page_title: Zulu people
section_title: Kingdom
hierarchical_section_title: Zulu people / History / Kingdom
caption_attribution_description: English: Sketch of King Shaka (1781 - 1828) from 1824. Attributed to James King, it appeared in Nathanial Isaacs’ "Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa", published in 1836. Українська: Эдине відоме зображення ватажка Шака Зулу (1781 - 1828) зроблене сучасником Джеймсом Кінгом у 1824
context_page_description: Zulu people, are a Bantu ethnic group of Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa with an estimated 10–12 million people living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
  They originated from Nguni communities who took part in the Bantu migrations. As the clans integrated together, the rulership of Shaka brought success to the Zulu nation due to his perfected military policies. The Zulu people take pride in their ceremonies such as the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, and their various forms of beadwork. The art and skill of beadwork takes part in the identification of Zulu people and acts as a form of communication. The men and women both serve different purposes in society in order to function as a whole. Today the Zulu people predominantly believe in Christianity, but have created a syncretic religion that is combined with the Zulu's prior belief systems.
context_section_description: The Zulu formed a powerful state in 1818  under the leader Shaka. Shaka, as the Zulu commander of the Mthethwa Empire and successor to Dingiswayo,  united what was once a confederation of tribes into an imposing empire under Zulu hegemony. Shaka built a militarised system known as Impi featuring conscription, a standing army, new weaponry, regimentation, and encirclement battle tactics. Zulu expansion was a major factor of the Mfecane ("Crushing") that depopulated large areas of southern Africa.
caption: King Shaka
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