Southern African cosmogenic geomythology (“following a star”) of the Zion Christian Church

Abstract

Oral traditions and indigenous knowledge of the Limpopo Province in South Africa suggest a meteor event occurred in the area several decades ago. This relatively recent significant meteor event with associated features may have contributed to a revitalization of 13th century ancestral geomythology, also based on an astronomical event, and to an ideological transformation that augmented a vast socio-political belief system in sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords:

• geomythology
• Zion Christian Church
• meteor
• impact crater
• archaeoastronomy
• Lemba
• indigenous knowledge systems
• RX J0852.0-4622
• G266.2-1.2
• Great Zimbabwe
• oral tradition

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank two anonymous reviewers for their excellent advice towards improving this paper, as well as Editor-in-Chief Margaret Avery for her sage advice. The late Jan-Willem van Bergen made the reconstructions and Nadine Broodryk van De Wetering assisted with the research and surveys. Funding was provided by the United States Mission to South Africa. Without the assistance of Dolf Harmse and Brenda Wingfield nothing would have transpired. Norman and Phil Appleton were essential to the work and the late Jan-Willem van Bergen made the reconstructions. Nadine Broodryk van De Wetering and Reynard Bartman assisted with the research and surveys. Some funding was provided by the United States Mission to South Africa. We thank the De Cuypere family for their kind assistance throughout.