|
|
Shembe Ladies
|
Each year during the last three weeks of October over 25,000 Zulu Shembes gather at Judea near Eshowe to meet their Leader. Interviews can be arranged.
SHEMBE, Isaia [Isaiah] (1867-1935): Zulu religious leader, healer and founder of the amaNazarites, the largest independent religious movement among the Zulus. Regarded as God by many of his own people, Isaia Shembe is usually spoken of as a prophet by Europeans but this designation was vigorously denied by his son Amos and grandson Londa. His writings and sayings have been translated by Hans-Jürgen Becken and Londa Shembe making them the first scriptures of a new religious movemetnin Africa to appear in English.
SHEMBE, Johannes Galilee (1904-1975): the successor of Isaia Shembe whose able leadership made the amaNazarites the second largest independent religious movement in Southern Africa.
SHEMBE, Amos (1907-1986): the son of Isaia SHEMBE and leader of the largest branch of the Zulu amaNazarite movement in South Africa which split into two rival factions after the death of Johannes Galilee Shembe. Under the wise leadership of Amos, the group has moved in a more Christian direction with a greater emphasis on the Bible and person of Jesus.
SHEMBE, Londa iNsiKayakho (1944-1989): brilliant leader of the smaller and more progressive branch of the amaNazariteswho called himself the "Third Shembe" thus identifying his work and personality with that of his grandfather Isaia Shembe. He strongly rejected the idea that the amaNazariteswere simply a form of Africanized Christiantiy, insisting instead that they were an African religion in their own right. He was brutally assassinated on April 7th 1989.
SHEMBE, Mbusi Vimbeni (27 April 1933-): the successor of Bishop Amos Shembe and current leader of the major branch of the amaNazarites with over one million followers, most of whom are Zulu.
|
|
Older Ladies
|
This festival takes place at Judea near Eshowe every year during October. Tens of thousands of faithful followers gather and resurrect the village disbanded after the previous year. In this very vibrant and colourful village hundreds of family shops spring up selling items from food to religious paraphernalia. A hive of economic activity prevails in between a formal religious program.
Zulu religious leader and founder of the Nazareth Baptist Church.
Shembe was born at Ntabamhlophe near Estcourt, Natal, South Africa, of Zulu parentage. After involvement with Wesleyans, he associated with Baptists and was baptized in July 1906. He seems to have acted as an itinerant evangelist prior to coming into contact with Nkabinde, a former Lutheran who was regarded as a prophet. Nkabinde led him to develop a healing ministry in 1910. A year later, he founded the iBandla lamaNazaretha (Nazareth Baptist Church), a controversial religious movement rooted in Zulu tradition. Shortly afterward he acquired a farm that became his holy city of Ekuphakameni and established an annual pilgrimage to the sacred mountain of Nhlangakazi. Shembe was noted for his vivid parables, dramatic healings, and uncanny insights into people's thoughts. He wrote many moving hymns, composed music, and provided his followers with a rich liturgical tradition based on modified forms of traditional Zulu dancing. Critics of the movement claim that his followers regarded Shembe as an incarnation of God. Others, led by Lutheran scholar Bengt Sundkler, argued that Shembe's theology was an Africanized form of Christianity.
After Shembe's death a succession conflict occurred before leadership passed to his third wife's son Johannes Galilee Shembe. More serious trouble erupted following J. G. Shembe's death in 1975, when the movement split between his brother, Amos Shembe, and son Londa Shembe. Amos Shembe took the title "bishop" and seems to have led his followers toward orthodox Christianity. Londa Shembe openly admitted that he was unsure whether his movement was Christian, a form of Judaism, or perhaps more closely related to some other religious tradition such as Hinduism. Today there are about one million amaNazaretha in Southern Africa.
|
|
Shembe Maidens
|
There are two sessions of prayer and traditional "prayer" dances performed by five distinct groups. At prayer everybody dresses in long white robes (the elders dress in green). At the dance the men dress in traditional warrior type gear, and older women in modest black and beautifully beaded dresses and headgear. The younger women and the Scottish in their distinctive attire. No shoes, hats, smoking or alcohol is permitted.
|
|
Faithful Follower
|
Shembe has 4.5 million followers. Shembe, who is the fourth successor to the prophet Isaiah (Isaya), is regarded as a miracle performer in the mould of Christ. After services, thousands queue kneeling to be blessed (with a bottle of vaseline) and cured. A visit to Judea is a step into another world that is on our doorstep yet so distant to us. Visitors are welcome and meetings with him can be arranged.
The Nazereth Baptist Church was introduced to the continent of Africa by Prophet Isaiah Shembe in 1910.
|
|
Shembe man dressed for prayer
|
Religious basic belief
The Nazereth believes in God the father (Jehova) God the Son (Jesus Christ) God the Holy Spirit of Ekuphakameni (Shembe the Holy Spirit - not the person in human flesh). The church observes the Sabbath Day.
Nazarite
A Nazarite takes a vow that they may not partake of any liqour, shall not shave his/her hair. Males will be circumsized on reaching 18. They be baptised in a pool of water. He or she does not feed himself or herself with all that which is cast out. (Pork is singled out strongly). These basic requirements need to be fulfilled to attain holiness.
|
|
Shembe Women Dance
|
Values
The Nazareth observes traditional values which are not in conflict with Gods will. If you are African then African traditional values and if Western, Western traditional values. Emphasis on traditional African attire is not in conflict with God. Hence there is an uncommon way of worshipping God that is through African traditional dance with beating of drums.
|
|
Shembe Service
|
During the month of October, more than 20 000 Shembes gather for a month of religious celebrations in the village of Judea near Eshowe. The Village literally springs up overnight at their yearly gathering place. This is an absolute eye opener and gives one a chance to meet the Shembes and their Saviour. On the Sunday followers get an opportunity to be healed and blessed by Shembe. Saturday is the traditional prayer dance. Sunday is the day of prayer.
