Zulu mythology contains numerous deities, commonly associated with animals or general classes of natural phenomena. Unkulunkulu is the highest God and is the creator of humanity. Unkulunkulu ("the greatest one") was created in Uhlanga , a huge swamp of reeds, before he came to Earth. Unkulunkulu is sometimes conflated with the Sky Father Umvelinqangi (meaning "He who was in the very beginning"), god of thunder and earthquakes.