When I read “Z is for Zulus” (Everett 247) at the end of Zulus, I couldn’t help but be completely perplexed. After reading the previous chapter, I thought that I could attempt to form a congenial thought on the book as a whole. However, then I made the introspective decision to turn the page and readdress the cyclic pattern of confusion that began at the beginning of the novel. To figure out the meaning of this last chapter, I chose to start with finding the meaning of the world that seems to have driven the work as a whole; the word “Zulus.”
When googling the definition of the word Zulus, many links were available. Of course, one popped up for urban dictionary about how the word “Zulus” is radio code referencing to the letter Z. Granted, I decided to look at other sources. One of the first links that came up was a page about South African history. From my understanding, Zulu is a South African language used by some of the natives. The article states, “The four major ethnic divisions among Black South Africans are the Nguni, Sotho, Shangaan-Tsonga and Venda. The Nguni represent nearly two thirds of South Africa’s Black population and can be divided into four distinct groups; the Northern and Central Nguni (the Zulu-speaking peoples), the Southern Nguni (the Xhosa-speaking peoples)…” to introduce this fact to the readers. The language is additionally described as “…a tonal language understood by people from the Cape to Zimbabwe and is characterized by many ‘clicks’”. The article also comments on the origin of the word Zulu: “The word Zulu means “Sky” and according to oral history, Zulu was the name of the ancestor who founded the Zulu royal line in about 1670”. Perhaps the root of the word Zulus could help readers form a cognitive hypothesis pertaining to the meaning behind Percival Everett’s syntax. One theory that I could not help but think was in relation to the ethnic divisions in South Africa; only two of them speak Zulu. For all one knows, Everett could be using this historic fact as a comparison between the city folk and the rebels. Could he consider one of them to speak the “Sky” language over the other? Or even more likely, neither one of them? I was glad that so many questions were being raised about the novel. But, even more were to come as I continued to take note on more information displayed in the article.
The Zulu people are described currently as being a very mixed and diverse group of humans. When the website states, “Many Zulu people converted to Christianity under colonialism. However, although there are many Christian converts, ancestral beliefs have not disappeared. Instead, there has been a mixture of traditional beliefs and Christianity”, I thought of how again, there was a diversity between the city dwellers and the rebel campers in Zulus. I also compared the change of religions in Zulu culture to the constant change of religions in the city, where Alice used to work. Both spiritual changes were done by a person’s own free will. Additionally, although they are all separate, they are still live in the same area. Another connection that I also took into consideration refers to the ending, Spoiler Alert! At the conclusion of Zulus, when Alice, Kevin, and all the rest of the people decide to commit suicide, I thought of sacrifices to African Gods made by the Zulu people; “Ancestral spirits are important in Zulu religious life ,and offerings and sacrifices are made to the ancestors for protection, good health, and happiness”. Alice and Kevin both decided to eliminate the human race in order to help grow a healthier planet, and rid the Earth of unnatural human behavior on the environment. Their suicide gave them a hope for the future, just as the Zulu sacrifices gave them hope for lifetime of happiness, health, and protection. Finally, the web page also comments on an era of Zulu history where the people were ridden with illness: “A plague of locusts devastated crops in Zululand and Natal in 1894 and 1895, and their cattle were dying of rinderpest, lung sickness and east coast fever. These natural disasters impoverished them…”. One theory that I thought could apply to this fact, is the association of the Zulu plague with the sickness that came to the people in the novel post war. Both people were left impoverished and hurt. Both “plague’s” also influenced the culture that they ended up experiencing.
The experiences of the lives of both the fictional and nonfictional people could have similarities with one another. The aspects of Zulu history could have relation to those of the citizens in the novel. Possibly, with further exploration into Zulu religion, a researcher could find more themes that are comparable to Zulus. Although I still have confusion to Everett’s main goal of naming his novel “Zulus”, at least these facts helped guide me one step closer towards gaining a deeper understanding of the work as a whole.
“Zulu”. South African History Online. SOHO, Web. 18 November 2015.
(Here is the link to the website as well) http://www.sahistory.org.za/people-south-africa/zulu