African & Zulu Folklore

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FIRST MAN & FIRST WOMAN

ZULU WORDS & MEANINGS;
Nkulunkulu – Divine Source or a literal translation – Greatest of Great Spirit, Lord of the Sky; pronounced – In-kooloo – nkooloo
UMvelinqange – ‘who appeared first’ – pronounced; – Um – velen – qkan – gey
Buntu – human – pronounced; Boon – too
Umoya – spirit energy or air and wind, life force; pronounced – u -moy – yah

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FOLKLORE

The myths and legends of the Zulu and African people in general is an important part of their inherited wisdoms and traditions. The tales and legends speak of the ancestral connection the people have to the land and animals. Like so many peoples, deep within the stories are truths about humanity, spirit and the earth consciousness which we are all connected to. It was and is the responsibility of the elders to tell the stories within social structure as the elders are considered to be living ancestors who pass wisdoms from one generation to the next.

FIRST WOMAN & FIRST MAN

Nkulunkulu had just made the earth. There were great mountains an huge rocks and a wait-a-minute thorn tree and green grass, a vast reed bed and a deep dark pool; so deep that its waters were black; too deep even to show the colour of the sky; too deep even for Sun to pierce it with his light. At the bottom of the pool lay two serpents. The larger one was as thick as a man body and he lay in as many coils as you have fingers and toes, each coil a little smaller than the last; and above them all lay his flat head and bead’ eyes and darting tongue. Next to him lay a smaller serpent, her body slimmer, her colour a little lighter, her coils numbering only the fingers on your hands, her head flatter, her eyes shinier, her forked tongue flickering more gently.

It was not only dark at the bottom of the pool- it was cold and silent; so cold that even Serpent shivered, so silent that not even Wind or Thunder could be heard when storms raged. Then, one day, Lightning pierced the water. His great flash parted the reeds of the pool and shot to the bottom of the pool and the waters parted for a moment and Serpent saw through the reeds, the world above.
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He saw the yellow under tail of Bulbul as he drank the nectar of the red aloe; saw the large toes of Lily-trotter as she walked daintily across the leaves on top of the pool; saw the brilliant, green tips to the brown wings of Hooded Kingfisher as he dipped down to catch a small silver fish in his beak; saw the long, soft, grey tail of Mouse-bird as she Clambered up the gnarled trunk of a tree; saw the scarlet breast of Sunbird and the black and orange patterns on the broad tail of Widow-bird; saw the curved, yellow beak of Hornbill; saw the striped head of Barbet and the long, crimson tail of Fly-catcher; saw the flashing red of Bee-eater as he landed on Kori-Bustard’s back and the red cheeks and blue breasts of the weaver-finches building their great family nest, a nest to hold a hundred birds, in the fork of the wait-a-minute tree; and just as the waters started to close again, the pale green eggs, veined with black.

The waters and reeds closed over his head and Lightning drew back into the sky, Serpent’s eyes blinked in the dark and he lay thinking in amazement of the beauty that lay in the world above his watery home. A quiver ran right through his body.

‘Wife,’ he said to the smaller serpent coiled up at his side. ‘I have seen the world which Nkulunkulu has made. It is more beautiful than I can ever tell you. I cannot stay here in the darkness any longer. I must go up and see the earth with its trees and birds, its colours and shapes, with its light and warmth.

How can you live on the earth?’ answered the smaller serpent. ‘Will you crawl on your belly while the birds of the air fly above you in the blue sky and scorn you for being so low? ‘I will not crawl on my belly,’ said Serpent, ‘I will walk. Come. ‘Very slowly the serpents uncoiled themselves and, close together, they began to rise through the murky waters. Serpent felt a tremor run through his tail. He flicked it and felt it split, split into two separate… not two separate tails but two legs with feet on them and five toes on each foot.

He kicked his legs and rose a little faster towards the surface of the water. A strange, prickling feeling ran round his neck and his arms began to grow, each with a strong hand at the end with four strong fmgers and a thumb. He beat his new arms in the water and rose yet faster. His head was growing round and full and when the serpents reached the top of the pool and broke through the leaves of the water lilies and peered through the reeds, they were no longer two serpents but a man and a woman.

