Tag Archives: Nigeria

Commonality between Zulu & Ifa Cosmology

Posted on by under Culture, Spirituality

By Nomathemba Pearl Dzinotyiwei

Zulu traditional dress. Picture courtesy of Pinterest

The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group in South Africa, found mainly in the south-east in KwaZulu Natal. KwaZulu means the place of the Zulus. In Zulu cosmology the Creator (UMdali/uMenzi) has 7 aspects or messengers known by some as gods because they had greater power and consciousness than human beings. The number 7 is a sacred symbol of divine fullness. Each Of these divine messengers had a divinely ordained function.

The Orishas are the deities in the Yoruba spiritual tradition known as Ifa. The Yoruba people are from the south and west of Nigeria. The Orishas are aspects of the Supreme Being or the Creator given charge over different aspects of life. There are many Orishas however there are seven that are most popular and known as the Seven African Powers.

There are interesting parallels between the spiritual beliefs of Zulu and Yoruba people. Primarily these are centred around a single Supreme Being, the Creator. The Creator expresses his character through different cosmic energies that are personified as deities or gods. Human beings are made in the image of the Creator in terms of spirit so they carry the same energies within them. For the ease of human understanding human social constructs such as the family are used to teach complex cosmic concepts and stories are used to convey the wisdom in a way that can be readily understood, memorized and passed on from generation to generation.

Ifa Orishas. Picture courtesy of Pinterest

UMvelinqangi is the chief of the messengers. He connects people to all the other messengers. He is responsible for balance and centrality. He is the one known as Modimo wa Badimo, in SeTswana, the greatest of all the spirits. He has similarities to Obatala in the Yoruba spiritual tradition.

Ifa Orisha Obatala. Picture courtesy of Pinterest

Ma, is the Universal Mother, Credo Mutwa, the famous Zulu Shaman called her Ninavanhu Ma. She gave birth to the first humans. She is a caregiver and nurturer. She gave the original blueprint of motherhood and embodies that powerful cosmic energy. There are similarities to Yemaya in the Yoruba tradition.

Ifa Orisha Yemaya. Picture courtesy of Pinterest

Sodumo is responsible for the destinies of human beings. He connects the living and the dead. From him, each soul is given it’s assignment on earth to grow in consciousness through various experiences chosen by the individual before they are conceived. There are similarities to Orunmila.

Picture courtesy of Pinterest

Nomkhubulwane governs the phenomenon of rain and rainbows. Ancient priestesses prayed to her for rain. The original shapeshifter, she adopts the form of any animal. She sounds similar to Oya, the Orisha of weather & storms whose symbol is the rainbow.

Ifa Orisha Oya. Picture courtesy of Pinterest

Somandla embodies the cosmic energy of vitality and power and gives humans the power to achieve anything. African Christians pray to USomandla for strength and capability as he represents the Omnipotence of God the Creator. His colour is red. He shares similarities with Ogun.

Picture courtesy of Pinterest

Nomhoyi embodies the energies of sensuality & fertility. She is associated with rivers. She brings spiritual cleansing & consciousness which comes with baptism. She brings peace and protection. She shares similarities with Oshun, the Orisha of fertility beauty and love.

Ifa Orisha Oshun. Picture courtesy of Pinterest

Mlenzemunye, (means the one-legged one ) embodies the cosmic energies of courage, protection, & change. He protects people from harm. His Ifa counterpart is Osanyin, also🦵 who is in charge of healing & magic associated with diviners & herbalists.

Ifa Orisha Osanyin. Picture courtesy of Pinterest

The number 7 has significance in numerology, sacred geometry and many other spiritual traditions including Christianity. Isaiah chapter 11 tells of the 7 spirits of the Lord. Revelation tells of the 7 eyes of God which symbolizes the 7 spirits of the Lord. This is why the Jewish menorah or lamp stand has 7 lights or candles.

Christianity found resonance with African people because the Christian God was in many respects similar to the Creator revered by Africans for millennia. Human beings may be divided by religion, language, culture and tradition but are united in the Spirit.

