WATCH | 'We are Zulus': Four-year-old TikTok sensation schools SA

Four-year-old Eva Grace Philip has become a TikTok sensation by identifying as a proud Zulu.

She speaks isiZulu in videos posted by her mother and insists she cannot be an Indian as she is not from India. She is of Indian descent. 

Her posts have been viewed more than 1.8-million times and she confidently stands by her “We are Zulus” identity.

Her mother, Chernell Philip, said on TikTok her child doesn’t know race and therefore says she is Zulu because she lives in KwaZulu-Natal, the kingdom of the Zulu.

“As you can see in our video it was such a spontaneous conversation. We are very intentional about not referring to people by their race. So I don’t think it’s an argument about race but just about being (South) African. She is adamant that all Indian people in SA are not Indian. We are all Zulu.

“And I have no intention of changing that now. Though she knows about our culture, I’m very content with my children learning and loving everything about the land we have lived in for many generations,” Philip told TimesLIVE on Tuesday.

She said Eva from Queensburgh in Durban initially started “talking” isiZulu by making up words.

“I took isiZulu modules at university and try my best to teach her everything I know. We have also asked our nanny to speak to our kids in isiZulu to help them learn the language. She loves the language. She’s slightly obsessed with it, which is why she learns it so quickly. Our one-year-old also understands isiZulu,” said Philip.

Eva is over the moon to be recognised by people since her videos started trending.

“She’s actually quite a shy child in public though. She was most excited that her teachers and friends at school have seen her videos and read articles written about her.

“Eva is a four-year-old. She loves learning. Loves watching the news. During the recent floods she became a news anchor and reported on the local flooding sites in the area. She’s not a morning person so she doesn’t like waking up for school. But she loves school, her teacher and her friends. She loves to sing. She’s a big personality but takes a long time to warm up to her audience,” said Philip.

Her mother hits back at critics who lambasted her identity after riots in Durban which took on a racial bias, by posting more content of the little girl doing what she loves — speaking isiZulu.

“It’s easy to hate something you don’t understand and I don’t expect everyone to understand or love the idea. But it won’t deter me from allowing her to find her own path. There’s so many people that box up kids and wonder why there’s so much stress and anxiety in adults. Some kids want to be Spider-Man and others, mermaids. We don’t condemn those kids, because they are kids.

“They are innocent and have a magical understanding of the world. I don’t respond or feel the need to engage in an argument with critics because it’s neither going to change my parenting style nor my child's opinion of who she is. Anyway, there’s more love and positivity than hate. That’s what we will focus on,” said Philip.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.