He looked at his wife. Her round head was covered with little tight black curls her soft brown eyes were excited as she looked about her at the beautiful earth, her shapely body was shiny brown and her long legs were firm and smooth. He knew that First Woman was the most beautiful, the gentle, the most wise woman that Nkulunkulu would ever make. She looked at her husband. His broad head was covered with tight black curls, his brown eyes were fearless as he looked about him at the wonderful earth, his arms and legs were strong. She knew that First Man was cleverest, bravest man that Nkulunkulu would ever make. ‘Come’, he said, taking her hand, ‘let us come out of the reeds and let us look at this earth, these trees, at these birds which flit and swoop about in the blue sky, at the grass which is soft beneath our feet.

Let us warm ourselves in Sun’s heat and then you shall make me a round hut with one door, and you shall cut grass and thatch the roof and I shall go out and hunt a young Antelope and you shall make me a meal and we shall eat at the door of the Hut and watch Sun sink behind the mountains and we shall sleep in the hut when darkness falls.

First Man and First Woman walked through the reeds and across the grassy banks of the pool towards the plains.

SHAMANIC & CULTURAL WISDOM

This story is an important one; it is not only told as a Zulu story but is common in tales among Bantu tribes. It deeply speaks of our origins and our connection to water as a creative force for life. All water in the Zulu tradition is sacred, although there are specific sites which are more potent than others. Nkulunkulu is also an important being in Zulu tradition. The word Nkulunkulu translates as greatest of the Great Spirit and it also refers to the lord of the sky.

The Zulu have another name for the source being or first ancestral being, it is known as uMvelinqange; many times these two beings are referred to as one, but there is a difference between the two. It is believed that the Sky and the Earth came at the same time. That they are twins and equal and that one cannot be without the other. This is not in a dual or separate sense; rather that one is harmonically resonant with the other, that they create a harmony where life can exist.

The resonance of things is a principle which is widely understood by the Zulu people and the Sangoma. It applies the understanding of cause and effect, action and reaction; this influences all aspects of healing, medicine and creation in the Zulu tradition. So Nkulunkulu created the tree of life and the goddess earth in all the forms which both appear in varying tales.
The sacred pool and groves are a common theme in African creation stories in general, the dark place of waters from which Buntu or human life began. The tree of life as uhlanga Lwe zizwe; is spoken about as the reed which is also mentioned in the above story. The Zulu word for reed uhlanga refers specifically as it being the origin of everything; Uhlanga as a word stands by itself in this meaning of ‘origin’.

“He the lord of the sky is the father of all things because it is he who brought the reed and the human from the reed. The earth is the mother on which the reeds were found. But he is the father putting them there.”
Zulu Elder

The serpent holds an auspicious place in African tradition, it is considered an ancestral form and the above story illustrates some of the reasoning behind this. It is said that the Zulu king may reappear after death as a powerful Mamba snake. The serpent or snake is always considered as a messenger or ancestor. Some other serpents are seen as Amakhosi or land spirits, they have a greater ancestral significance.

These types of snakes are hold their own lore and wisdom and if a Sangoma is ‘taken’ by one they are said to inherit that wisdom which then helps them with their medicine work. These Sangomas are then unable to talk too much about what they encountered in the dimension of the serpent as it would be disrespectful to the being and the parallel world in which the being exists. Sangomas will not harm a snake because of its connection to the ancestral consciousness; sometimes for very special ceremonies a snake maybe killed, but this would require much debate and consultation with other Sangomas as well as ritual for preparation for such an act. These Amakhosi always live in rivers or pools and there are numerous accounts of them all over Southern Africa.

The fact that first woman and man in this story are described as snakes deeply connects us with the consciousness of the beings which came before us, our kindred from whom we shape shifted into the human form. We carry the consciousness of all life in our being, yet most of the time we do not allow ourselves to connect with this. Within us is a mirror to all life in this earthly dimension and the other dimensions which co-exist with this one. This gives us the opportunity to transcend our sense of ego consciousness so that we can take a deeper look at what we inherit and create. Our ego’s give us a sense of individuality and most of the time block us from also sensing our collective; both our individual and collective being are like the twins which the Sky and Earth are described as being.

