Izincwadi ZoThando (Zulu Love Letters)
Hlengiwe Dube
Hlengiwe Dube, Incwadi yoThando Yakwa - Nongoma representing a Married Woman, 2024, glass beads, 200 x 55 cm
Self - sufficiency and empowerment within community - building extends beyond protests and activism, reaching deeply into cultural practices that convey love, respect, and communication. This notion is vividly illustrated in Hlengiwe Dube’s exploration of the Zulu “Love Letters” tradition, a unique form of self - expression through beadwork. In Zulu culture, beads are not merely decorative; they carry encoded messages of affection and courtship, allowing individuals, especially women, to convey feelings in ways that honour cultural customs around privacy and respect.
These beaded love letters reflect a deep sense of autonomy and personal
agency within the context of relationships, subtly reinforcing the importance of self - assertion even in matters of the heart.
Hlengiwe Dube, Izincwadi zoThando Zakwa-Maphumulo representing a Married Woman 2024, glass beads, 200 x 55 cm
Hlengiwe Dube, Izincwadi zoThando Zakwa-Maphumulo representing a Married Man, 2024, glass beads, 200 x 55 cm each.
Bead adornments are closely associated with courtship and marriage, and the period of maximum adornment spans the time of feminine fertility. This has led to a fascination surrounding the question of the love letter and to the popular misconception that every piece of beadwork is decipherable like written correspondence. However, the Zulu Love letter - incwadi yothando ucu or ubhala abuyise, meaning “one writes in order that th e other should reply” - carries a symbolic message through specific types of beaded necklaces.
Love among the Zulu people was a very private matter. A traditional woman would never openly say “yes, I love you,” as love was meant to be kept secret. Love messages were transmitted in the most confidential manner — through beads. Traditional Zulu women always respected their husbands, and if they wanted anything, they could write a message using beads to convey it.
The beadwork from KwaZulu - Natal differs from that of other regions. Without asking, one can often recognise where a person comes from by the style and colour coding of their beadwork. Each region has its own unique beadwork style, and the styles worn by people from the north differ from those in the south or east of the province.
The beadwork from KwaZulu - Natal differs from that of other regions. Without asking, one can often recognise where a person comes from by the style and colour coding of their beadwork. Each region has its own unique beadwork style, and the styles worn by people from the north differ from those in the south or east of the province.
Love Letter Glossary
Black: Kumnyama kimi akekho ongithandayo (it is dark on my side no one loves me)
Dark Blue: Ngiyohamba ngikhala ngibulawa inkumbulo (I will cry as I miss the one I love)
Cobalt Blue: Inhliziyo yami icwathile njengolwandle (I feel free and cool the same way the sea is)
Grass Green: Ngikhumbula sihleli sobabili emthunzini wesihlahla (I remember the day when we were sitting under the shade of the tree)
White: Ngiyakuthanda (I love you)
Red: Ngiyakuthanda (I am in love with you)
Lavender (Ijuba): Hamba juba lami bayokuchutha phambili (Go away my dove they will fix you up where you are flying to)
Dark Lapis (Inkankane): Liyajabula inkankane lona elikwazi ukundiza likhala lithi lithi ngahamba gahamba. (The ibis is lucky, because if it flies it can also sing. I am going away, I am going away, let us go)
Bottle Green (Inyongo yenkukhu): Bayokuchutha phambili njengenkukhu, noma ngabe wenzani. (They will pick you up in the same way a fowl’s feathers are plucked off, whatever you do and wherever you go)
Turquoise (Ifefe): Musa ukufefeza inzndaba ezingekho ngami (Do not repeat secrets unnecessarily and indiscriminately)
Yellow (Income): Muhle kimi noma ningathini ngiyamthanda (She/He is handsome enough for me. The girl is telling her friend that as far as she is concerned, that boy is good enough)
Orange (Iputukezi): Ngiyahamba ngiya kosebenza kwelabamhlophe kwandongaziyaduma khona ngizothola imali yokulobala othandiweyo wami ( I am going to work with whites in Johannesburg so that I can have money to pay dowry for someone I love)
Light Blue (Ubulwandle): Friendship
Hlengiwe Dube
South AfricaHlengiwe, (B. 1973) in New Hanover and raised in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, KwaZulu - Natal, learned beading from her grandmother, who initially thought she was too young to participate. Determined, Hlengiwe would add her own designs, resulting in humorous mishaps that eventually convinced her grandmother to let her bead independently. By twelve, she sold her first beaded “love letter” through the African Art Centre, marking the beginning of her journey as an artist.
Over the years, Hlengiwe has become dedicated to uplifting rural artists, traveling across KwaZulu-Natal to support and mentor others in preserving traditional beading techniques. Her Amagugu exhibition and book Zulu Beadwork – Talk With Beads reflect her commitment to cultural preservation and have drawn national and international recognition. With exhibitions worldwide and over 5,000 trainees since 1990, Hlengiwe continues to keep Nguni heritage alive, working with schools and communities to share her expertise in African beadwork.
