Amazulu - People of the Sky

Year Published: 1979

Complete Record: Life in a typical Zulu kraal (village) of today is much the same as it always has been. The film follows the daily routine from the early morning herd boys taking the cattle from village enclosure to preparation of the common meal, construction of a reed hut, village agriculture, primitive iron smelting (”and magic”) bead-making, spear and shield-making, the village “diviner” and describes Zulu social structure. An old village chief is the vehicle for reminiscence of the Zulu past - of Shaka )”the black Napoleon of Africa”), and the eventual subjugation by the British. Rich in details of daily life, duties of each village member, and of the natural environment, the film provides a picture of a way of life that has changed little in hundreds of years. Keywords: South Africa, African history, tribe, tribal life, tribal village, huts, iron smelting, Shaka Zulu, Zulu, Africa, cattle, herding, agriculture, spears, shields, polygamy, colonialism