Skip to main content

What life in precolonial southeast Africa was like.

You were born in your traditional homestead in a traditional hut. I imagine because of lack of modern medicine, the likelihood of obtaining disease or dying would've been increased. 

As a toddler you eat smaller versions of what the adults eat & coarse maize or sorghum porridge. 

In your teens, a lady may be married off & a male may join regiments & start considering starting his own family so you'd get circumcised. 

After 21 years or adulthood, you would've been married (or a commoner i. e. permanent regiment, herdboy, hunter or messenger). Your wives plough the fields, you or your sons look after your livestock, you hunt & watch for predators & hostile invaders. You would pay tribute to an elder chief or king of the region in meetings with them & ceremonies like "first fruits" festivals. 

You would likely not reach old age as there was lack of modern medicine. 

During periods of war, the local chief or king may require your service for battles & if you're unlucky, hostile invaders would raid your homestead, steal your livestock & burn your home to the ground. 

Also, you could be killed by doing something a chief or king disagreed with. 

There was no plumbing so, you'd go to a designated place outside to do your defecating. 

Some huts had no closing doors so all sorts of insects & little critters would crawl into your hut. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Comprehensive classification of Ngoni / Nguni groups.

List of Ngoni / Nguni nations : • Bhaca • Hlubi • Mpondo • Ndebele (northern Ndebele in Mthwakazi & southern Ndebele in Gauteng, South Africa) • Ngoni / Jere / Jele (mainly in Malawi, northern Mozambique, southern Tanzania, Zambia) • Nhlangwini    • Shangaan  • Swazi  • Tembu • Xhosa • Zizi • Zulu Altogether, twelve (12) "Nguni" groups are known to exist. From my knowledge in any case.  Bhaca, Hlubi, Nhlangwini, Swazi & Zizi are the Mbo Entity . The Mbo Entity often declassifies itself from the Nguni group. Nhlangwini & Swazi are under a Dlamini dynasty while the Hlubi & Zizi are also Dlamini tribes. Ngoni & Shangaan are of Ndwandwe origin (a tribe assimilated by the Zulu Empire). Bhaca, Hlubi, Ndebele, Nhlangwini, Shangaan, Zizi & some Mpondo are often classified as Zulu. While it's unknown whether Mpondo & Xhosa qualify as Nguni, they are often grouped as Nguni. Using family groups to classify :  • Mbo • Mpo...

The problem with a single African currency.

Preword: It's funny because one of the main reasons I found the courage to blog on African matters was due to a West African(?) gentleman who proposed the concept of a said "swal" & "zul" as a continental African currency in a blog. His boldness & conviction in his idea just captivated me & today I have to debunk this idea of his. But, hopefully, Africa sees why. African technologies & financial solutions Oh, Africa. We are so romantic; "United States of Africa", "Single African currency", "African unity", "Ubuntu"... all these fluffy, lovey-dovey concepts that will be ripped to shreds in the globalised world.  I debunked why a United States of Africa would likely collapse as soon as it sees the light of day. Today, I will debunk the concept of a "Single African currency" & explain why it would leave our enemies salivating.  I can't blame people who like stuff like United States of Africa...

Blog CV/Resumé

Just so readers of this blog can get to know a little about the writer.  Name: Mthoko Mpofana  Born: 1989  Place of Birth: Port Shepstone  Race: Black / Sub-Saharan African  Ethnicity: Zulu  Height: 1,73 m  Education :  • Well versed in business studies & economics having done business studies & economics in high school & one year of a business management degree.  • Well versed in computer studies, advanced data capturing & interested in software development.  Trades :  • Salesman  • Restaurants / Take-away experience  • Online trading  Sports :  • Football  • Basketball  • Biathlon  • Cricket  Pastimes : • Guitar  • Keyboard  • Chess (& Mlabalaba)  • Sudoku  Driving licence :  • Licensed to drive all motorcycles.  • Truck driving learner's license.  Languages :  • English (fluent)  • Zulu (fluent) • French (semi-fluent)  • ...