Beliefs of the People in Swaziland

      Religion in Swaziland today is diverse and  including several Christian factions; such as Catholics, Methodists, and Afrikaner Calvinists, Separatist “Zionist”.  The Zionist's are more tolerant when it comes to traditional cultural beliefs.(1)

      The Methodist Wesleyan Mission, established in the Shiselweni Region, was the first to bring Christianity to Swaziland in 1844.  The king accepted the Christian teachings and allowed the missionary to continue to spread the Christian beliefs as long as he did not try to change the culture of the people (2).

The oldest church still intact, the Methodist church was built in 1912 and is located between Nhlangano and the Mahamba border in Southern Swaziland (3).  (picture from http://www.mahambagorgelodge.com/photo)

       Traditional beliefs are still held by some of the Swazi people.  There is not a real creation myth in the Swazi beliefs, the world is mysterious and wonderful.  They believe in Mvelamqandi (“who appeared first”) which is a power that is above, is unapproachable, unpredictable, has no gender; however it is sometimes identified as the first mkhulu (grandfather) who is a symbolic mediator between the living and the dead (ancestors).  It is believed that Mvelamqandi sends Mlendengamunye (the “one-legged) as a messenger to warn of coming illnesses, but can only be seen by women and children. (4)

      Traditionalists see magnificent order in the universe, emandla (one alive with powers), which are not bound by time and space.  “They are in substance rather than of substance; in water, not of water; in earth, not of earth; in man, not of man” (5).  This leads to a belief that there is no distinction between natural and supernatural, sacred and secular (6)

      The traditionalist believe that the spirit has an existence separate from the physical flesh and when a person dies the spirit enters the Emadloti (world of spirits).  The Emadloti is projected in to the world of the living and therefore the people must be respectful of a person’s body and spirit when they die.  The ancestors are attributed to illnesses and other misfortunes; even though they may punish, they do not bring death.  Death is believed to be brought on by batsakatsi (evildoers) to destroy the lineage of families. (7)

1) Rose, Laurel. "Swazi." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (November 7, 2014). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3458001572.html

2) Forsyth-Thompson, Christina; Swaziland Discovery 2014; http://www.swazibusiness.com/discovery/shiselweni.html

3) Ibid

4) Kuper, Hilda. "Swazi Religion." Encyclopedia of Religion. 2005. HighBeam Research. (November 7, 2014). http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-3424503012.html

5) Ibid (direct quote)

6) Ibid

7) Ibid