Unkulunkulu

First-man / progenitor figure of the Nguni (Zulu and Ndebele). Originally a 'first ancestor' who later, under missionary influence, became a name for the creator-God. Treated as a deity-class entry (primordial ancestor-creator); vitalStatus 'deceased' because he is the dead first ancestor. uMvelinqangi ('the first to appear') is a near-synonym.

Domains

• first ancestor
• origin of humanity

Powers

• break humankind off from the reed-bed
• send the message of death by the lizard

Epithets

• uNkulunkulu latin · uNkulunkulu · cultThe Great-Great-One; the first ancestor and creator who came forth from the reedsNguni (Ndebele/Zulu) ethnography (secondary)

Relations

• equated with: UnkulunkuluReciprocal of zulu_unkulunkulu.equated-with — Same Nguni figure carried north by the Ndebele (a Zulu offshoot, 1820s): uNkulunkulu the Old, Old One, first ancestor from the reed-bed, later reread as creator under mission influence. Direct inheritance.Henry Callaway, The Religious System of the Amazulu (1870) (secondary); W. Bozongwana, Ndebele Religion and Customs (1983) (secondary)

Sources

• Unkulunkulu ('the old, old one') is the first man / first ancestor who sprang from the reed-bed Uhlanga and broke off humankind and the world's creatures, shared by the Zulu and Ndebele.: Callaway, H. (1870). The Religious System of the Amazulu. Springvale Mission Press. (reference); Berglund, A.-I. (1976). Zulu Thought-Patterns and Symbolism. London: Hurst. (reference)
• The origin of death is attributed to the race of the slow chameleon and the swift lizard bearing opposed messages from Unkulunkulu.: Callaway, H. (1870). The Religious System of the Amazulu, pp. 3-7. (reference)