To myself, then, Zulu religion, now almost exclusively
ancestor-worship, does seem to contain a broken and almost obliterated
element of belief in a high unworshipped god, presiding over a future
life. Obviously archaic hymns are better evidence, with their native
interpretation, than the contradictory statements of individual Zulus,
who speak dubiously of what the fathers used to say. The analogy
between the Utikxo and Mulungu belief also counts as corroboration,
while the unworshipped supreme being, with a deputy or deputies
(Utikxo--Unkulunkulu), is a pervading feature of savage religion. If
philology could throw any certain light on the meanings of names like
Mulungu, and so forth, more sure ground might be reached. Again, when
the name of a relatively supreme being may be regarded as a plural,
like _Elohim_, the inference may be that many ancestral spirits are
being blended, or have been blended, into one being. The case of the
Mura Mura of the Australian Dieri has met us already, in the essay on
'Magic and Religion.' Is it a case of 'They' or 'He?' 'Mulungu= God,'
a native told Mr. Clement Scott; 'you can't put the plural, as God is
One.' 'Spirits are spirits of people who have died' (_Mzima_), 'not
gods.' On the other hand, Mr. Macdonald learned that 'people who have
died become Mulungu.' Yet he is also regarded as a separate and supreme
being, who assigns their places to the spirits of the dead. His very
name is variously interpreted as 'sky' or 'ancestor.'
We may argue that Mulungu is primal, and that the spirits of the dead,
_Mzima_, are only 'the people of Mulungu,' who was, in the myth, prior
to death. Or we may argue that many Mzima have been combined in a later
conception of Mulungu as a single being. Such beings do occur, it is
certain, where spirits of the dead are held of no account in religion.
I fear that, in the condition of the evidence, students will take sides
in accordance with their bias: at least both parties will think that
their opponents do so. I have observed that many writers appear only to
be aware of the existence of the religious bias, which denotes lack of
humour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account