Notes on 'Purity' and 'Impurity' among the Zulu - Lecture 11

Author: Harriet Ngubane (Sibisi)
Published In: Africa: Journal of the International African Institute
Volume: 46, Issue: 3, Year: 1976, Pages: 274-284
Stable URL: JSTOR Link
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International African Institute
Access: Linked references available on JSTOR

In Zulu culture, pollution is denoted by the term umnyama, meaning 'darkness of the night'.
- Symbolically associated with death, contrasting with light which represents life.
Umnyama can be translated as pollution due to the absence of a comprehensive English equivalent for this complex Zulu term.
Pollution is conceptualized as a mystical force negatively affecting resistance to disease and inducing misfortunes.
UkuZila: The behavior pattern associated with pollution entails social withdrawal, fasting, silence, and the abstention from pleasures.
- Individuals in a state of pollution are expected to speak softly and only when necessary.
The intensity of umnyama varies, affecting the degree of ukuzila, directly correlated with the phase of pollution experienced.

Sources of pollution stem from experiences related to both birth and death.
- Both are considered mysteries linked to 'this world' and the 'other world.'
- Birth involves a transition from another realm into this world, while death indicates a return to the other realm.
The overlap between these two worlds is seen as marginal, containing dangerous implications for both as analyzed by scholars like Mary Douglas (1966) and Leach (1964, 1971).
Events related to reproduction (e.g., seminal fluids, menstrual blood) and death (e.g., bereavement) are considered variously polluting.

The relationship between a married woman and pollution intensifies due to her roles which connect different lineage groups.
At conception, a woman enters a marginal state, symbolized by her becoming a channel for the child, which is linked to the lineage of the father.
- Zulu analogy: "The woman receives, takes in the seed which will be a baby—just like the seed of maize which, due to warmth in the soil, germinates and takes root. The child belongs to the man because it is sown."
A newly delivered mother (umdlezane) is viewed as highly polluted, posing a risk to men's virility, cattle, and crops.
- This results in her social seclusion and specific behavioral protocols for a period after birth.
- For ten days post-birth, she remains covered and receives limited company from other married women.
- After ten days, she applies red ochre for added symbolism and to protect others from her pollution.
Pollution during lactation correlates to similar protective measures, as mothers protect both themselves and their infants from perceived contamination.

The chief mourner at funerals is always a married woman.
- She carries similar responsibilities as in childbirth, including performing funeral rites.
At a burial, the corpse is positioned to reflect a fetus, drawing parallels between death and birth.
Widows undergo prolonged periods of mourning (up to a year) reflecting their heightened state of pollution.

Table I: Phases of Pollution
- Birth:
- Phase 1: From conception to parturition
- Phase 2: From birth to disposal of after-birth emissions
- Phase 3: Lactation period, mother-child separation after weaning
- Death:
- Phase 1: From periodical treatment with black medicines to death
- Phase 2: From death to disposal of the corpse
- Phase 3: Mourning period, full separation of chief mourner from deceased
Intensity of pollution rises during childbirth and fades as the phases complete, mirrored by corresponding mourning rituals related to death.

Women as diviners serve as intermediaries between the two worlds of the living and the ancestors, representing a state of purity with significant spiritual responsibilities.
- The divination journey consists of phases:
1. Contact Phase: Manifestations of spiritual encounters.
2. Neophyte Phase: Intense preparation and commitment.
3. Graduate Phase: Culmination of purity through continual rituals and avoidance behaviors.
Diviners are often considered pure but also at risk from the very spirituality they embody.

Table II: Contrasts Between the Diviner and the Mother:
- Diviner:
- Excess of spiritual power, not polluted, protects herself and society from pollution, characterized by permanent purity.
- Mother of Birth and Death:
- Deficiency of spiritual power, polluted, connected with transitions marking the boundaries of societal existence, characterized by temporary impurity.
This dynamic illustrates the precarious balance of power and vulnerability women hold in traditional Zulu society.

The duality of women's roles entails the risk of sorcery associated with their marginal status in society. - Women may turn as potential sorcerers when social dynamics become precarious, with the potential to affect their own and others' lineages. - The understanding of power in this context includes the recognition that male potency is uncertainly tied to female fertility, creating a paradoxical interdependence.

Pollution is intricately linked to events that signify beginnings and endings of life, particularly around women who straddle societal boundaries. - Their marginal state evokes societal fears regarding cleanliness, purity, and the maintenance of normalcy within their communities. - The paper calls for ritualistic practices that keep the marginal threats contained and allows society to navigate between the realms of life and death.