Elements of conflict and protest in Zulu literature

Abstract

Zulu written literature has grown in the shadow of two powerful influences: the glorious oral traditions of the past, and the English literary genres studied at school. It is reasonable to expect some interplay between the two influences, which further epitomize the two opposing forces giving rise to conflict: traditional life and custom versus western-style education, religion and ways of life. This latter force is often felt as an arrogant imposition by a tyrannical foreign power which must be opposed, protested against and possibly rejected, especially because it has brought about deep social changes caused by a monetary economic system that lends itself to the exploitation of the poor through industrialization. This paper aims to identify the causes of deep conflict and protest as expressed in Zulu literature from its written beginnings to the fall of apartheid.