I had the honour and pleasure of heading down to Kwazulu Natal province this past weekend to attend one of my closest friends’ umemulo, uTankiso. Umemulo is an old, yet still very relevant and important, custom in the Zulu culture that symbolises a young girl being ushered into womanhood. I being from the tribe of AmaXhosa, where customs differ compared to those practised by AmaZulu, found the experience unforgettable for all the right reasons.
This blog may revolve mostly around my personal style and fashion interests. However the attires worn at the Memulo ceremony were so rich in colour and texture and uniqueness that I had to bring them here and share a slice (ok a few slices cause I overdid the amount of pictures I chose for this post, suffering from difficulty choosing my favourites) of why I love the Zulu culture so much.
I also do hope that it triggers something in those of us who are African but have missed out on the pleasure of knowing, that embedded in our people and long standing traditions is a colourfulness and uniqueness that will never perish and that rightly so should never be forgotten.
Here, Tankiso. She looked so beautiful draped in her Zulu beadwork. 
The young zulu girls who are ridiculously light on their feet, sang and danced till the cows came home.
Me and Tank*
The Zulu gentlemen.
So here I am, a Xhosa girl on Zulu land. Feeling right at home. :)
Tanki, mhlobo wam, MaZuma, Nxamalala, Mamsholozi, Maphumephethe inyama ngapha amasi, lugaju kamatomela mdlovu. Nkosazana, you are now a Zulu queen. I wish for you all the good in the world, and all that a strong and determined woman like you deserves.
Chaa-w for now.
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