Joseph Salinitro

14 June 2019
HIST 134
M12: Historical Fiction (Bantu)
Historical Fiction

In the Zulu village of the Bantu peoples there lived a man by the name of Andika. He was

well known by his name which means, “conqueror”. Andika was the eldest son underneath the

chief of the Zulu village. Andika, at the time, was 20 years old. He knew that one day he would

inherit the chiefdom from his father. Not only due to the fact that Andika’s father was the chief

of the village, but he knew that his family was the most important thing in his life. Family was

one of the most important things next to the line of the chief administration; therefore, families

created their own special groups with the men at the top with the women following. The

household was quite large with the main family and other relatives also residing. It was

constructed in an inner circle with an outer wall, usually made out of stones.

Andika was part of the miners and the hunters of the village. Each day when he awoke,

Andika would head to the mines to obtain the copper, iron, and gold ores. Once he was finished

in the mines, he would take what he had gathered to the craftsmen to make weapons for smaller

scale hunting. The craftsmen were thought of as masters of their work with secluded and sacred

areas for their creation of those weapons. Most of the men, like Andika, were in charge of the

hunting and gathering while the women ran the agricultural aspect of the village. Also, there

were sometimes that Andika would join the local merchants and his father to trade with the

neighboring tribes and villages for their copper and iron for hunted and gathered meat. It was

these encounters that prepared Andika to one day inherit the chiefdom from his father. Later in

the day, Andika would take part in some of the village arts such as carving wooden sculptures.
 At the heart of the Zulu village was their religion, and Andika was a very spiritual

individual. The common idea was that loved ones who had passed were still a part of the village

and lived amongst them. Andika usually would find himself calling upon the higher being in

order to assist with the trades and mines. Also, when the day had come to an end, he would make

sure there was an extra spot for food to give respect to a relative who had passed away. He knew

that when giving the deserved respect to his ancestors would guarantee good things to come in

the village for families, the economy, and administrations.

The end to the day came about when Andika returned from the last hunt of the day. He

would return to his home with his father. Here, he would gather with his family and many

relatives for dinner.

 Works Cited

“Africa, Iron and Empire.” Africa, Iron and Empire, 1000 BCE to 500 CE, Macrohistory and

Timeline, www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch29af.htm.

Ancient Civilizations in Africa, 3500 B.C.-500 B.C." DISCovering World History. Detroit :

Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 2 July 2016.

Smitha, Frank. Egypt and North Africa. Macrohistory and Timeline,

www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch02.htm#sub.