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DateOriginal Topic
11th October 2001General
By BOB MORRIS
I read with interest your review of the film "Zulu Dawn".
During my stay in South africa I visited both "Rorke's Drift" and
"Isandlwana". Maybe I could propose some discussion on the following
items. These points are some I picked up on my travels.

1) I concur with your view. The Zulu habit of disembowelling slain
foes,
although seemingly barbaric to us, was due to the Zulu belief that when
the
body started to swell it was the spirit trying to get out. They simply
opened the body to allow the spirit to be released to go to its resting
place. Not really a sadistic action at all, but a reasonably
compassionate
one to a fallen enemy.

2) Mention may be given, and also the reason why, at the corner of the
"L"
shaped defense formation at Isandlwana was placed the Natal Native
Contingent. Although loyal to the British force they were the least
well
armed and liable to panic. Why were they placed at such a crucial
place?
Also when they retreated from this position they left a large hole in
the
defence allowing the Zulus to rush in and surround the British.
3) It may be also expressed that such was the British defeat that it
was
many months before the British returned to Isandlwana to collect and
bury
the dead.
4) The city of Pietermaritzburg also has something to do with the
Zulus.
After the 1836 defeat of the Zulus by the Boers at Blood River,
(This monument is also worth a visit) the 2 leaders of the Boer forces
had
promised to build a church to say thanks to God for the victory.
The 2 leaders were Pieter Retief and Gerrit Maritz, Hence
PieterMaritzburg.
DateReplies
11th October 2001Lyn Purves
Bob

Regarding your first point: as I understand it, it appears that the reason the Zulus opened the stomachs of the dead to release the spirit was their belief that if they did not do this, the spirit of the dead man would haunt the killer whose own body would then begin to swell and who would eventually become insane. He would also be regarded as spiritually unclean. The killer was also obliged to remove part of the dead man's clothing and wear it himself in order to repel evil influences.
The Zulus believed very strongly in and had a total dread of something called "umnyama",ie dark forces, and it was absolutely necessary to go through certain rituals to avoid them. After a battle all warriors would have to go through cleansing ceremonies presided over by their own doctors before they could resume normal life.

And your final point: The Church of the Vow in Pietermaritzburg is now a museum and contains many interesting exhibits relating to the to the Voortrekkers (Boers) as they were called then. Pietermaritzburg had a lot to do with the Zulus because it was the Colonial capital and very much a British garrison town. It has a lot of history relating to the Ango-Zulu War.