SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

the main character is Zulu warrior type. He is dark skinned and lives in village. lives like a traditional African tribe would. The novel was fantasy and a trilogy if i remember correctly. One seena stands out in my memory where the beach where his tribe lives is made of diamonds instead of sand but to his people it is worthless because diamonds have no value to them.when he leaves on his adventure he takes a pouchful of the beach diamonds to remind him of home and finds out later that othera desire them and that they are valuable. The story was set in a fictional world although i do remember he crosses into our world very briefly and is almost hit by car before crossing back to his world. I think the book began with a dying soldier of some sort washing up on the beach of the village and thay starts the zulu type warrior on his quest. i think the title of book had the word darkness in it some how. from the 90 s i think although it could be from 80s. i read the book about 15 or more years ago.i remember loving it and want ro find it again.i hope the things mentioned can help someone identify it.

I believe that the character/books you're talking about is the Imaro series by Charles Saunders.

Imaro
Imaro 2 : The Quest for CushImaro: The Trail of Bohu
Imaro: The Naama War

Also look at Charles R. Saunders's Dousouye. It's about a Central African woman warrior.

This also sounds like a bit like Alan Dean Foster's book Carnivores of Light and Darkness .

Thanks for the memories of Imaro and Dossouye. Now I'll have to ferret at the backs of my bookshelves, see what I have, and possibly buy again. They were so unusual and just great for that.

I first met the author in a Sword & Sorceress or else Amazons! By his list of works, he has a fair few stories in Sword & Sorceresses. Ah, I know I have them.
Charles R. Saunders

Phil you are the man! Its Carnivores of Light and Darkness! My local library had a copy of it!!! I just picked it up and am reading now. I loved the book when i was 15, lets. see what i think of it now at 29.