Isaiah Shembe, Zulu Religious Leader

Do you want to understand yourself?Look how others behave;Do you want to understand others?Look in your own heart.Willst du dich selber erkennen,so sieh, wie die andern es treiben;Willst du die andern verstehn,blick in dein eigenes Herz.(Schiller)¹This paper deals with some problems encountered by scholars who attempt to study Primal Religions.²It focuses on an examination of the major scholarly literature and some traditions surrounding perceptions of the Zulu religious leader Isaiah Shembe.³It has nine sections: The Problem of Prejudice, Isaiah Shembe: Zulu Prophet or Black Christ?, The Judgement of Shembe's Successors, Literary Norms and Living Traditions, Studying Living Religions, The Role of Primal Experiences, The Importance of Mythology, Getting One's Hands Dirty, and Who was Isaiah Shembe?