The concepts of ‘Zulu tribe’ and ‘Zulu nation’ and their use towards political aspirations in South Africa

Abstract

The object of research: This article presents an overview of how the concept of tribe and nation has been manipulated for political end. The first part of the paper clearly establishes that the two concepts are not only different but also represent different epochs in Zulu history. Investigated problem: this article interrogates this neglected subject by focusing on how Europeans used different terms to denegrate Africans during colonialism. The main objective is to reveal social agency, showing that the African ethnic groups were also capable of making nations before the arrival of colonialism. The main scientific results: The findings of this paper indicated that the concepts ‘tribe’ and ‘nation’ present different epochs in Zulu history therefore using them interchangeably as if they refer to one thing is politically incorrect. Moreover, findings indicated that there is nothing wrong with the words as they are defined by dictionaries but the way in which they were used created confusion. Innovative product: The result of this study will be incorporated in our history curriculum, which specifically focuses at how the process of colonization affected the Zulu monarchy. The area of practical use of the research results: The study is of importance to South African historians and those who are interested to study the transition of AmaZulu from a tribe to a nation.