From Swaziland I re-entered South Africa for the third time and into KwaZulu-Natal, informally known as Zululand. The Zulus are part of the Nguni people who represented most of the great Bantu migration into southern Africa, back in the pre-European days of the "San" - the aboriginal inhabitants of what is now South Africa who are now referred to as the "bushmen".
Shaka, the great Zulu king tried to "unify" all of the southern African tribes, but as history indicates he was more or less trying to purify the races and therefore exterminate or erradicate many people deemed to be inpure. The history of his reign contains a lot of tribal war and bloodshead, but these days the Zulu are a peaceful and warm-hearted culture. Like Hitler and the Germans, one must remember to seperate exteremist rulers from their otherwise peaceful citizens. History repeats itself today with the Taliban, Al-Queida, Sadam Hussein, and the USA (and many other situations worldwide). |
