Cultural Mind Map: Zulu People's Culture and Traditions

This assignment presents a cultural mind map focusing on the Zulu people, exploring various aspects of their culture. The mind map delves into the importance of respecting elders, a tradition rooted in folklore, where stories like the Lizard and Chameleon highlight the significance of aging. It discusses religious beliefs, including Christianity and the ancestral spirits, and how both coexist within the community. The assignment also examines clothing customs, contrasting traditional attire for special occasions with modern urban clothing, and explains the significance of clothing in signifying marital status. Additionally, the assignment touches upon the evolving approach to education within the Zulu community, reflecting a shift towards prioritizing educational opportunities for their children.

Cultural Mind Map
Mind Map is a diagram that depicts behavioural tendencies and relationships between
experience and present behaviour.
Folklore: We have always been told to respect our elders. Since childhood, we are
told that it’s a great blessing to grow older. My mother would tell me a story about Lizard
and Chameleon that was sent by The Creator to deliver his message. Chameleon was told
about people won’t be dying and the Lizard was told that the people are about to die. We still
believe that growing old is a privilege from the creator and thus, we respect our elders.
Religion: Many of us have accepted Christianity. But the rest part believes in
ancestral spirits. Our people had this tradition of offerings and sacrifices to the ancestral
spirits, we believe in them, they guide us and keep us safe. We pray to them for our health.
When we face a problem we call herbalist who communicates with ancestors and if needed,
gives us herbs as well. But as the foreign people came, they brought their things to us.
Slowly, some people began believing in Christianity, some still believe in ancestral spirit,
some of us believe in both.
Clothing: We have grown with our surroundings. Zulu people like me wear urban
clothes. But we haven’t forgotten our values of traditional clothing. A single woman will
wear beads and proudly flaunt their body. If she has a husband, she will cover her body to
show that she belongs to someone. But we prefer to wear traditional clothing on special
occasions only.
Education: We are not much different from the African community when it comes to
literacy. Zulu people are gradually showing their interest in education. Earlier we would
focus on work and earn, but now a change is coming in the Zulu community. If our people
can afford education, we surely send them to schools and colleges.