- Title
- People and the sea in Mpondoland: an analysis of culture, provisioning, and accessibility to ocean and coastal services
- Creator
- Laqwela, Bayanda
- Subject
- Pondo (African people) -- Research
- Subject
- Culture -- Research -- South Africa
- Subject
- Sociology
- Date Issued
- 2025-04
- Date
- 2025-04
- Type
- Doctoral theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/72278
- Identifier
- vital:79205
- Description
- South Africa can be characterised as a marine country due to its location at the interface of three oceans: The Atlantic Ocean, Southern Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Additionally, the country boasts the third-longest coastline in Africa, approximately 3,000 km long. This coastline stretches from the borders of Namibia, across four provinces, to the border with Mozambique. The ocean surrounding South Africa is not only home to extensive marine biodiversity, but also supports a range of diverse coastal cultures, with people interacting with the ocean and its coasts in various ways. Some individuals enjoy engaging in water sports along the Eastern Cape shorelines, while others view the ocean as a space to practice indigenous customs and as a residence for communities whose primary source of sustenance is fishing and other marine resources. The study sought to understand human-ocean interactions, the benefits the people of Mpondoland derive from these interactions, and the dynamics involved in accessing those benefits. To achieve its goal and objectives, the study employed a multi-sited ethnographic approach, with fieldwork conducted in three communities—two in Port St. Johns and one in Lusikisiki. Observations, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 41 participants. The key findings of the study are; i)There are cultural, religious, and spiritual convictions that play a significant role in how the people of Mpondoland interact with the ocean; ii) The study further found that the ocean plays an important economic provisioning role for the people of Mpondoland, providing food, spaces to hustle, and marine species used as indigenous medicine to treat animals, people, and the land/soil; iii) Finally, the study revealed that current government legislation limits access to sea resources and the coast, which is perceived as oppressive. The study further found that structural and relational factors, such as a lack of capital and technology to optimize access to marine resources, also contribute to the inaccessibility of sea/coastal services. The scholarly issues addressed by this research were informed by ongoing conversations within and outside of academic spaces, both globally and nationally. These discussions emphasise the need for scientific research on various cultural and indigenous peoples to document and understand their knowledge and behaviours in relation to the ocean. Such knowledge has the potential to contribute to sustainable solutions for the environmental problems faced by contemporary society.
- Description
- Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2025
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (264 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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NMU School of Governmental and Social Sciences
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | LAQWELA, BB.pdf | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |