When and where was Credo Mutwa born, and what were the circumstances of his birth?

Credo Mutwa was born in Zululand on 21 July 1921. His father was a Christian builder and widower, his mother a young Zulu girl who practiced the ancient religion. Missionaries forbade their marriage unless she converted, and her father—a warrior who had fought the English—refused. His parents separated, and Mutwa was born illegitimate, considered a “child of shame.” He was taken by his father’s brother to live on the northern bank of the Umkumazi River, where he grew up.

How did Credo Mutwa heal from a traumatic illness, and what changed his beliefs?

In 1937, Mutwa was assaulted and sodomized by a gang of mineworkers, leaving him ill for a long time. White doctors could not help him. His uncle took him back to his maternal grandfather, a man his father despised as a “heathen.” Using traditional African knowledge, his grandfather healed him completely. This experience shattered Mutwa’s Catholic faith and made him question whether missionaries were wrong to call such people ungodly savages.

What does Mutwa say about the deliberate suppression of African identity by Western nations?

Mutwa argues that Western powers deliberately isolate and deny Africa’s identity to turn black people into spiritual and physical dependents. He compares it to isolating a sacrificial animal before slaughter. Wars, AIDS, and famine are tools of destruction. While hundreds of books celebrate Native American or Hindu knowledge, Africa’s ancient understanding of astronomy and the universe is ignored. He condemns the fraudulent separation of Egypt from the rest of Africa and the colonial division of Rwanda’s peoples.

Who were the Imanyukela, and what is the legendary copper city under the Mountains of the Moon?

According to an old Bahutu woman’s story, the Imanyukela were a wise race from the Orion constellation who lived on Earth for millennia. Before leaving, they built a copper city beneath the Ruwenzori Mountains (Mountains of the Moon), with a wall of silver around a crystal mountain of all knowledge. In 1975, a Tibetan monk, Akyong Rin Poche, confirmed the legend, telling Mutwa that a great Lama had led an expedition into Central Africa seeking that city—and never returned.

What did Africans believe about the cross before Christianity arrived?

Mutwa states the cross was known in Africa long before missionaries. The tau cross, Latin cross, and ankh (“knot of eternity”) were healing symbols. The ankh represented the one‑legged sun god Mlenze‑munye, who dies and is reborn. The perfect cross (Celtic cross) treated cancer. However, the X‑shaped cross (St. Andrew’s cross) was used for curses; a Xhosa word for madness literally means “you have a cross put upon you.” An artist is the first affected by any cross they create.

Who are the two‑toed Bantwana people, and what did Mutwa learn from them?

While travelling along the Zambezi River, Mutwa met the Bantwana (“the children”), a shy tribe whose members have only two large toes on each foot. They claim their remote ancestors were bird‑like beings who came from the stars and mated with earthly women. Mutwa initially fled in terror but later stayed three months learning from their elders. They told him that twenty‑four inhabited planets exist within our region of space.

What is Mutwa’s critique of South Africa’s tourism industry?

Mutwa argues that South Africa’s tourist industry is mostly white‑owned and underutilises the country’s potential. Tourists are shown wildlife only from a white scientific perspective, denied the rich African folklore. He unveils two sacred sites: Vulindaba (a wilderness trail with the healing Spring of Marutwani, as powerful as England’s Chalice Well) and Naledi farm beneath Sleeping Leopard Mountain, where traditional healers, a Garden of Mysteries, and African astronomy will reconnect visitors with living spiritual treasures.

How does Mutwa compare the AIDS pandemic to past diseases like tuberculosis and syphilis?

Mutwa insists that AIDS today mirrors the past horrors of TB and syphilis—once equally incurable, with expensive mercury pills and white farmers shooting sick black workers. The stigma, he says, was media‑created and must be undone. He recalls that orphaned children were once cherished, not abandoned, and that today’s cruelty stems from losing traditional religion. However, he points to a plant, Sutherlandia frutescens, known for millennia as a safe, effective medicine against national crises.

