in which she will be a married woman and an old woman. Nonetheless, a special type of clothing is reserved to pregnant women. When a woman is pregnant she wears an ‘isibamba', a thick belt made from dried grass, covered with glass or plastic beadwork, to support her swelling stomach and its additional weight. Societal roles Men The Zulu people govern under a patriarchal society. Men are perceived as the head of the household and seen as authoritative figures. Zulu men identify themselves with great pride and dignity. They also compare themselves to qualities of powerful wild animals such as bulls, lions and elephants. The men contribute to society by acting as defenders, hunters, and lovers. The Zulu men are also in charge of herding the cattle, educating themselves on the lives of disciplined warriors, creating weapons, and learning the art of stick fighting. Stick fighting The art of stick fighting is a celebration of manhood for Zulu men. These men can begin to learn this fighting art form as young as the age of five years old. There are multiple reasons why men learn how to stick fight. For example, men may want to learn so that they can set right any wrongs or insults made towards them. Other reasons some men choose to learn are for sporting purposes, proving skills or manliness, and self-defense. The goal of stick fighting is to injure the opponent and sometimes even kill. There are rules of etiquette that must be abided by when stick fighting. The men can only fight a man the same age as them. One cannot hit the opponent when they lose their stick. Only sticks are allowed when fighting. Women The women in Zulu society often perform domestic chores such as cleaning, raising children, collecting water and firewood, laundry, tending to crops, cooking, and making clothes. Women can be considered as the sole income-earner of the household. A woman's stages of life lead up to the goal of marriage. As a woman approaches puberty, she is known as a tshitshi. A tshitshi reveals her singleness by wearing less clothing. Single women typically do not wear clothing to cover their head, breasts, legs and shoulders. Engaged women wear hairnets to show their marital status to society and married women cover themselves in clothing and headdresses. Also, women are taught to defer to men and treat them with great respect.