Ecabazini and Cow Dung!

Last weekend we went on an overnight trip to live like traditional Zulus. I had expected to be roughing it, but the company seems to be aimed at more touristy people. There was a bathroom with running water, we slept in a comfortable bed, and ate like kings and queens Zulu style. The experience was great for gaining insight into the culture before western influence.

Here we are on the short walk down to the village. There was a lake which I hear is great for fishing.

The fence is made of a particular kind of wood which is actually resistant to termites as well as the effects of weather. It is extremely hard and dense.

I was very excited to see dogs welcoming us to the village! It was just like home :) They were very friendly and adored being petted.

Here was my bee hive! I believe that is what they are called. In traditional Zulu homestead, there would be a room for the elder at the top of the sloping hill, another room for the first wife, each wife thereafter gets another room while the latest wife's room is closest to the entrance of the homestead (in case of danger they are the most expendable I guess :/, there is another room for the female children, another room for the male children, a kitchen, food storage room, and then the head of the family has his own hut. The design of the rooms are in a circular pattern. Interestingly, when the government came into some of the townships and quickly built cheap quality houses in straight lines they broke this cultural value. The bee hives are made with excellent engineering design. The structure design creates a natural air conditioning inside.

Here are my roomies for the night!

Off a little way from the homestead is the bathroom with showers too. Yep we were spoiled.

The first day there, the people wore traditional clothing, although I'm pretty sure this green cape is not part of Zulu custom. In Zulu culture, it is perfectly natural for the women to go..um.. free-since the culture's view of breasts is more functional.

We were taught how they make straw mats. The Zulus were ingenious with natural materials.

Example A: cattle was basically money in their society. The more cattle you owned the richer you were. Cattle had a variety of uses alive and- well-not alive. The skin, horns, bones, and every part of the cattle would be used. However, only for special occasions would a cow be sacrificed. When this happened, people from all over would hear about the event and come even when not invited which was culturally accepted.

Herein lies the byproduct of the cattle which is another example of the usefulness of the animal! Every night the cattle are corralled in the middle of the homestead. In the morning, the cow dung is placed in this very deep hole which connects to pipes and stuff underground (don't ask me for details). Somehow, through pressure or something, the methane produced from the cow dung is separated and can then be used as electricity in the homes. The electricity is renewable, good for the environment, and every morning there is more!

Here you can see the burner being started by the electricity from cow dung! The system is really quite remarkable. This is most likely the fuel of the future.

Here is another use of cow dung! The floor is made from crushed termite mounds. The saliva the termites make there mound with is very sticky and allows the floor to be compacted and hard. However, to clean the floor you can't just use water because that would wash away the floor. So they spread cow dung on the floor and smooth it out. After it dries you have a shiny, clean floor! ;) Our host explained that cow dung from naturally raised cattle is not so fowl smelling. The processed food given to cattle is what makes there dung smell so bad.

There were many aloe plants around as well as other plants which were used as remedies for different ailments.

We enjoyed having dogs around! Here is sheshae looking for attention.

Here are the men in traditional dress.

We had a briaar (pronounced "bry") or barbecue for dinner.

For meals, the males would eat in one circle while the females would eat in another. The women were only aloud to eat boiled meat as the meat cooked over the fire had the risk of not being cooked thoroughly. Thus, since women were the child bearers they were protected from getting sick. During the meal, the food is placed in the middle of the circle and everyone eats off of the same plate. The meat can be dipped in salt with bread to go with it. The second course of dinner is the cooked vegetables which makes up the mainstay of the traditional Zulu diet since meat was rare.

After dinner we were entertained with traditional Zulu dance which includes lots of singing to the rhythm of the drum with legs being kicked in the air and slammed on the ground in rhythm. We were given traditional beer to taste. It was pretty disgusting, but since I don't like alcohol I am probably not one to ask how it tasted.

The next day we did crafts. Here is my amazing pottery! (note: now is when you"ooo" and "aww" over it.) We also made beaded bracelets.

Grrrr...Don't I look fierce? Here is the stabbing spear introduced by Shaka who was apparently a war genius in the Zulu society. He ended up conquering a vast amount of land and uniting the Zulus. My next post is about the battles between the British and the Zulus. The stabbing spear played a huge role.

In the Zulu boys past time, they would stick fight. Here I am winning at stick fighting!! Ya... no, not really. He was just playing with me.

Overall, the Zulus were extremely resourceful and community oriented. Their primary religion was worshiping ancestors. If something went wrong or they became sick, they believed that the ancestors were upset with them. Basically, the ancestors were their link to the afterlife and their mediator. They would live in fear of upsetting the ancestors and never knowing for sure of their salvation. "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" 1 Tim 2:5

We had a speaker, J. Mchunu, share with us about Zulu culture and explained about ancestral worship. Here are the notes from that session:

ANCESTRAL WORSHIP OR VENERATION

NOT BIBLICAL
· OT quite clear that any consorting with the dead is evil

NOT AFRICAN
· Many in all cultures refuse to let go of the dead – “Garden of Remembrance”
· Belief that the dead are still part of our lives – putting flowers on graves and “talking” to them. We need to remember that the Bible teaches that the dead are actually dead and have nothing to do with the living.
· It is paganism, in the sense that it is “unbelief”, as Biblically defined
· Ancestral veneration is idolatry, which is anything that takes the place of God in our lives (Isa 44:49). It imprisons people. (Deut 8) It challenges God’s ability to provide.
· It is demonic. Satan is fully behind this business and he wants people to surrender their lives to the control of the “spirits”

DOES IT WORK?
· Yes. Can ancestors guide and control? Yes, if we submit to this idea, because Satan is behind it. Behind every “ancestor” is a demon. (Rev 9:20) Satan takes over our mental image of our ancestors and uses that for his own ends.
· I Corinthians 10:18. What does God say? The sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons! Sangomas (witch-doctors) are representing the demonic world.

ONE GOD
· Any other “spiritual” contact is devil-inspired
· Only one Lord; only one Mediator
· Only one Guide for life: God by His Holy Spirit.

Recommended Reading:
“Demons in Disguise: The Dangers of Talking to the Dead”, by Steve Wohlberg, Destiny Image Publ. 978-0-7684-2491-1