There is a tremendous emphasis on traditional dress and dance, praise singing and the blowing of the Horns of Jericho.
|
|
Scottish on the march
|
Other information available from the author
-
Homes
-
The Evangel
-
Pilgrimage to the Holy mountain
-
Uniform & the Dance
-
The Early life of the prophet
-
Visions of the Prophet
-
Some Traditions of the Prophet
-
History of the North Zululand Temple
|
|
Younger Boys
|
Shembe Memorial Day
As well as the yearly gathering, each year the Shembes gather at Judea to pay their respects to their predecessors on the 19th of December. This is part of their Shembe zulu culture.
Vuvuzelas and Shembe Origons
History of the vuvuzela: The fight for the right to the horn
17.06.2010 | Author: linhanyi | Posted in blog
Love them or hate them, vuvuzelas are hard to ignore — the plastic trumpets have become the accessory of choice for soccer fans
at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The horn’s power to pack an ear-splitting rasp, and the ease in which it can be customized by its owners, means the instruments
have been snapped up by football supporters from Port Elizabeth to Polokwane.
But despite the controversial coronet’s recent popularity, the history of the bugle’s origins is a matter of passionate debate, not to
mention potential lawsuits, in the “Rainbow Nation.”
According to Enoch Mthembu, the public relations officer for the KwaZulu-Natal-based Shembe Church, the vuvuzela is an
instrument that originated with his brethren at the dawn of the 20th century and should be recognized formally as such.
“We can make miracles happen when we use the vuvuzelas to heal sick people. We don’t use it like the soccer fans, we use it more
constructively,” Mthembu Moncler Jackets told CNN.
“Today they are making millions from this and they are not even acknowledging where they got the instrument from.”
Mthembu’s ire is aimed at manufacturers such as Masincedane Sport, a company co-owned by Neil van Schalkwyk, which
trademarked the name and has been selling the instruments since 1999.
Shembe, also known as the Nazareth Baptist Church, said it has taken out a lawsuit against Masincedane Sport, requesting that its
heritage be recognized, though Van Schalkwyk denies any knowledge of this.
“It is not about the money, but the principle,” Mthembu said. For members of the Shembe Church, the history of the cherished
instrument is integral to their faith.
Mthembu confirmed that the vuvuzela was not a descendant of the more traditional Kudu horn — an instrument created from the
horn of a Kudu antelope, which Zulu tribes used to communicate.
“It was introduced in 1910 by prophet Isiah Shembe, who is the founder of our church, to play alongside African drums when we
dance and worship cheap NFL jerseys God,” Mthembu said of his church’s vuvuzela.
“Originally, the vuvuzelas we used were made out of cane wood, but later we used metal instead.”
Plastic vuvuzelas hit the market in the late 1990s when Van Schalkwyk, who was a semi-professional footballer and part-time plastic
molder, got the idea from fans of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, who brought their metal vuvuzelas to games in Cape Town.
However, their presence at football matches in South Africa dates back to the late 1980s according to Philani Mabaso, the
communication officer for Durban-based Premier Soccer League side AmaZulu FC, formerly known as Zulu Royals.
Mabaso told CNN that his club may have been the first to have a vuvuzela on its terrace.
“The first match I saw one there was in 1987 when AmaZulu played Jomo Cosmos, there was a man with a big, metal vuvuzela,” he
said.
“Most of our supporters are members of the Shembe church, which is very prominent in our province. They would come from
their congregation straight to the match. I think we were one of the first, if not the first, because of this.”
Mabaso said the fans’ vuvuzelas gave his team an edge over their opponents.
You have a very good sound coming when they are all blown at the same time,” he said.
“Some fans make tunes, very nice tunes. It gave us an advantage, it changed the whole mood and vibe of the stadium.”
The popularity of the instrument at the World Cup seems to testify to Mabaso’s opinion.
“When we started we were selling around 1,000 a month if we were lucky, we’re now selling around 50,000 a month. We’ve also
sold the licence to a company in Germany too,” Van Schalkwyk told CNN.
A number of manufacturers of the instrument claim legitimacy for the product, though Van Schalkwyk says he is happy to
acknowledge the Shembe’s claim as originators of a similar instrument.
“They have definitely played a huge role in horn blowing. I recognize their contribution to the culture, though I thought their horn
was called an “imeomvu,” but I’m happy to be corrected on that.”
Despite the commercialization of the product, Mthembu is pleased so many people have adopted the instrument.
“We’re not against soccer fans using it, but we want people
who are selling it to acknowledge that it came from our church.
“A lot of our members used to manufacture them, and their income has disappeared. We don’t want a share in the profits — but as
custodians and creators of this thing we have not benefited.
|
|
Older Men
|
Recommended Tours:
-
Walters Zulu Village Tour
-
Sangoma Healing and Initiation Ceremonies
-
Three Day Zululand Outback Tour Package
-
Traditional Zulu Ceremonies - Coming of Age and Zulu Weddings
-
The Zulu Kings Reed Dance
|
|
Men in traditional attire
|
Zululand Eco-Adventures
Eshowe
Zululand
KwaZulu Natal
South Africa
info@eshowe.com
035 474 4919
Your Guides:
-
Graham Chennells
-
Walter Cele
-
Gladys Dlamini
Photos of Zululand and the Shembe Celebration on Flickr!
|
Top level
Zulu Tours
Maidens in procession