The Swazi (Emaswati) are a Nguni-language people whose kingdom is centered on modern Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), governed under a dual monarchy of king (Ngwenyama) and queen mother (Ndlovukazi). Traditional Swazi religion centers on veneration of royal and family ancestors alongside belief in a creator, Mvelinqangi, and its best known religious institution is the Incwala, an annual kingship and first-fruits ceremony renewing the bond between the king, the ancestors and the land, still performed today.
Facts
Traditions
Principal Religious TraditionsVeneration of royal and family ancestors alongside a creator, Mvelinqangi; the Incwala, an annual kingship and first-fruits ceremony renewing the bond between the king, the ancestors and the land, is its best known religious institution and is still performed today. 1 Origins
Origin RegionEswatini (formerly Swaziland) 1 Language FamilysiSwati, an Nguni Bantu language within Niger-Congo, closely related to isiZulu and isiXhosa. 2 Practice
Practice StatusLiving, and practised in varied local forms 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)
Originated In
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)
Related To
In the Other Atlases
In Branch
Also in Language Atlas: the branch this subject belongs to.
Also in Language Atlas: the branch this subject belongs to.
Also in Language Atlas: the branch this subject belongs to.
Sources
1. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005- s.v. Swazi religion; Incwala
- Originated In: Southern Africa
View the Source 2. The Bantu Languages
Derek Nurse and Gerard Philippson (eds.), Routledge, 2003
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