Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents an almost complete reprint of a 1996 journal presentation by Karen H. Brown about the robes worn by the Nazareth Baptist Church In South Africa. This Africa Independent Christian demonination is also known as the
“Shembe Church", from the last name of its founder.
The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owner.
Thanks to the founder and members of the Nazareth Baptist Church in South Africa. Thanks also to Karen H. Brown for research and writing on this subject.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/01/information-about-african-independent.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "Information About African Independent Churches In Southern Africa & Information And Videos Of Nazareth Baptist Church Denomination Of South Africa."
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SHOWCASE PAPER
[This is almost a complete reprint of this presentation paper at the 1996 Textile Society of America Symposium except for a small portion of the text and except for Karen H. Brown's notes and list of works cited. A few of the notes that are included in this article are given below this presentation.]
From https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1879&context=tsaconf
Textile Society of America Symposium
Proceedings Textile Society of America
1996
White Robes For Worship: The Umnazaretha of the Nazareth Baptist Church In South Africa
Karen H. Brown
Indiana University
[page 229]
"South-eastern Africa was a major locus of Christian
missionary activity during the 19th and early 20th century and some dozen or more
denominations took to the mission field among the Zulus. 1 A Zulu man, Isaiah Shembe (c.
1879-1935) was one of many attracted to the Christian faith. His independent and
questioning nature, however, did not allow him to fit into the structure of the white-led
missions. Shembe founded his own church, the Nazareth Baptist Church (lbandla lamaNazaretha),
around 1910. Its beliefs and practices are based on a unique synthesis of Christian,
largely Old Testament, dogma and Zulu traditional beliefs. In addition to its specific
theology, the Church is well known for the charismatic family, the Shembes, who have led
it for some 85 years and the characteristic uniforms for worship and dance worn by
its followers. This paper is concerned with the white cotton textiles which have been
shaped into gowns known as umnazaretha, after their followers, the amaNazaretha or
Nazarites.2
From Isaiah Shembe's humble beginnings as an itinerant preacher and healer, the Church now has some 300,000 members who live throughout south-eastern Africa. 3 Church headquarters are in the black to\vTIship of Inanda, near the port city of Durban, however, many Nazarites worship at regional branches through out south-eastern Africa.
They are served by a network of ministers and other Church officials who work with Isaiah Shembe's descendants to maintain traditions. The majority of the members are Zulu-speakers and the predominant language used in services is Zulu. Despite the Church's seeming emphasis on Zulu identity, as seen in their dance uniforms, people from other ethnic groups (such as Swazi and Shangaan, both culturally and historically linked to the Zulus) do attend services and often wear their own "traditional dress".
The Church is best known to outsiders for its annual dance festivals which attract thousands of members and visitors. Dance groups are determined by gender, age and marital status and their uniforms are either based on traditional Zulu dress or on Highlands military apparel. Church members consider dance to be a form of prayer, and participation in a dance regiment is an important aspect of the religious experience (Mthethwa 1989). The majority of members, however, are merely spectators at the major festivals. It is possible that the focus on these dance uniforms in both the popular and scholarly literature tells us more about the interests and concerns of outsiders rather than the attitudes of Church members towards the emblems of their faith. The pervasiveness of the white gowns worn for worship. services, funerals and other important gatherings indicate that these gowns are far more significant than the more spectacular dance apparel.
This paper will look at three aspects of these robes. First
I will discuss their origins in the vestments of the white-led mission churches.
Then I will tum to the ways in which a gown is acquired. Finally I will examine the
spiritual significance of the robe
[page 230]
and its place in the theology of the Church.
The origins of the umnazaretha
There is no evidence that Zulu-speakers in the pre-colonial era ever spun or wove cotton. Nor was woven cloth available to many before European traders arrived in the 1820s (Davison and Harries 1980). Popular dress in the early 19th century consisted of articles made from animal skins and plant fibers. 4 Thus the use of woven cloth and tailored clothing was part of the colonial and missionary penetration into the region (Etherington 1978). White communities required all African residents, Christian and traditionalist alike, to wear European clothing from the 1870s. An important step in converting to Christianity involved the casting-off of "heathen garments". African Christians who belonged to syncretic African churches like the Nazareth Baptist Church usually were initially converted through the mission churches and also retained their western apparel. 5
Because Isaiah Shembe led an independent group of African Christians he came under the close scrutiny of various branches of the South African government. Many of the earliest reports of these encounters include a mention, sometimes a detailed description, of both his clothing and that of his followers. These long, white robes as described by police constables and native affairs officials set them apart from those African Christians who adhered to the missions and who would not have often worn vestments off the mission station. 6 Nazarites were (and still are) usually compared to (and conflated with) the Zionists who also wear white gowns somewhat different in style (see Kiernan 1991 and Sundkler 1961,1976).
