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GLOSSARY OF ZULU ARCHITECTURAL TERMS

IGUMA. (isiZulu). Wind shield located in front of a Zulu dwelling. It consists of a series of timber uprights, with the intervening gaps filled in by a reed screen. The framework is tied together with grass ropes which are frequently used in a decorative manner.

IKOTAMO. (isiZulu). Arch over the front door of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling. This is usually the first arch to be erected.

IMIQOLO. (isiZulu). The two sapling arches in the framework of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling, which spring backwards from either side of the doorway arch. The inqo and the two imiqolo are the three principal arches in the framework, and determine the height and direction of all subsequent arches.

IMISHAYO. (isiZulu). Timber trellis carried by two posts inside a hemispherical Zulu dwelling. Its primary function is to carry and distribute the live load of the thatcher during the building process.

INCA. (isiZulu). Generic term for grass. See also uTshani.

INCA EBOMVANA. (isiZulu). A type of fine thatch grass used to make up the top-knot, or isiqongo, used to finish off the top of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling.

INDLU. (isiZulu). Generic Zulu term for a dwelling.

INQO. (isiZulu). This is the highest arch in the sapling framework of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling, and is set parallel to the ikotamo, or doorway arch. The inqo and the two imiqolo, which spring from the doorway arch and are set at right angles to it, are the three principal arches in the framework, and determine the height and direction of all subsequent arches.

ISIHLANDLA. (isiZulu). Woven grass mat, some 6m long and 1.5m wide, laid as the main ceiling cover at the apex of a hemispherical Zulu framework.

ISIQONGO. (isiZulu). Top-knot located at the apex of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling. It also brings together the main ropes which hold down the thatch cover.

IZINTINGO. (isiZulu).Saplings used to created the arches of a hemispherical Zulu framework.

ISINTINI. (isiZulu). The two side points on the plan of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling.

IZIKO. (isiZulu). Hearth.

IZINSIKA. (isiZulu). Timber posts which stand on either side of the hearth in a Zulu dwelling, and carry a timber trellis, the imishayo, which supports the hemispherical framework during thatching.

OFUNDO. (isiZulu). Back point on the plan of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling.

OMNYANGO. (isiZulu). The front point on the plan of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling.

UMFUGUZELO. (isiZulu). The inner insulation layer of grass (Hyparrhenia pilisissima & H. glauca) in a hemispherical Zulu dwelling.

UMHLANGA. (isiZulu). The hard reeds (Phragmites communis) used in the construction of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling.

UMSAMO. (isiZulu).Raised shelf at the back of a dwelling, on axis with the entrance and the central hearth, where food may be stored, and where traditionally the father of the house will commune with his ancestors.

UMXHEBULO. (isiZulu). The external grass layer (Hyparrhenia pilisissima & H. glauca) of a hemispherical Zulu dwelling.

UMUZI. (isiZulu). Generic term for a Zulu homestead.

UMYAGAZO. (isiZulu). Woven grass mats laid as ceiling cover on either side of the main, isihlandla ceiling mat, over a hemispherical Zulu framework. It is also used as an external covering of the finished dwelling, when it is wound about its lower reaches as a protective skirt.

UTSHANI. (isiZulu). Generic Zulu term for grass. However this was also the name of an ancestral Zulu Chief, Tshani, and out of respect for him, they use the substitute term, iNca.