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Swazi (Eswatini)

Nguni Peoples

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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 Traditions
Veneration 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 Region
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) 1
Language Family
siSwati, an Nguni Bantu language within Niger-Congo, closely related to isiZulu and isiXhosa. 2
Practice
Practice Status
Living, and practised in varied local forms 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Swazi Traditional Religion, Religions
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Originated In

Eswatini, Countries
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)
Southern Africa, Regions
Source Encyclopedia of ReligionMircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.)

Related To

Xhosa, Cultures
Sources
1. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. Swazi religion; IncwalaView the Source
1. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005Originated In: Southern AfricaView the Source
2. The Bantu Languages
Derek Nurse and Gerard Philippson (eds.), Routledge, 2003
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