Ubuntu derives from a shared Bantu root meaning vital force in persons

Evidence

Ubuntu is an expression from the Zulu Bantu language that emphasizes the communal nature of African cultures. In the word Ubuntu we find the Bantu stem –ntu, which in many Bantu languages expresses the concept of vital force in persons. In Bantu languages, like Kikuyu and Tsonga, the intersubjective variants for Ubuntu are respectively umundu and vumuntu – all come from the Bantu root –ntu. While Ubuntu is usually presented as South African, its philosophy has always been the interpretive framework among all Bantu origins and has been adopted by many other African cultures (Rwelamila et al., 1999; Nansubuga & Munene, 2020). — Frans Dokman, Beyond Bantu Philosophy_…, 823

Categorization

• DEFINE: Traces Ubuntu’s etymology to the Bantu stem -ntu and connects it directly to the vital force concept central to Tempels.
• XREF: Connects to Tempels’ vital force ontology from earlier chapters — the -ntu root is the same term as Tempels’ analysis of Bantu ontology.