A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for B.A. Honours degree in the Department of History at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1988. / In the past a historical survey of' an African society was a very rare endeavour, because this field of historical research was erroneously regarded as being out of the scope of the historians. At the moment historians have no excuse, for there is an enormous amount of primary source materials waiting to be explored. These sources have been available, but they were not utilized due to the lack of knowledge. Due to the slowness of the South African historians in responding to the challenging demand of writing about the history of African societies, non-academic writers pioneered the process. With particular reference to this research, works of earlier historians like A. T. Bryant cannot be overlooked. In reviewing Bryant's work, "Olden Times in Zululand and Natal", Shula Marks pointed out that it is full of "unscientific assumptions and strong prejudices" As a result of this discovery Bryant's work had to be used with caution. It however remains the most valuable written source on early Zulu history.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree B.A. Honours in the Department of African Languages at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1988. / Naming among Black people results from specific events that have taken place prior or after a certain occurence, for instance, some places and personal names, are named after some historical events and family matters that has taken place. The main aim in this research paper is to get and follow some few aspects that are used and considered by people in this area when naming things such as places, persons, praises, howesteads, drifts and other living and non-living things.