Common questions

What is the name of the Ndebele initiation ceremony?

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What is the name of the Ndebele initiation ceremony?

Male initiation ‘wela or ingoma’ is conducted among the Ndzundza Ndebele roughly every four years, and the boys are usually 15 to 18 years old. Their names have to be registered with the paramount chief ‘king’.

What are the Ndebele ceremonies?

Rites of passage or initiation ceremonies are practiced among the Ndebele; Ukuwela is a male initiation that marks the passage from childhood to adult status. Through the process of initiation, young boys are inducted into traditional lore and the deep mysteries of the group.

How do Ndebele celebrate Heritage Day?

In earlier times, the Ndebele wife would wear copper and brass rings around her arms, legs and neck, symbolising her bond and faithfulness to her husband, once her home was built. She would only remove the rings after his death.

Why are initiation ceremonies important?

The significance of initiation ceremonies in some communities provides an important platform through which programs can reach many adolescents and intervene, particularly in addressing the widely held notion among initiates that attending these ceremonies symbolizes that one is not a child anymore and can have sex.

How do you say goodnight in Ndebele?

Useful phrases in Northern Ndebele

English Sindebele (Northern Ndebele)
Good evening (Evening greeting) Litshonile
Good night Lilale kuhle
Goodbye (Parting phrases) Lisale kuhle
Good luck! Ngikufisela inhlanhla enhle!

How do you say thank you in Ndebele?

A collection of useful phrases in Northern Ndebele, a Bantu language spoken mainly in Zimbabwe. Key to abbreviations: sg = singular (said to one person), pl = plural (said to more than one person)….Useful phrases in Northern Ndebele.

English Sindebele (Northern Ndebele)
Sorry Uxolo
Please Ngiyacela
Thank you Ngiyabonga
Reply to thank you Kulungile

What happens at the end of the Ndebele initiation?

Initiation is still practised among both males and females in Ndebele society, marking the passage from childhood to adult status. At the conclusion of the rites, the initiate is allowed to become sexually active and to begin the protracted process of engagement and marriage.

How does a woman get married in Ndebele culture?

They do a traditional wedding which is called isimanje first they have to pay lobola just like in every culture and then the female is taken to the male’s family to do isimanje which takes a maximum of one week. While the female is there they guide her on how to treat her man and her in-laws.

What kind of gear do Ndebele women wear?

Traditional Ndebele gear for initiates includes a beaded apron that signifies the transition from girlhood to womanhood. Female initiation ‘iqhude or ukuthombisa’ is less painful than male initiation, as no clitoridectomy or body mutilations are performed.

What kind of Church does the Ndebele belong to?

Recent Christian and African Christian church influences spread rapidly, and most Ndebele are now members of these churches: ZCC (Zion Christian Church), a variety of (African) Apostolic churches, Roman Catholic, etc.