No Rules – Available on Amazon

Posted on by under Book, Crushes, Culture, Relationships

This is a cross-cultural love story of two millennials set in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is available on Amazon under Women’s Fiction. To read a sample and purchase, go to https://www.amazon.com/kindle/dp/B071NY9YXC/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_eos_detail

You can check out my other posts on this blog and visit my FaceBook Page at https://www.facebook.com/lamourafricaine/

This is my first self-published novel, under the my nom de plume Pearl Deyi. Deyi is one of the family names of our clan, oManzini aba kwaZungu and also has letters from my surname.

Book Review: Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi

Posted on by under Culture, Relationships

By Nomathemba Pearl Dzinotyiwei

The totally unexpected beginning of this story had me thinking ‘Who starts a novel like that?’ The closest to come to that would be how Margaret Atwood, in an ad for an online masterclass, when she says she would have rewritten the beginning of Little Red Riding Hood to say: ‘It was dark inside the wolf.’ Taiye Selasi’s technique kept me riveted for the next 318 pages.

The story draws you in to the chronicles of three generations of a family. Starting with an interracial marriage between Maud a Scotswoman and John Nwaneri, in Nigeria, their daughter Somayina, who dies young leaving her husband Olukayode Savage and their young daughter Folasade. After the tragic death of her father in an outbreak of violence in the Muslim North, Folasade emigrates to the United States of America, where she meets Kweku, a Ghanaian medical student. They get married and raise a family: Olu, who follows in his father’s’ footsteps, the twins: Taiwo, a girl and Kehinde a boy, who share that sacred bond and then Folasade, nicknamed Sadie, the last-born daughter who nearly didn’t make it.

The family’s American Dream, however, morphs into a nightmare when he fails to save the life of a millionaire’s mother, who happens to be a benefactor of the hospital. To appease the family, the hospital unjustly fires the good doctor, one of their finest surgeons and thus begins the family’s downward spiral into tragedy.

The novel, much like a movie, pans, zooms in and fades out, with flashbacks into the family’s lives as they deal with the disappearance and attempted reappearance of the husband and father from their lives after he loses his job. Folasade calls on her native Nigerian hustling instincts to pick up the pieces and keep going. Each child is affected differently and finds their own way of dealing with the separation of their parents and the impact of the decisions their mother had to make to support them.

The family reunites in Ghana many years later to bury Kweku, now a successful surgeon in a local hospital. He has remarried and built his dream home with an achingly beautiful garden, planted and tended by a geriatric yogi called Mr Lamptey, the eccentric carpenter who built the house. They all react differently on arrival in this country. It’s home, yet not home, this strange land that their father came from.

In the run-up to the funeral, the children get to know their father’s family, come to understand their father better and what drove him. They each find their own connection to this place, to begin to understand and resolve some of their personal issues, including the retelling of painful and deeply-buried secrets. In this land they begin to understand their gifts and find their place in the world. This unfolding of events gives credence to the belief that only when you know where you come from, will you know where you’re going. It partly explains Africans’ obsession with ‘going home’, especially for immigrants and their children born on foreign soil.

The most poignant part of the story is how Folasade, having moved back to Africa, mourns her estranged husband and makes peace with his new wife Ama. In one of those stories of female solidarity that is so often not told, the two women, understanding they have both lost him, mourn him together and support each other.

Ghana Must Go, makes reference to the xenophobic sentiment in Nigeria which led to the mass expulsion of Ghanaians living in the country. It is a story of personal struggle and sacrifice against the backdrop of war, poverty and making a life in a foreign land. It reveals the beauty and cruelty that comes with being part of a family as well as a personal search for belonging and a spiritual place of rest. It is an altogether unforgettable read.

No Rules: The Back Story

Posted on by under Inspiration, No Rules, Relationships

What inspired you to write this story?

I am an idealist and an incurable romantic. I believe in love and in the happily ever after. My parents have been married for over 40 years and been together for almost 50 years. My husband and I recently celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. I’ve witnessed the struggles of my single friends, both male and female when it comes to dating and picking the right person. I want to portray a positive view of marriage and relationships with a minimum of drama and pain. I have friends who are in cross-cultural marriages and relationships and they’ve shared some of the issues they face.

