Abantu (or 'Bantu' as it was used by colonists) is the Zulu word for people. It is the plural of the word 'umuntu', meaning 'person', and is based on the stem '--ntu' plus the plural prefix 'aba', and in general parlance in our time refers to over 400 different tribes in Africa who share Bantu language and common customs. Although they are highly diversified and cover a vast part of southern Africa, the most common image we have, popularised by Rise of Nations, seems to be the kwaZulu peoples.