Why did Mutwa become a sangoma, and what was his life mission?

After his grandfather healed him, Mutwa was told his illness was a “sacred illness” requiring him to become a shaman. He underwent initiation under a sangoma named Myrna. His father and stepmother disowned him. He then travelled across Africa, learning from elders, and became obsessed with preserving the dying culture of his people. He wrote books and built living museums, believing that a race that does not know its true greatness will never obtain full freedom.

Credo Mutwa Biography - Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa

Q: What spiritual significance do the elephant, lion, and buffalo hold in African tradition?

The elephant is “the Forceful One,” a supernatural being whose ivory carvings hold divine protection. The lion is the Judge, not king; its dung and hairball are powerful charms, and living lions repel demonic extraterrestrials. The buffalo, named “the One Who Fertilizes the Land,” represents fertility. Its scrotum attracts money, and dreaming of being chased by a buffalo foretells defeat by a powerful enemy. These animals embody Africa’s ancient spiritual ecology.

These pages contain a detailed biography of Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa broken into several pages. Take your time to read through the comments, and feel free to join the discussions.

Vusumazulu Credo Mutwas was born in Zululand, Union of South Africa, in 1921. He died on 25 March 2020, at age 98 in Kuruman, Northern Cape, Republic of South Africa, where he lived with his 2nd wife, Virginia Mutwa.

Biography 1 – Introduction:

Born in Zululand on July 21, 1921, Credo Mutwa was the illegitimate child of a Christian builder and a Zulu traditionalist. Forbidden by missionaries to marry, his parents separated before his birth. Raised by his father’s family after being taken from his mother’s village, Mutwa was a visionary child whose artistic talents were suppressed. He did not attend school until age fourteen. After a traumatic assault by mineworkers in 1937, white doctors failed him, but his estranged grandfather, a “heathen” warrior, healed him. This miracle shattered Mutwa’s Christian faith and ignited his lifelong quest for Africa’s hidden truths.

Biography 2 – Africa My People:

Mutwa argues that Western nations and researchers deliberately isolate and deny Africa’s identity to enslave her spiritually and physically. He likens this to isolating a sacrificial animal before slaughter, citing wars, AIDS, and famine as tools of destruction. While hundreds of books celebrate Native American or Hindu knowledge, Africa’s profound understanding of astronomy, calendars, and the universe is ignored. He condemns the fraudulent separation of Egypt from the rest of Africa, the distortion of Khoi San and Pygmy cultures, and Belgium’s division of Rwanda’s peoples. Before Africa vanishes, Mutwa vows to correct these crimes, insisting that African tribes possessed cosmic knowledge equal to the Mayans or Incas.

Biography 3 – Mysteries of Africa:

Mutwa recalls an ancient story told by an old Bahutu woman: before humans, a wise race called the Imanyukela came from the Orion constellation. They lived on Earth for millennia, then built a copper city beneath the Mountains of the Moon, guarded by a wall of silver around a crystal mountain of all knowledge. Years later, in 1975, a Tibetan monk named Akyong Rin Poche arrived at Mutwa’s Soweto museum and asked about that same legendary city. The monk revealed that a great Lama had once led an expedition into Central Africa seeking it—and never returned. Mutwa was stunned by this confirmation. Today, Rwanda and Burundi’s genocides have destroyed such precious knowledge forever.

Biography 4 – The Origins of the Gods:

In Africa, Mutwa writes, the death of an elder is a supreme disaster, for their mind carries irreplaceable ancient knowledge. Across the continent, remarkably similar stories tell of sky gods—often reptilian or amphibian creatures with scaly skin, who came from the stars or sea in magical boats. These beings taught humans law, medicine, and cosmic mysteries. They could change shape, fly on rope swings, and carry their souls in crystal spheres. Known as Zishwezi, Asa, or Nommo (from Sirius), they taught reincarnation and sacrifice. The rainbow serpent and feathered serpent (Quetzalcoatl) appear in Africa too, among the Zulus as Yndlondlo, a feathered python associated with God the Son.

