
Africa is in a subtropical location, moderated by ocean
on three sides of the country. This, together with the
altitude of the interior plateau, accounts for the warm
temperate conditions so typical of South Africa - and
so popular with foreign visitors.
South Africa is famous for its sunshine. It’s a relatively
dry country, with an average annual rainfall of about
464mm (compared to a world average of about 860mm).
While the Western Cape gets most of its rainfall in
winter, the KwaZulu-Natal coast is generally a summer
rainfall region with accompanying hot, humid days.
The KwaZulu-Natal coast offers fantastic winter weather with sunny, warm days and virtually no wind or rain. You should expect day time temperatures of around 23 degrees Celsius with little chance of rain.
Beadwork is a popular craft and is often purchased by
tourists. The colors in these beads can tell different stories:
White - is the color of purity.
Black - indicates the colours of the rafters of
the hut, to which color the maiden has turned
in pining for her loved one.
Blue - if I were a dove, I would fly to your home
and pick up food at your door.
Yellow - I shall never eat if we marry because
you own no beast you can slaughter.
Pink - You should work harder to gain your
lobola and not gamble your money away.
Green - I have become thin like the sweet cane
and green as the first shoots of a tree because
of my love for you.
Red - My heart bleeds and is full of love
A CULTURAL GUIDE TO HELP WITH your trip. www.rovolunteers.com
Location
Bead Guide
Greeting
Hello Sawubona (First person singular)
Sanibona (First person plural)
How are you? Unjani?
I am well Ngisaphila.
I am fine, thank you Ngisaphila ngiyabonga.
Goodbye Hamba kahle (go well)
Sala kahle (stay well)
Expressions yes yebo
no cha
please ngiyakucela
thank you ngiyabonga
help siza
Excuse me Uxolo
I am sorry Ngiyaxolisa.
Numbers1 - one kunye
2 - two kubili
3 - three kuthathu
4 - four kune
5 - five kuhlanu
A CULTURAL GUIDE TO HELP WITH your trip. www.rovolunteers.com
The lion is an extraordinary hunter with a roar that can be detected up to eight kilometres away. It is a night hunter with powerful dark vision.
LionsLions are the only member of the cat family that live
socially. The females form the basis of the social structure.
Related females form prides that combine to increase
their success in hunting. The males compete in lethal
battles to have or hold ownership over these prides.
When a younger male (or male coalition) defeats
the current male head of the pride the victory is
commonly followed by infanticide by the victorious
male(s) despite the attempts of the pride to defend
their young. The lion is a powerful cultural symbol
to many African tribes and has a powerful impact on
tourist on first sighting the creature in the wild.
When a kill has been made the males eat first and can
consume up to 30kg of meat each. For comparison, a
wildebeest weighs about 200kg. • It has been estimated
that a lion will copulate 3,000 times for every young
that reaches one year old. •
LeopardsThe leopard is an elusive and shrewd cat. It is a strong
climber and often uses this skill to move its kill away
from competitors like lions and hyenas. When not
hunting, it can move through herds of antelopes
without unduly disturbing them by flipping its tail
over its back to reveal the white underside, a sign that
it is not seeking prey.
Leopards are not social cats at all and go out of their
way to avoid one another. Each leopard has a home
range that overlaps with its neighbors; the male’s
range is much larger and generally overlaps with
those of several females. They are fiercely protective
of their range and will battle to defend their patch.
Leopards growl and spit with a screaming roar of fury
when angry and they purr when content.
With marking and calling, leopards usually know one
another’s whereabouts.
Animal FactsLanguage
BuffaloThis is an unpredictable and can be a dangerous
species. The herd will rush to the defense of
endangered young offspring that signal their distress.
The herd form a circle around the young if attacked.
By lowering their heads and presenting a solid barrier
of sharp horns, it is difficult for predators to seize a
calf. This effective group defense even allows blind
and crippled members of the herd to survive. Take
a moment to watch Battle at Kruger on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM if
you have not seen it. You will see exactly what we are
talking about.
The females and their offspring make up the bulk of
the herd while the males tend to spend much of their
time in bachelor groups. It is the old, solitary-living
males that are most likely to be taken by lions.
RhinoTwo types, black and white. The white rhino, which
is actually gray, has a pronounced hump on the neck
and a long face. The white rhino’s name derives from
the Dutch “weit,” meaning wide, a reference to its
wide, square muzzle adapted for grazing.
White rhino live in the more open spaces and graze on
grass, their young tend to walk in front of the mother.
They have larger heads and longer horns and are
generally more placid than the black rhino.
Black rhino have smaller heads and shorter horns,
they live and graze in bushy areas and are therefore
sighted more rarely.
The black, or hooked-lipped, rhino, along with all other
rhino species, is an odd-toed ungulate (three toes on
each foot). It has a thick, hairless, gray hide. Both the
black and white rhino have two horns, the longer of
which sits at the front of the nose. While their eyesight
is poor, which is probably why they will sometimes
charge without apparent reason, their sense of smell
and hearing are very good.
The black rhino declined drastically in the 1970s and
1980s due to poaching. To prevent extinction, many
rhinos were relocated to fenced sanctuaries in the
early 1990s. This effort appears to be succeeding, as
1994 was the first time in 20 years that rhino numbers
did not decline.
The rhino is prized for its horn. Not a true horn, it is
made of thickly matted hair that grows from the skull
without skeletal support. The major demand for horn
is in Asia, where it is used in traditional medicine and
in ornamental carvings.
Another little fact; you may notice while in Zululand, the animals with little hair e.g. warthogs, buffalo, hippo etc, all wallow in mud. The reason for this is not just for sun protection and because it feels nice, it’s also because the mud can suffocate the parasites that are on their skin. When it dries they can rub it off on a tree and so remove the parasites.
ElephantsA fully grown male African elephant is usually
about 10-13 feet and weighs about 15,400 pounds.
They can live up to about 70 years, they can swim for
long distances, they live in breeding herds run by a
matriarch and males leave this herd at around 12-15
years old.
A CULTURAL GUIDE TO HELP WITH your trip. www.rovolunteers.com
Books to buy to learn Zuluhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=learn+z ulu&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=6716156221&ref =pd_sl_9dt9fdcc07_
Learn zuluhttp://www.eshowe.com/article/articlestatic/56/1/13/ http://www.linguanaut.com/english_zulu.htm•
South African history http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/chronology. htm
BBC fact file on South Africahttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_pro- files/1071886.stm
Amazon, South Africa lonely planet bookhttp://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search- alias%3Daps&field-keywords=lonely+planet+South+Africa &x=0&y=0
Bus service (buy a bus pass) http://www.bazbus.com/
Animalshttp://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/engrhino.htm l:/zenden=2&subsoort_id=1&bestemming_id=1
Culturehttp://www.warthog.co.za/dedt/tourism/culture
Reach Out Volunteers
acknowledges the work of Sarah
Frew in the development and
design of this brochure. Without
her energy, ideas, enthusiasm and
love of South Africa it would not
have happened.
READ ON...
A CULTURAL GUIDE TO HELP WITH your trip. www.rovolunteers.com