Final answer:
The Zulu society during the earliest period of European contact was seen as polytheistic, with a distant supreme deity and secondary deities managing daily affairs. The Baka people's traditional religious beliefs are characterized as animistic, consistent with many ancient African religions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The picture of Zulu religion derived from the earliest period of recorded contact between Zulu and European cultures saw it as a society that was religiously polytheistic. In the traditional Zulu belief system, there was no single supreme deity actively involved in day-to-day affairs, with these instead being managed by various secondary deities responsible for specific aspects of life. An example of a distant supreme being in ancient African religions is the Ngai of the Kikuyu, regarded as the creator god, similar to other traditional African deities which typically comprised a pantheon.
In contrast, the Baka people's traditional religious beliefs are best described as animistic, recognizing the spiritual essence in natural objects. This is a characteristic commonly found in many ancient African religions where the physical world was intimately linked with the spiritual, and nature was infused with spiritual significance.