Why did you choose the title of No Rules?

Mwoyo muti unomera paunoda is a Shona saying which means the heart (love) is a tree which grows where it wants to. There are no rules to love. People have tried reducing the phenomenon of love to a formula, but there really isn’t one. They’ve come up with all sorts of rules designed to help people succeed. The relationship in this story breaks all of them. The laws of physical attraction may be fixed but love is really a supernatural phenomenon. Magazines and self-help books are full of advice on how to get and keep a man, how to affair-proof your marriage and relationship etc. but the reality is that love is about how two people feel about each other and their commitment to being together. There are different kinds of love and we feel them at different times for different reasons which makes it hard to predict and manipulate.

What are ‘the rules’?

1. Sex. How long do you wait before you have sex? Men generally, driven by pure lust want to have sex on the first date or soon after. Lust is a biological phenomenon intended by God for humans to multiply. A man in this case is driven by the instinct to spread his seed. The majority of men lose interest immediately afterwards. So women have a dilemma.  Do you insist that he marry you, then watch him move on? Or do you compromise and have sex because you love him and because, let’s face it, women have needs too, then risk him waking up the following day and deciding you’re not the one?

There’s a double standard that applauds men while denigrating women for having sex outside of marriage. Steve Harvey wrote Think Like A Man for his daughters because he understands how men think. He suggests waiting for 90 days, in order to be sure of the man’s intentions. However, there are people who had sex from the day they met and are still together, while others waited years, got married and still got divorced. So that rule is not absolute.

In the novel, the couple wait for a while. They try to fight it. They don’t do a very good job. That’s the reality. There are so many roadblocks, obstacles and protocol around marriage which make it an onerous process. I don’t believe God ever intended for marriage to be so complicated. In Genesis, God created Eve and simply put her in the garden. Adam decided she would be his partner saying she is the flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone.  Marriage rites are human rules to preserve property rights & establish paternity in a patriarchal society among other reasons. People should be honest with themselves and with each other about expectations regarding sex and a relationship.

2. Marriage. How long should you wait? Some people get married within 6 months of meeting and stay together, while others wait years and still get divorced. Jide and Pelo meet and survive serious challenges before they get their happily ever after. In some relationships a couple can go through in six months, what others take 10 years to experience. The question is is how well do you know your partner? Do you love him or her enough to live with their imperfections? Some people close their eyes to the truth, only to realise they can’t handle those imperfections and then they get divorced 2 years or 20 years later.

The story is set in South Africa in 2017? Why is that?

I’ve lived in South Africa for over 10 years. It is a beautiful country, vibrant, cosmopolitan and has such a rich history and diverse cultures. It’s a place that attracts people from different nationalities. I want to showcase what makes our country special. South Africans know to have fun, we can really party. We’re among the earliest risers in the world and we strive to do better for ourselves and our families.  If you live in South Africa, you can relate to the setting. I’ll be publishing photographs and other media to make it real for readers overseas because I want them to see what I see.

Why choose Millennials for the main characters?

I wanted to represent young urban African professionals who are educated, accomplished and cosmopolitan. I have not come across too many stories about this cosmopolitan generation. The Millennials have been the subject of research and debate. They are different from previous generations. They are more socially and environmentally conscious, they think differently. They also value family and tradition even though they practice these in their own way. They are technologically advanced and connected via social media. They want to change the world. They are the leaders of the future and that future is not far off. I wrote the story in the first person, which is incredibly challenging, because I want the reader to stand in the people’s shoes and experience the emotions. My children are from that generation. When they come of age, I want them to choose their partners wisely so In a sense, I am writing this for them.

Why does Pelonomi have to be studious, in other words, a nerd?

Nerds fall in love too. Pelo is a highly intelligent, educated and cultured young woman. Many men would be attracted to her face and body and not pay attention to her amazing mind or her crazy ideas. But crazy ideas are the ones that change the world. When we appreciate everything about our partners, we can support them and they can achieve extraordinary things. Jide’s a nerd too, he just doesn’t look like one, because he plays basketball and is in great physical shape. So the story is about two nerds falling in love. In a sense it is a way of letting intelligent girls know that they can be themselves and find love and not have to hide their brilliance because it makes men insecure.

