Zulu Dwellings

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The possibilities or impossibilities of the indigenous vernacular heritage

Zulu ethnographies show clearly the existence of the central position that cattle play in their lives: not only are cattle the centre of the homestead in their occupation of the centrally placed cattle byre or isibaya, but the notional perceptions that cattle occupy in the mind of the Zulu makes it a cognitively based focus as well.

Zulu homesteads occupy a space that is allocated to the umnumzane, or homestead head distinct from the neighbours. The land, granted by the King, is neither bought nor traded. Usually, and preferably on a north facing slope, the umnumzane’s hut is at the zenith of a large stockaded circle, in the centre of which is the isibaya. One enters the homestead from below, enforcing the humility of the stranger’s approach. The huts hug the outer wall of the stockade in strict hierarchy, the hut of the umnumzane’s mother occupying the hut adjacent to his. If the umnumzane’s mother has passed away, or lives elsewhere, a ritual hut called the Gogo (or Grandmothers) hut will occupy this space. Descending the hill to each side are the huts belonging to each of the wives. Children sleep in groups of an age and sex cohort, youths usually occupying the hut immediately adjacent to the homestead entrance. In this scenario, a reasonably sized homestead can be expected to consist of many units, if one adds in chicken coops, beer huts, and pantries.

The connection with the cosmos, the earth and the ancestors (amadlozi) in these spaces, is important in the mind of the Zulu. Zulu huts were, in the past, built in the shape of elaborate grass beehive domes, in the case of the grassland littoral dwelling people. In other areas, a thatched cone-on-cylinder must have replaced this.

In the light of recent political violence, famine and latterly, high unemployment, many people have moved to the cities in search of work. This has increased the influences of globalisation. Huge informal settlements have incrementally grown, which has placed strain on public resources, inner city land, and increased demands to the authorities for provision of heavily subsidised Government housing. This diaspora has influenced greatly the architecture in the rural and peri-urban areas, as well as increasing the potentials for manipulation of the ‘traditional’ norms of the farmsteads into new indigenous vernaculars that are ephemeral, evolving, and responding to a plethora of new materials and cosmopolitan influences.

Many see the beehive hut as the archetypal Zulu building. I shall argue that this is not necessarily the case, that historical material shows evidence for this adaptation and evolution, adopting new ideas and materials. By using the example of the decorated buildings of the Msinga district, KwaZulu-Natal, I suggest that the case for preservation of a temporally stunted and historically assumed vernacular is both inappropriate and short sighted, and discuss the (im)possibilities of realistic preservation of these building types even in the light of the panacea and generification of the global tourism market.

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