Biography 5 – Mysterious Africa the History of the Cross:

Mutwa reveals that the cross was known in Africa long before Christianity, used by healers for good or evil. The tau cross, the Latin cross, and the ankh—called the “knot of eternity”—were all healing symbols. The ankh represented the one-legged sun god Mlenze-munye, who dies and is reborn, which is why Africans respected missionaries as messengers of this god. The perfect cross (Celtic cross) treated cancer. But the X-shaped cross (St. Andrew’s cross) was used for curses; a Xhosa word for madness literally means “you have a cross put upon you.” An artist is the first affected by any cross they create.

Biography 6 – Children of Mars:

Travelling along the Zambezi River, Mutwa sought a village of wise people who claimed ancestry from beings from the red star Liitolafisi—Mars. Approaching the homestead, he saw a woman standing in the gateway. To his horror, she had only two large toes on each foot. He fled in terror, dropping his belongings, as women laughed. Ashamed, he returned to find many villagers with the same two-toed feet. They called themselves the Bantwana—“the children”—and said their ancestors were bird-like star beings who mated with earthly women. Mutwa stayed three months learning from their elders, who revealed that twenty-four inhabited planets exist within our region of space.

Biography 7 – More info on Credo Mutwa:

Mutwa argues that South Africa’s tourist industry is a shameful underutilization of potential, mostly white-owned, denying visitors the rich African folklore behind animals like the wildebeest and zebra. He unveils two sacred sites: Vulindaba, at the Magaliesberg Mountains, a wilderness trail with ancient mines and the healing Spring of Marutwani—unknown yet as powerful as England’s Chalice Well. Nearby lies Naledi farm, beneath Sleeping Leopard Mountain and Woman’s Breast Mountain, where traditional healers will tend visitors. There, a Garden of Mysteries with standing stones, African god statues, and traditional astronomy will reconnect people with Africa’s living spiritual treasures.

Biography 8 – Hope for South Africa:

Despite the darkness of AIDS devouring South Africa, Mutwa insists there is hope. He rejects denialism, having held dying victims in his arms. But he recalls that gonorrhoea, syphilis, and tuberculosis were once as terrifying and incurable as AIDS—and were eventually defeated. The greatest disease, he says, is in the mind; united, people can overcome. A faint green ray of hope lies in a plant called Sutherlandia frutescens, known for centuries to the Khoi and African peoples. In older days, this plant was a weapon against cancer, TB, and other diseases, and also a sedative and tonic. Africa’s untold story holds healing yet.

Biography 9 – AIDS in South Africa:

Quoting George Santayana, Mutwa warns that failing to learn from history repeats its mistakes. AIDS today mirrors the past horrors of tuberculosis and syphilis—once equally incurable, with mercury pills priced beyond reach, and white farmers shooting sick black workers. The stigma, media-driven, must be undone. Yet history also shows that orphaned children were once cherished, not abandoned. Today’s cruelty stems from losing traditional religion. But hope remains: God placed cures for every disease on Earth. One is Sutherlandia frutescens, known for millennia to the Khoi and Bantu as a final medicine against national crisis—safe, effective, and growing in the South African veld.

Biography 10 – Animal Prophesies:

Africans revere the elephant as “the Forceful One,” a supernatural being whose ivory carvings hold divine protection. The lion is not king but Judge, weeding out the weak; its dung and hairball are powerful charms, and living lions repel demonic extraterrestrials. The buffalo, named “the One Who Fertilizes the Land,” represents fertility and nutrition; its scrotum attracts money, and dreams of being chased by a buffalo foretell defeat by a powerful enemy. Mutwa recounts a taxi owner who lost a lawsuit after twice dreaming of a buffalo chasing him up a tree. These animals embody Africa’s ancient spiritual ecology.