Some Aspects of the Soul-Concept Among the Bantu-Speaking Nguni-Tribes of South Africa

Brian M. du Toit, Anthropological Quarterly, July 1960, 33, 3, 134-142.

Excerpt: The purpose of this paper is to consider some aspects of the fundamental belief system of the Nguni, namely, the worship of the ancestors. Specifically we will be concerned with a few major points; the distinction between the soul and the spirit as the Nguni conceive of it; the difference between family and tribal spirits; the appearance of these spirits to man, and finally the relationship between the living and the dead.