An examination of the significance of the cow body parts during traditional rituals of AmaZulu households in the Mpola community.

Abstract

The absence of documented literature that explains the attached meanings to cow body parts during traditional rituals of AmaZulu households remains a notable gap in the existing body of knowledge. This anthropological study aims at studying and understanding the attached meanings of the cow body parts during traditional rituals from the viewpoint of AmaZulu in the Mpola community. For this study to bridge the gap and provide an in-depth understanding, qualitative case study using semi-structured (one-on-one-interviews) with fifteen (15) participants between the age of eighteen (18) to seventy (70) and two theoretical frameworks which are cultural relativism theory and indigenous knowledge were employed. The study findings reveal that culture and ancestors informs how AmaZulu slaughter cows when performing traditional rituals. The meanings attached to the cow body parts during traditional rituals are contributed as cultural epistemics in the decolonial literature of African countries as well as in the cultural and linguistic anthropology literature. The findings further portray that indigenous knowledge that is passed down from each generation by indigenous people illustrates cultural gender inequality between both genders (males and females). The males are educated and well-informed about cultural traditions compared to females because males are believed to be heads of the households who will oversee the performing of traditional rituals within the households. These findings indicate the need for indigenous knowledge of AmaZulu, traditional rituals and meanings attached to the cow body to be preserved.