OSSREA Publications

Thnjiwe Magwaza

From the olden days the Zulu has had clothing as a symbol of sex, age, social status, or regional identity. With colonialism and acculturation this symbolism seemed destined to fade. However, as various literatures indicate, due to their ‘insistence’ on maintaining traditional dress, women have provided us with resources to work with. Traditional dress in the discussion of this report is wide and inclusive of a number of items that at surface value may not be regarded as traditional but are symbolic in nature. Dress symbols are known to express cultural ideologies, politics and philosophy of its people. The people’s identities are deeply influenced and shaped by the subcultures with which they identify themselves.

Invariably, this study demonstrates that although Zulu women’s ‘folk costume’ continues to be a visible outward badge of the group’s identity, it has nevertheless been influenced by other cultures. Their dress expresses multiple identities as well as their (conscious or unconscious) thoughts. Through dress, they concretise their thinking and conceptions, and thus dress has symbolic value for the community. As a symbol, dress has also been used to express a wish to assert and embrace elements of Africanness – some aspects of which are shared by ethnic groups other than their own.

Taking into consideration the near depletion of the African culture and tradition due to colonialism, this report presents the significance of Zulu women’s “traditional” dress as a form of social interaction and identity tool. I concentrate on contemporary dress – exploring how Zulu women in two provinces of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng ‘employ’ traditional dress.

The study reveals that the country’s new political order has improved self esteem and the worth of African indigenous people. Dress, the study asserts, is one ‘project’ that has been used to affirm self worth – very much tied to an indigenous cultural heritage. The project in turn describes and analyses the nature and the interface between indigenous and modern clothing expressions. Conclusively, the study asserts that dress is an essential element and can be exploited as a vehicle for relaying, restating and developing a South African identity.
Despite the emerging multiplicity of identity certain appearances or material artefacts were observed to represent shared values. These shared values often are linked to cultural belief systems. Clothing worn by women provides insight into who the Zulu women studied (48 in total) are, what they perceive themselves to be and what their attitude to dress is. The study reveals that aesthetic aspects of dress have not necessarily and completely given way to symbolic aspects. In addition the sheer artistry and craft skills of their dress are immediately obvious. From their beadwork, which forms a great part of their traditional dress, there are other interesting factors which can be inferred. Artefact pieces can tell the person’s marital status or age, the function which is being attended or the preference for certain items that are necessarily traditional to the person’s ethnicity. This is indicative of the fact that Zulu women use dress to explain their social experiences and individual choices.