Social Organisation of the Zulu State

Zulu women dancing. Image credit zululandobserver.co.za

• There was division of labour in the Zulu state, that is men did cattle rearing whist women did agriculture
• Boys were taught to be aggressive whilst girls were taught to be submissive
• The Zulu celebrated the Inxwala ceremony which was a festival of the first fruits
• Conquered kingdoms were supposed to speak the Zulu language and follow the Zulu culture
• The kingdom had three distinct social classes which were:
• The king and the royal family
• Those incorporated when the Zulu was expanding
• Those absorbed during Mfecane
• The lower two classes where required to pay tribute to Shaka as a sign of allegiance
• All able bodied men were to marry at 40 after serving in the army
• Cattle was seen as a sign of wealth and status
• Men with many cattle married many wives
• Cattle were also used to pay traditional doctors’ fees
  The king was the centre of unit
• The Zulu men and women were educated in age regiments
• Age regiments fostered unity because people of different background were brought together
• Marriage alliances encouraged unity and co-existence in the state with the marriage function presided over by the king
• The Zulu had many festivals, for example, dissolving of the age-regiments, the first fruit harvest (inxwala) to thank their gods for good yields and Shaka presided over all the ceremonies
• The Zulu assimilated conquered people to look similar to original Zulus
• They were religious and religion was used to enforce unity where all people believed in the spirits of the ancestors and living dead
• The king presided over all religious ceremonies

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