Islamic Culture Amongst the Nguni people
This article intends to explore the existence of Islamic culture amongst the Nguni (Zulu and Xhosa). However, before commentary is provided on this, two aspects will first have to be discussed; one is the historical link-up between the Nguni and the Muslims on South African soil, and the other is a comperative inventory of the two cultures.Contact with Islam
Recent sources reveal that African tribes in southern Africa came into conact with Islam at a fairly early period, however Islam did not make any significant impact at that junture in their history. Moreover, a small number liuving in the Nothern and Mpumalanga Provinces respectively had made contact with Muslim Arab traders who were the carriers of Islamic culture and who had reached as far as Mozambique. One tribe, namely the Lemba who is a sub-group of the Venda, has moreover adopted some of the Islamci traditions such as abstinence from consuming pork and slaughtering their meat according to Islamic law.
Throughout the 20th century contact between the Muslims and the Africans has been on the increase and very visible in the main urban areas such as Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The first Muslims arrived at the Cape in the mid-17th century as Dutch coloniast's slaves; they were brought from the Melayu and Indian worlds. At the Cape they made tangible contact with Muslims from other parts of the African continent. In 1860 the British colonialists brought another batch of Muslims from India to Kwazulu Natal province; some of them were indentured labourers whilst others were free passengers. Their arrival also coincide with the coming in 1873 of the Swahili and Arabic- Zanzibars; and they were later joined by a fair number of Malawians who came to work on the Gauteng mines.
Despite their presence in South Africa for such a long period, there is little oral and written evidence to suggest that Islamic culture directly impacted upon Nguni culture over these centuries. There is however a view which opines that when the Muslims set-up home-based schools to disseminate their religiuos thoughts, they warmly accomodated the Nguni children. Tangible contact between Muslims and Africans only appeared to have taken place from the beginning of the 20th century, and this has developed into the creation of strong bonds.
Many Muslims in the Cape, for example, were artsans and semi-skilled labourers who came into close contact with unskilled Xhosa-speaking Nguni labourers in the building trade. It is in these circumstances that the urban African came to meet and know Mslams (i.e Muslims) and their Islamic culture. In many cases, the relationship between the Muslim artisans and the Nguni-Xhosa-speaking labourers was not very cordial. Although apartheid was a major factor which contributed towards this disharmony between the various ethnic groups, the Muslims themselves acted discrimately towards the Africans. Even though the conditions were not the same in Natal, the relationship between the Indian Muslims and the Nguni-Zulu -speakers was somewhat worse. Many Indian Muslims employed them but did not pay them a livable wage nor did they treat them humanely. Consequently, the relationship led to certain prejudices which ultimately snowballed into contiuous racial conflict and misunderstandings in both groups. This relationship also caused the Africans to have a truncated perception of Islam and the Muslims, they infact, are generally under the impression that all the 'Indians' adhered to the same religion and therefore thought that the Muslims are 'Hindus'. However, due to the infiltration of the Zanzibars and Malawians into the provinces of Kwazulu-Natal and Gauteng respectively, a clearer understanding of Islam was provided; this has mainly been because of their interaction and intermarriage with members of the Nguni people.
According to the 1921 statistics African Muslims numbered about 1,896 out of an African population of approximately 4 million. In 1936 their numbers decreased to 1,440 (out of 6.5 million). By 1970 and 1980 they were 8,896 (out of 15,4 million) and 12,499 (out of 22 million) respectively. The 1992 estimate stands at 18,000 (out of 25 million). This indicates that the growth of Islam within the African population, on the whole, has been very slow. Two reasons may be forwarded for this. One is the widespread racial prejudice which exists between the Muslims and and Nguni and other African communities; and the other is that the Muslims do not mix freely with them nor do they speak any of their African languages. Despite their small numbers and slow growth, the Muslims were nevertheless able to make inroads into the social structure of the Nguni people.
Comparing the Nguni culture with the Islamic culture
Amongst the Ngunis there exists an idea of the Supreme Being (uNkulunkulu [Zulu] or Qamata ka tayi [Xhosa] ). However, since their belief system underwent an evolutionary process, the Supreme Being was eventually replaced by the ancestors who are regarded as guardians of morality and act as mediators between man and the Supreme Being. Since the Islamic concept of Absolute Unity of God does not permit intermediaries, the Ngunis who embraced Islam, whilst remaining respectful towards their ancestors, redirected themselves to believing in the Supreme Being.
The Nguni belief system is intertwined with their rich culture and it is quite common to witness how their culture pervades the religiuos rituals for all institutions such as birth, marriege and death. There are remarkable similarities between certain Nguni marriage customs and Muslim marrieges. The marriege institution does not differ when it comes to the payment of the dowry (lobola [Xhosa]/ mahr [Arabic] or polygamous marriages; the lobola is paid in cattle and those who do not possess cattle are expected to pay in cash. The couple's families, in both traditions have to agree to the marriage before things can proceed. The impact of western culture has caused the adherents of both traditions to abandon practices such as these. Also, polygammy which is an accepted Islamic practice (on condition that the man is able to be just towards his wives), was widely practiced in almost all the African tribes in South Africa.
When it comes to the birth of the Nguni child certain rituals are performed and animals are slaughtered as a sign of sacrifice to please the ancestral spirits. The institution of aqiqa (Islamic sacrifice which is done a week after child birth) is almost the same except that the sacrifice is made only to the Supreme Being, namely Allah, which is the sign of obedience and a form of worship.
After the death of the husband a waiting period (inzilo[Xhosa], iddah [Arabic] is instituted. However, the Nguni tradition expects the widow to mourn for approximately 3 to 6 months during which no free mixing may occur. In Islam the waiting period for the widow is four months and ten days, with the specific objective of ascertaining whether the widow is pregnant or not.
Now that a brief comparative has been provided of both traditions focus will be upon the impact of Islamic culture upon some aspects of the Nguni tradition. The most important area in which the impact of Islamic culture upon some aspects of the Nguni tradition. The most important area in which is most visible is in the belief system. It should however, also be remembered that in the process of undertaking Islamic missions the Muslims meet many Nguni-speakers who are Christians,this therefore means that emphasis and focus have to be upon both the Christian and African traditional religion belief systems.
Islamic practices seem to have left a mark on the Nguni name-giving ceremonies. The Nguni families believe strongly in giving the children praiseworthy names. Sometimes the Arabic names, which are chosen, are synonyms of their Xhosa or Zulu names
At the time of death, African converts to Islam have adopted the Muslim method of burial, and some have also requested the govermental authorities to be buried in the graveyard specifically allocated to the Muslims. They therefore wash the body and thereafter clad the body in a white sheet. The widow is thus expected to observe the Islamic rites in terms of the waiting period. However, since there is no big difference between Islam and the Nguni culture as far as the mourning period is concerned they normally also observe rules as prescribed by their African tradition.
