umvelinqangi, noun

/ʊmˌveliˈnǂaŋɡi/
Forms:
mvelangqangi, mvelingqangiShow more Also mvelangqangi, mvelingqangi, umvelingqangi, umvelinqange, umvel’nqanki, and with initial or medial capital.
Origin:
IsiXhosa, isiZuluShow more IsiXhosa and isiZulu, firstborn, the first to appear, the creator, from vela appear, come forth + -qangi nominal stem indicating priority.
The original being, the first to appear; used among isiXhosa- and isiZulu-speakers as a praise-name or term of address for the traditional supreme being and for the Christian God. Cf. Tixo, Unkulunkulu.
1855 J.W. Colenso Ten Weeks in Natal 59The true words for the Deity in the Kafir language — at least in all this part of Africa — are umKulunkulu, literally, the Great-Great One = The Almighty, and umVelinqange — literally, the First Comer-Out = The First Essence, or rather, Existence.
1855 J.W. Colenso Ten Weeks in Natal 238The savage tribes..appeared..to attach very just notions to the names umKulunkulu and umVelinqange.
1925 D. Kidd Essential Kafir 101Umvelinqangi, whose name is said to mean ‘One who made his appearance,’ is also said to be the same as Umkulunkulu.
1974 C.T. Binns Warrior People 76The word uMvelinqangi was used by Shaka himself...Its literal meaning is The First Appearer, The First to Emerge, The First to Exist, hence The Creator. It is usually associated with the word uNkulunkulu which signifies The First Ancestor or The Great Father of all the Spirits of the Zulu Ancestors.
1974 C.T. Binns Warrior People 77The Zulus regarded uNkulunkulu as a man but, though he derives his origin from uMvelinqangi, the attributes of a deity are never ascribed to him.
1978 A. Elliott Sons of Zulu 97Mvelinqangi whose name literally means ‘the-one-who-emerged-first’. He is the Creator of all things and the source of all blessings such as sunshine and rain and children.
1979 M. Matshoba Call Me Not a Man 170The people have placed greater faith in witchcraft than in uMvelinqangi, amathongo and themselves to reverse the conquest.
1987 M. Poland Train to Doringbult 28The Lord of the Sky, Mvelangqangi, has his herds, way above.
The original being, the first to appear; used among isiXhosa- and isiZulu-speakers as a praise-name or term of address for the traditional supreme being and for the Christian God.
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18551987

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umtwana, nounn.umvubo, nounn.
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