Isaiah Shembe

Shembe
Born
Shembe Mudliwamafa Mloyiswa

(1865-04-03)April 3, 1865
Ntabamhlophe (Estcourt Area), South Africa
DiedMay 2, 1935(1935-05-02) (aged 70)
KwaZulu Natal
EducationNo Formal Education
OccupationLeader of the Nazareth Baptist Church
Known forFounder of the Nazareth Baptist church
TitleINkosi yaseKuphakameni
Term1910 - 1935
PredecessorNone
SuccessorJohannes Galilee Shembe
Partner(s)MaShabalala, MaSigasa, MaNgwenya, MaRadebe
ChildrenJohannes Galilee Shembe (1904-1976), Amos Kula Shembe (1906-1995)
Parent(s)Sitheya Hadebe and Mayekisa Khumalo

Isaiah Mloyiswa Mdliwamafa Shembe (c. 1865[1][2] – 2 May 1935), was a prophet and the founder of the Ibandla lamaNazaretha, South Africa, which was the largest African-initiated church in Africa during his lifetime.[3] Shembe started his religious career as an itinerant evangelist and faith healer in 1910. Within ten years, he had built up a large following in Natal with dozens of congregations across the province. To date, there is a rapid emergence of organized congregations and seminary events (held within Shembe temples) across the nine provinces of South Africa.

  1. ^ Absolom Vilakazi; Bongani Mthethwa; Mthembeni MpanzaJ (1986). Shembe: The Revitalization of African Society. Johannesburg: Skotaville. ISBN 978-0-94700-908-3.
  2. ^ John Langalibalele Dube (1936) uShembe (in Zulu) (Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter Publishers Pty Ltd)
  3. ^ University of Calgary