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An interpretive phenomenological analysis of the funerary ritual crises caused by COVID-19 restrictions, and the pursuit of spirituality as a coping strategy amongst amaZulu living in the Midlands area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

  • Authors: Sibisi, Ntokozo Penelope
  • Date: 2023-10-13
  • Subjects: Uncatalogued
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431498 , vital:72780
  • Description: In 2020, South Africa faced a significant challenge as it grappled with approximately 500,000 COVID-19 infections, which accounted for over half of all reported cases across Africa. Living through a global pandemic such as COVID-19 had a dramatic and transformative impact on the arena of death for many South Africans, not only because of the number of deaths that have occurred globally due to COVID-19, but also how the bereaved living honour the dead. This study delves into a previously underreported facet of the pandemic's impact, focusing on the experiences of bereaved AmaZulu people who encountered profound disruptions in funerary rituals due to COVID-19 restrictions. The research aims to shed light on how spirituality may mitigate the challenges posed by these ritual constraints, drawing parallels with other ethnographies which have highlighted the importance of spirituality among the AmaZulu people of the Midlands in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This study employed a mixed method approach in generating quantitative and qualitative data. Data from 101 participants who responded to an online questionnaire were analysed using STATA. Additionally, ethnographic data with 9 participants, purposively sampled from the larger sample, was analysed using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, which ensured that their lived experiences of bereavement took centre stage. The findings of this study illuminate the regret experienced by participants who adapted to [government] bureaucratically-imposed funerals and medical care, revealing potential implications for future pandemic responses. This research underscores the significance of customary funerary rituals, urging compassionate public health responses that acknowledge their role amid mass deaths. It also highlights the interplay between spirituality, religion, and rituals, showcasing how these elements form an intricate web in the AmaZulu community. This study contributes to the broader understanding of death and COVID-19 in South Africa, where racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths have come to the forefront. It addresses the enduring trauma within Black communities and explores how the absence of funerary rituals can strain the psychological, emotional, and spiritual fabric of the bereaved. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Athropology, 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-10-13

Lifting the veil on the "Untouchable": a study of Muslims living with HIV in Durban, South Africa

  • Authors: Shaik, Shabnam
  • Date: 2023-10-13
  • Subjects: AIDS (Disease) Religious aspects Islam , HIV infections Religious aspects Islam , AIDS (Disease) (Islamic law) South Africa , Muslims South Africa Durban , Traditional medicine South Africa , Integrative medicine
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/432518 , vital:72877 , DOI 10.21504/10962/432519
  • Description: HIV and AIDS has been prominently studied, by both biomedical and social scientists, since the 1980s. Despite the extensive research that has emerged globally, Muslims have largely been absent in much of the discourse on HIV and AIDS. While the disease is said to be under control in many parts of the world, hidden populations pose a risk to increase in prevalence. Muslims living with HIV are one such hidden population and are only recently gaining representation in studies on HIV and AIDS. Quantitative studies reflect a sharp increase in HIV prevalence in countries with significant Muslim populations, however, more in-depth qualitative studies are needed to garner an understanding of the nature of the disease among Muslims. Muslims have a long history in South Africa, beginning with indentured slavery in Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) in 1860. There are no specific HIV and AIDS prevention campaigns directed at Muslims in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Muslims in Durban do not regard HIV is a significant concern for them due to religious doctrine, which they believe if followed will keep them safe from infection. My findings suggest that there is cause for concern over the spread of HIV and AIDS amongst Muslims in Durban. The hidden nature of the disease in the Muslim community has created challenges to curbing the spread of the disease due to the concealment of its presence and the marginalisation of Muslims living with HIV and AIDS. This study conceptualises the HIV and AIDS lived experience amongst Muslims in Durban, South Africa, and uncovers the social and cultural context of the disease. The qualitative study used life histories with ten Muslims living with HIV and semi-structured and unstructured interviews with ten caregivers, five health care professionals and two religious leaders to gain a detailed understanding of the lived experiences of Muslims in Durban. Through the lenses of Purity and Danger, Stigma and Spoilt Identity, and Social Death, this study found that religion [Islam] and its strong moral code influences understandings and perceptions of HIV and AIDS which, in turn affects diagnosis, treatment, care, social identity, and the social well-being of Muslims living with HIV who face stigma, discrimination, shame, and ostracisation from their own community. This study highlights the gaps in the literature on Muslims living with HIV and by providing insight into the lives of participants, the study draws attention to the plight of Muslims living with HIV and AIDS (MLWHIV) and encourages more qualitative studies to be conducted so that a multifaceted understanding of Muslims living with HIV can be created. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-10-13