The earliest photographs I have seen of the umnazaretha were published in the 1930s (Dube 1936, Roberts 1936). They were taken during the last ten years of Isaiah Shembe's life and were clearly taken with his cooperation. In appearance, the gowns closely resemble those those worn today.7 Shembe claimed that the inspiration for his own clothing and that of his followers was received in a series ofvisions. 8 His biographer, in 1936, described him as wearing clothing which "resembled that of the ancient priests of the Jews" (Dube 1936, 92). Shembe's robes, in their design, closely resemble both the ecclesiastical garb worn by missionaries as well as those worn by biblical figures in the illustrations found in Zulu language bibles, prayer books and bible stories that were published during the first third of the 20th century.9 In turn, these prints were probably taken from a stock of Victorian-era bible illustrations popular in Europe and the United States at the end of the 19th century. The source of inspiration for these bible illustrations probably comes from two intertwined sources: liturgical dress and earlier religious painting.
Shembe, although illiterate until he was in his forties, was apparently able to repeat large sections of the Zulu-language bible from memory and had a vast knowledge of the Scriptures. 10 Most missionary societies throughout southern Africa by the tum of the century had published bibles and bible stories in the vernacular languages...
[page 231]
[…]
Shembe's earliest known association with African Christians was in the Orange Free State around 1906 with the Methodist Church and later
the African Native Baptist Church (Roberts 1936, 28-30) and it is likely that he was
exposed to biblical literature in Zulu or Sotho at that time. 13 Many of his earliest
followers in Natal had left the mission churches, including the American Board Church, and he is
likely to have seen their publications. 14 Interesting comparisons can be made between
the illustrations found in biblical literature published by missions close to Shembe's
headquarters in Inanda and both the descriptions of Shembe's visions (recounted in Dube
1936 and Roberts 1936) and the photos taken in the 1930s, however, it is beyond the
scope of this paper to examine this aspect of the dress of Shembe and his followers
(see Brown 1995).
Contemporary reports noted that Shembe used a tailor in Durban to make up his designs and then sold them to his followers. 15 In the early photographs it is difficult to tell what types of material were used, but it appears to be heavy cotton sheeting. The umnazaretha worn today are made of light-weight white cotton sheeting and are fully cut with a yoke like that found on a choir robe. Although the male and female uniforms are similar, details clearly differentiate gender and social status. Men wear gowns which reach their knees while those worn by women are slightly longer and often have horizontal rows of stitching at knee-length. Married women cover their heads with a headscarf or an isicholo (the basket-like Zulu headdress). 16 They also wear a white shawl made of the same cotton material which is draped over their shoulders. A black fabric belt denoting their status as married women is tied around the waist. 17
Group leaders and other individuals with authority wear extra garments to indicate their status - such as a detachable, black fabric yoke, known as an isiphika, worn by female group leaders.18 Men who are preachers or evangelists wear a flowing gown which buttons down the front in either white, blue, green or turquoise modeled on those worn by Isaiah Shembe. Currently most wear dark green robes or cloaks.
Acquiring an umnazaretha
[page 232]
The majority of African Ipdependent Churches regard baptism as an essential event in the life of every believer and this is also true for the Nazarites (Sundkler 1961, 1976; Oosthuizen 1985). Although children raised in the Church wear the umnazaretha when attending services, a person is not considered a full member until she or he reaches 18 years of age and elects to undergo baptism. Baptisms are usually scheduled for a weekend dedicated to the celebration of Church festivals and a large group will be baptized together. The Church observes Saturday as the Sabbath, so baptisms take place on Sunday morning. Those who are to be baptised gather with the ministers in the morning and they proceed together to the local water source. Men and women gather in separate groups on the river bank. Each person removes his or her street clothes and dons an old white gown, usually a cast off umnazaretha, often in poor shape. The two groups then rejoin in order to pray and sing hymns. After this the men and women form two lines down to the water. Each individual is given the opportunity to privately confess their sins to an elder and pray with him. Then he or she queues in order to enter the water where they undergo full immersion. Those who resurface spluttering and upset are said to have had demons expelled. Upon returning to land each person changes into dry clothes and a new umnazaretha. Once the group has reassembled on the shore, they pray and return singing to the temple grounds. 1
Baptism, judging by the reactions of those who underwent it when I was in attendence, offers a fundamental spiritual experience for many followers. Many were clearly affected, some were weeping. All were in a solemn state preceding and following baptism. As they returned, singing hymns, the solemn mood slowly lifted and the singing became increasingly spirited. Interestingly, their return was not particularly acknowledged by the others who were busy preparing for the afternoon dancing. This experience thus is a personal one rather than one celebrated by the congregation of the faithful and is experienced internally rather than externally.
Although the design of the basic white gown has been clearly codified by years of Church tradition, I could find no evidence that there were strict controls placed over their manufacture today. This is different from the early reports where Isaiah Shembe is said to have had them made by a tailor and then sold them to his followers. Today, each new full member provides his or her own umnazaretha to be donned upon baptism rather than the elders providing such garb. These tend to cost nearly a full week's salary for a domestic worker or laborer, a large sum but considerably less than the dance uniforms.
