Glossary Term
Risk: High- Approved rendering
- uMoya oNgcwele
- Transliteration
- uMoya oNgcwele
- Rejected alternatives
- umoya (never use alone), idlozi (never use; an ancestral spirit), amadlozi (never use; ancestral spirits, plural)
Holy Spirit
uMoya oNgcwele is the settled Trinitarian term and must always be used in full. umoya alone is broadly ambiguous in everyday Zulu, covering wind, breath, mood, or any spirit; idlozi/amadlozi specifically denote ancestral spirits, an active and central category in traditional Zulu religious life. The Holy Spirit must never be conflated with, or described using vocabulary reserved for, ancestral spirits.