See How Dead Zulu Kings Are Planted And Not Buried

The Zulu people are a particular tribe in South Africa in the Nguni ethnic community. We’re going to learn about what happens after their kings die.

When kings are praised flamboyantly when they are alive, they are respected the highest when they die. The death of the 72-year-old King, Goodwill Zwelithini, only recently, gave us a glimpse into the beliefs and practices of these kings’ final passage rites.

The king’s funeral was a private service covered in secrecy. This final ritual could only be witnessed by a few royal citizens. King Cyprian’s dad, though, was not buried in secret.

When we speak of burial bodies, these kings’ subjects teach you something more. They use the Zulu word “ukutshalwa” to describe the funeral. Ukutshalwa means to plant the king’s body. Which means that the end of the influence of the king is not his death.

It would not be fitting for the king to use the term burial, but “ukukhothama,” which means “kneeling.” This shows their kingdom’s timelessness. What they want you to consider is that their king’s knee will climb to the thrones of the next king. People conclude that their king’s death means he has gone on to become an ancestor.

The people of the kings weep and rejoice in what is known as a profound faith. During the funeral of kings, people come with presents like pigs, which the villageers share. They have been singing and dancing for days to celebrate their late kings. They think that they are going to sing their hearts into the sky.

The funeral rites are religious and come with a ceremonial string. The media, including the royal family, are forbidden from witnessing these ceremonies. None, save a few men and a separate regiment, observe these religious rituals. The amount of ritualistic rituals carried out on the bodies and tombs of the kings is secret. Nobody knows where these kings are buried or what happens. Unlike in other tribes where the tombs of their kings are revealed, the Zulu keeps the last resting places of their kings hidden.

For the Zulu nation, the death of Zwelithini was a tragic one because he defended the preservation of Zulu’s cultural identity. His disappearance is simply understood as the transformation into an ancestor, following generations of other Zulu kings. This ritual makes the royal family dark over these events, except for details that they need to know is exchanged. Recently since these kings have more than one queen, the battle to raise the throne by the children can be ferocious. This leaves you in the dark as to who will succeed your fathers..…………….See More