The word emanates from the IsiZulu ideophone ‘lungu’ with an equivalent literal meaning ‘peep’ in English. His Highness iSilo uShaka kaSenzangakhona was training his regiments along and in the sea around the area now known as Maydon Wharf. He was training his regiments to emulate the movement of the sea waves; and attacking the swelling ones. The swelling waves were ‘likened’ with the enemy that would emerge from the sea. The ‘emergence’ of the enemy was seen as that of ‘peepping’ out of the sea. His Highness had a vision that the ‘white’ people would ‘emerge’ from the sea. They ‘whites’ arrived on ships. The analogy was then drawn from there that ‘whites peep’ from the sea hence the ‘peeppers’ abelungu [plural of umlungu]. The word started as a collective ‘abelungu’ then to individualistic ‘umlungu’ the ‘peepper’ . Simply said ‘umlungu’ is a ‘peepper’ hence ‘a white person’ regardless of nationality or race.

His Highness iSilo uShaka also referred to the ‘peeppers’ as ‘amankengana’ literally meaning the ‘cunny vagrants’ and promised to keep vigil on them hence KwaKhangela Amankengane which is mispelled as Congella for Khangela. He kept vigil at the top of the hill where Howard College is now situated (UKZN-HC). He kept vigil for the ‘peeppers’ [abelungu] that would emerge from the sea.