There are some highly charged and explicit love scenes. What is your reason for including these? 

This is a work of adult fiction. Sex is an integral part of life. We are all here as a result of sex. Studies show the number of times men and women think about sex. It’s a primary biological need, whose purpose is to keep the human race from extinction, not that we are in any danger of that now. In the novel, I wanted to portray sex in a loving committed relationship because many people believe sex is boring when you get married or commit to one partner. It really isn’t, unless you make it so. If you do, you’ll forever be lusting after other people. Too many people destroy their marriages because they are fantasizing about what is out there. In my opinion, casual sex is the equivalent of eating junk food when you can have a gourmet meal at home, because you lack that intimacy and emotional connection that makes it special.

You don’t pull your punches when you talk about xenophobia. Why is that? 

I was born in Zimbabwe. My paternal grandfather was Zulu. His family were immigrants in what was then called Rhodesia. I am classified as an immigrant because I was not born in South Africa. I have personally experienced xenophobia because I use my husband’s surname and my passport does not bear witness to my genealogy.

The reality is that there is no pure race or tribe. We’re all from somewhere else. The borders that we live within are artificial ones created by the colonial powers in an effort to keep peace among themselves. These borders split up families, clans and nations from a common linguistic and cultural point of view.

My two main characters are from different countries and they each face hurdles in believing that the love is real and getting this relationship accepted because of the stereotypes and barriers that we have developed as African people.


You talk extensively about religion and spirituality. Why is that?  

The lovers are both Christians at different stages in their walk with God. Our spirituality is an important part of who we are. When we don’t t spend time in some sort of devotion, we lose touch with a vital part of ourselves and we try to fill that emptiness with drugs, alcohol, sex, food or whatever other addictions. I want to promote a positive image of God as a loving deity, not a harsh taskmaster. The God that I worship is interested in all the details of our lives, including our love lives and believe it it not, sex. There are also different ways of relating to God, known as spiritual pathways and God will meet you on the pathway you choose because the Bible says God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6.

Who needs to read this story?

Single people, particularly women, who struggle with issues of relationships and expressing themselves sexually. Married people too will find some wisdom to revive the passion in their relationships. Writing the novel helped me to appreciate things about my husband and our marriage that I tended to take for granted.

What can we look forward to in the novel? 

There is romance, fun and laughter. There are interesting conversations with friends and family, moments of drama, crisis and conflict. There’s the bridal shower where the pastor’s wife gives an iconic speech and the preparations for the four different ceremonies for the marriage to be complete.

What other plans do you have for the story? 

I would love to make a film of it. I think it is a great story. I would also like to get people to engage with the story on different platforms, because there are so many issues that are relevant to our society that we need to think about and debate and confront and change our minds if possible, in order to make better choices for ourselves and for people around us.

No Rules: An African Love Story. A Synopsis

Posted on by under Feminism, No Rules, Relationships

This is a an urban contemporary love story between two Millennials: Pelonomi is a South African woman and Jideofor, a Nigerian man. The title ‘No Rules’ reflects how their relationship breaks all the known rules. It raises the question of how people get to know each other and decide on whether a person is ‘the one’.

The story takes you on the roller-coaster ride of their relationship. Despite the riveting attraction, they have an argument the first time they meet, that almost scuttles any possibility of being together. Steve Harvey’s recommended 90 day no-sex rule features here, but long will they be able to resist the explosive chemistry between them?

There are episodes of drama with their exes, a near- death experience and interesting conversations with the couple’s friends and family as they come to terms with this whirlwind love affair. There is the conflict the between global contemporary lifestyle and lingering demands of both Pedi and Igbo tradition and custom.

The story is set in Johannesburg, giving the reader an view of contemporary South African urban life. In the end it’s a heartwarming story of how two unlikely lovers overcome their differences to build a solid relationship and embark on a life together.