Today is Saturday and we’ve been learning a lot about the history and culture of the Zulu people since we arrived a week ago. We’ve also become friends with a few of the Zulu people we’ve met - our guide Norman being one of them.

This week I’ve also met a young Zulu woman who, for reasons unknown to me, took me into her confidence and told me the story of her childhood. She was abandoned as a baby, and grew up without parents at a local Children’s Center.  But she doesn’t tell anyone because, In the Zulu culture, it is shameful not to have a family. Instead she keeps her background to herself. Knowing this is how the Zulu people feel about orphans, I felt honored that she would entrust her story with me.

Norman and this young woman (who I promised I would not name in my blog) are two of the most engaging and warm-hearted people who we’ve met on our trip.  As Zulus they come from a culture that is completely different from the rest of South Africa — where family, community, honor and paying homage to their King is the most important aspects of their lives. But the Zulus are impoverished because decades of neglect and abuse by the S African govt has driven their nation into poverty and left their people to survive without any resources or education. So both Norman and this young woman have had to leave their roots and find jobs in the (same) South African economy and culture to survive. Yet they have a resilience and spirit that cannot be broken, and you can see it in their eyes when they speak of their families and their traditions, history and culture.

To give you a little background about the Zulu people, here is what little I know… The Zulu people are indigenous to South Africa, and along with one other indigenous group, have lived here independently for thousands of years. When the British colonized South Africa two hundred years ago, the drove the zulus north into the midlands area of South Africa, where they now reside, and divided the Zulu Kingdom into 13 provinces. Once defeated the Zulus never regained their independence.

After WWII the Afrikan government granted the Zulu people rural lands to own and live on. Today that land is owned and operated by a Zulu king and his tribal chiefs. The Zulu people themselves can never become landowners unless they buy the land privately — and outside of any Zulu village.

There are nine million Zulu people living in South Africa today. In the past few decades, much of the Zulu’s land has been re-taken by the government to setup national parks and wildlife reserves for conservation, which in turn helps build the tourism industry, but did nothing for the Zulu people except destroy many of their villages. More of their property was taken when the Zulus were swindled out of their land by private rich Afrikans (formerly the dutch).

The Zulu people were once again left alienated from the rest of South Africa. Our reserve guide, Norman, is Zulu and has been telling us stories about his culture this week. He also confided that he used to be a poacher before becoming a ranger. He said many Zulus turned to poaching (even today) for food and to make money for their families when they were forced off their land by the park service. He also admitted that he and his friends didn’t just poach to make a living but because they were resentful, like many Zulus, that they had been kicked off their land (again) by the government when the parks were created and never consulted about the use of their lands.

The government is now trying to work with the Zulu people and help them find jobs through subsidized programs. It was through a government program that Norman became a ranger and stopped poaching.

When I get back to the states, I’ll post the video of Norman telling his story, and why he stopped poaching, so you can hear from him yourself.