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Reevaluating Zulu Religion

An Afrocentric Analysis

Temple University

Through a brief overview of Zulu history and traditions, this article, committed to reevaluating traditional Zulu social patterns, questions the European interpretations of Zulu people’s system of beliefs and religious and spiritual concepts. From an Afrocentric critical reading of major works by three European authors (Callaway, Hexham, and Berglund), this study is an attempt to trace the spiritual African heritage of the Zulus back to the ancient Kemetic concepts. Rather than insisting on the attribution of Christian and Muslin traditions to the Southern African indigenous peoples, this article aims at showing the inconsistency of such attributions vis-à-vis the human being’s responsibility that underlies the holistic cosmogony of every African

Key Words: African identity • Afrocentricity • African heritage • Zulu religion • African cosmogony

References

• Asante, M. K. (1990). Kemet, Afrocentricity and knowledge. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.
• Asante, M. K. (1998). The Afrocentric idea. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
• Asante, M. K., & Abarry, A. (1996). African intellectual heritage: A book of sources. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
• Berglund, A-I. (1976). Zulu thought-patterns and symbolism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
• Callaway, H. (1967). The religious system of the Amazulu. Nendeln/Liechtenstein: Kraus Reprint Ltd. (Original work published 1884)
• Diop, C. A. (1974). The African origin of civilization. Myth or reality. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books.
• Hexham, I. (Ed.). (1987). Texts on Zulu religion. Traditional Zulu ideas about God. New York: Edwin Mellen Press.
• Karenga, M. (1993). Introduction to Black studies. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press.
• Mazrui, A. A. (1986). The Africans: A triple heritage. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.

Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 35, No. 3, 347-363 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0021934704263127


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This Article Abstract Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Monteiro-Ferreira, A. M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?