One is not more powerful than the other but should in fact empower us to a harmonic resonance that allows for validity of all. This is very much part of ancestral conscious wisdom and something which the Sangomas consciously seek to understand in all that exists. How do we harmonize our individuality and our collective being. The amadlozi have much to say on this state of consciousness and this is a journey that will continue to be explored through contact with the amadlozi.

Lightening is a gift of Nkulunkulu and is a powerful force of Umoya that can be used as a medicine to the skilled Inyanga or Sangoma. The fact that lightening caused the emergence of humanity through the reed bed and pool is no random thing. It is considered an important part of the work of the Sangoma to understand the medicine of lightening and those that have achieved this are sought after for their wisdom. Lightening is also described as a kind of bird which is sent from the Lord of the Sky Nkulunkulu and that at times, may come to collect people.

Because of this there are many medicines known by the Inyanga and Sangoma to protect against lightening. The amadlozi are also children of the Sky god and mother earth although they do not necessarily exist in spirit in the same dimension as Nkulunkulu. The ancestral realm is seen as connected and harmonically adjusted with Nkulunkulu so that the ancestors and the Great Spirit can and do work together and share Umoya or a consciousness of spirit.

Ancestral consciousness is mutli-dimensional, it can and is accessed in a variety of ways and constant communication with the amadlozi is one of them. All that we are reflected in Nkulunkulu and the Earth and is also seen in the Umoya or spirit force of the ancestors; their memory is held intact as they have access to all the harmonic vibrations which resonate with such wisdoms.

The Zulu people learn to listen and to remember and if they forget to receive medicine from the Sangoma. Listening is one of the most important skills to be learnt and this requires the opening of our heart so that we can listen clearly. It was first man and woman’s heart that led them emerge from the reed of nations, and the beauty of the love they felt for the twins, father sky and mother earth and all the kindred life they beheld. So it is our hearts that will lead us to re-discover our ancestral harmony to the Sky and Earth.

TASKS – African & Zulu Folklore

Please give your answers in written form to your mentor with the other homework on your hand in date for module.

How do you connect with the resonance of primal or source waters?
Write notes and send to mentor on hand in date

How do you feel about your individuality and collective being, as twins and how do you see that in terms of harmony? Is there conscious harmony and resonance? What does your ego have to say about it?
Write notes and send to mentor on hand in date

Currently what is your reaction to lightening?
Write notes and send to mentor on hand in date

Go into meditation in your Makhosini with your Umoya tree space and ask the ancestors to be present. Ask them to show you or tell you about the principle of Sky & Earth being twins? Don’t force the answer and allow it to come gently, whether it be a feeling, vision or word communication… try not to edit… practicing this kind of communication is key to ancestral relationship. Remember to give thanks at the end.
Write notes and send to mentor on hand in date

Go into meditation in your Makhosini with your Umoya tree space and ask the ancestors to be present. Ask them to show you or tell you more about the tale of the first man and woman… is there a message in it for you? Don’t force the communication and allow it to come gently, whether it be a feeling, vision or word communication… try not to edit… practicing this kind of communication is key to ancestral relationship. Remember to give thanks at the end.
Write notes and send to mentor on hand in date

How do you relate or understand the energy of harmonic resonance in all things?
Write notes and send to mentor on hand in date

Go into meditation in your Makhosini with your Umoya tree space and ask the ancestors to be present. Ask them to show you or tell you more about the serpent or snake as an ancestral form? Don’t force the communication and allow it to come gently, whether it be a feeling, vision or word communication… try not to edit… practicing this kind of communication is key to ancestral relationship. Remember to give thanks at the end.
Write notes and send to mentor on hand in date

Go into your Makhosini and ask the ancestors to be present. Light some impepho and call your ancestors… Give thanks and tell them you wish to honor first man and woman… then allow you’re self to be quiet, still and listen… what do they tell you about honoring first man and woman? What do you feel as you sit and just listen…?
Write notes on your experience and send to mentor on hand in date

Find an object that represents first Sky and Earth, man & woman for you as twins… it must be something that you are able to leave in your Makhosini. You can make it or collect it as you are guided… once you have found it, light some impepho and leave it in your Makhosini, telling your ancestors what it is and what it means to you…
Write notes on your experience and send to mentor on hand in date

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Copyright Sarah Wager January 2011