Most individuals order theirs from Church members who work
as seamstresses.20
"Garments of Heaven"
Isaiah Shembe's son and successor, Johannes Galilee (1904-1976), called the urnnazaretha "garments of Heaven" in a 1958 sermon. While speaking on the subject of faith, he told his congregation:
You say this is the dress of Heaven. Don't think you will reach Heaven just because you have worshipped many years .... A white dress cannot
[page 233]
remove sin. We are evil and not worthy of being clothed in white. They are the garments of heaven. But Jesus lifts off the yoke.
(Sundkler 1976, 185)
Here Johannes Galilee is reminding his followers that the white cotton gown alone will not absolve them from sin, and that each person must be vigilent against the many temptations of the world. This message was repeated quite vehemently in the 1990s to a Rockville, Soweto congregation I often visited. There Reverend Vilakazi and his fellow ministers called the umnazaretha a "reflection of heaven" when warming Nazarites of the very evident evils and temptations of the world around them. 21
The choice of the color white for the umnazaretha must be deliberate given its origins in ecclesiastical garb. Additionally, cotton sheeting is inexpensive and easily available. But most significantly, the color white has ritual and symbolic significance in both Christian and traditional African cultures. White, for most Christians, is usually associated with notions of purity and innocence. For many Africans, Christian and traditionalist alike, white is an element of a triad of red, black and white which helps mediate many rituals (Jacobson-Widding 1979, Renne 1991, Turner 1967, Ngubane 1977). This can be seen in the uniforms, robes and vestments worn by members of many different independent churches (Kiernan 1991, F ogelqvist 1986, Sundkler 1961, 213) as well as in the garb of members attending mainstream Christian churches in southern Africa (Moss 1989). Within the Nazareth Baptist Church, these colors dominate the dance uniforms worn by women and girls. Additionally, much of the beadwork consists of Latin cross patterns in primary colors, outlined by a row of black beads. This is placed on a ground of white beads, and the overall effect emphasizes a balance between the colors. For Zulu traditionalists, white is associated with goodness, light and the "good things of life, good health and good fortune" (Ngubane 1977, 113). For African Christians, this is extended to an identification with purity, the angels or Christ and Sundkler writes that "white is an active and effective colour: it carries with it purity and purification and acts as a guarantee that.. .. magic defilement has been washed away (1961, 213-4).
The umnazaretha, both a sign of baptism and membership in the Church, largely relate to notions of purity and strict rules determine the appropriate wearing of the gown. For example, they may not be worn following sexual intercourse when a Nazarite is considered ritually unclean. Acts of purification allow a return to normal behavior. This usually involves ritual bathing at a local water source, symbolically repeating the act of baptism. Members who break church laws have their gowns taken away for a period of time. This act, known excommunication, is done publicly and as is the reinstatement of the right to wear the umnazaretha (Roberts 1936, 79).
As the clergy of the Nazareth Baptist Church reminds us, a white umnazaretha is more than an outward sign of one's faith: it should reflect the thoughts and actions of its wearer. This inexpensive cotton sheeting, tailored into a simple, flowing gown, is transformed and given a sacred nature through the rite of baptism. It confers upon the
[page 234]
Church faithful both the rights and obligations of
membership, giving them a solid structure of belief and practice in an increasingly
unpredictable, dangerous and chaotic society."
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Here are some of the notes that were given in that journal article:
16. The built-up headdress, isicholo, typically worn by married female traditionalists is rarely seen in the early photos 'of Church members when they are wearing the umnazaretha. Most of these women are wearing large and bulky head-ties, which might cover an isicholo. Photos taken in 1939 at a secular event, also show the married women in the umnazaretha and head-ties. In these photos it is clear that the overwhelming majority of women are not wearing the izicholo. See the Daily News April 4 and April 8, 1939.
17 . This belt known as iforteen or isibamba, is modeled on one originally worn by Isaiah Shembe but was transferred to the woman's uniform because so many of his early followers were female. The name iforteen refers to the day of the month when the women hold their meetings. Isibamba is a more generic term for a belt worn by Zulu women, although it is usually was made of fiber (or less commonly of beads) when worn by traditionalists. These belts cen be seen in the photographs from the 1930s. Even if Isaiah Shembe did once wear a black belt and added this to the women's uniform, it only replaced an item which was once associated with the state of marriage by traditionalists.
18 . According to Doke et aI., this is a cape for covering the shoulders (1990, 661 ).
These women are known as the umkhokheli, a term which can mean "one who pays another's debts" and also means the leader in a woman's church society (Doke et al. 1990, 398). These women are also responsible for collecting church dues from other women (personal communication, Inah Shoba, Nov. 21, 1992)"
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