Izit? Hoe lyk hulle? Kom ons ǂXoa – A South African Khoe-San narrative

  • Authors: Gabie, Sharon
  • Date: 2023-03-30
  • Subjects: San (African people) , Khoikhoi (African people) , Identity politics , Self-perception , Convention for a Democratic South Africa , Free, prior, and informed consent (Indigenous rights) , Epistemic injustice
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/409790 , vital:70630 , DOI 10.21504/10962/409790
  • Description: The foundation of the South African narrative is framed by identity politics; a politics instituted at the intersection of race and class to exclude all people considered non-White concerning the socioeconomic and political landscape of the country. The preamble of the Freedom Charter signed in 1955 declared that the country belongs to all who live in it: Black and White people. The dominant constructivist narratives of addressing the racial dichotomy obliterate the injustice suffered by the Khoe-San people whose identity was overshadowed under the homogeneous term, Coloured people. Following the first democratic elections, at the negotiations of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) in 1996, Khoe-San people were once again excluded and played no significant role in deciding the future of the new South Africa. The epistemic injustice suffered by the Khoe-San people, the loss of land, language, and cultural heritage were glanced over in the new democratic dispensation. In this thesis, I hone into the identity politics and identity formation of the Khoe-San people, after 1994. The self-identifying Khoe-San people became visible to the democratic state through various forms of activism and networking across provinces foregrounding the concept of indigeneity to address issues of exclusion and marginalisation. The phenomenon of indigeneity, bestowed on Khoe-San people by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) created a path for the Khoe-San people to be in conversation with state organs to address their plight of the loss of land linked to identity, language, culture, heritage, and other social ills experienced in their communities. The thesis illustrates the vagueness of Coloured identity under the Apartheid state, and the preconceived narrative that Coloured people were a privileged group; precludes and obliterates the epistemic injustice suffered by Khoe-San people. The transnational conceptualisation and global politics of indigenous peoples; the particularity of indigeneity in relation to First Nation Status, in the South African context, destabilises identity politics and the four-tier racial categorisation system used by the Apartheid state carried through by the national government under democracy. The conceptualisation of this global discourse on indigeneity brought a new consciousness in sections of the Coloured community where self-identifying Khoe-San people question their place in the democratic dispensation. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2023
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  • Date Issued: 2023-03-30

An ethnomedical study of the role and impact of cannabidiol (CBD) treatment of women living with endometriosis and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

  • Authors: Norman, Paige Sarah
  • Date: 2022-10-14
  • Subjects: Polycystic ovary syndrome Alternative treatment , Endometriosis Alternative treatment , Cannabidiol , Cannabis , Pain management , Traditional medicine , Feminist anthropology , Women's health services
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408652 , vital:70513
  • Description: Over the last few years, there has been a notable increase in popularity in the use of cannabidiol (CBD) as a form of alternative medicinal treatment for various illnesses. CBD, a by-product of the cannabis plant, is an isolate and does not contain the psychoactive agent, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Endometriosis and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) are chronic reproductive health sicknesses that are increasingly experienced by women. In the absence of cures, biomedical treatment for these diseases aim to manage symptoms, for example; heavy bleeding, heightened levels of pain, and insomnia. CBD offers an alternative to women who feel that biomedical interventions are no longer able to maintain their health and well-being. CBD positions itself as a natural remedy claiming to be safe and effective. This research study, mainly through qualitative data collection, focused on experiences of Zimbabwean and South African women living with endometriosis and/ or PCOS, who have turned to CBD to manage their symptoms. The importance of this study was to position itself within patients’ lived experiences. The research study found that CBD indeed has numerous benefits, including pain management, alleviating stress, and anxiety. Through the emergent themes from the data, it became clear that women are marginalised and treated unequally in the biomedical healthcare sphere. Feminist Anthropology and Structural Violence was applied to analyse the data collected to explore the patriarchal nature of the biomedical healthcare system and the experiences that women have, which has led them to turn to alternative treatments. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-10-14

Big T’s and small T’s: an explorative study on trauma narratives in South Africa

  • Authors: Naidoo, Rinisa
  • Date: 2022-10-14
  • Subjects: Psychic trauma , Anthropology , Mental health South Africa , Apartheid South Africa Personal narratives , Culture Psychological aspects
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408641 , vital:70512
  • Description: The 21st century has seen a dramatic increase in chronic non-infectious diseases, especially in the area of mental health. Medical anthropologists have seen a rise in the development of mental illnesses in both developed and developing nations. There is, however, little research conducted on trauma narratives that do not stem from political violence from an anthropological lens. South Africa has various understandings of trauma depending on the cultural context and it is crucial to examine these narratives as this provides vital information of the daily lived experiences of trauma survivors. Key themes draw on issues of trauma denialism, communicating distress, traumatic symptoms and the development of mental illnesses as a result of traumatic exposure. The data was analysed through Goffman’s (1959) Presentation of Self in Everyday Life illustrating various ways how survivors present themselves depending on the particular audience. This research employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods to gather a holistic understanding of trauma survivors. With the use of semi-structured interviews of Stressful Life Events Questionnaire coupled with observations of online support groups for trauma survivors, this research has provided rich ethnographic evidence of the impact that culture has on trauma narratives illustrating a clear normalcy of trauma present in South Africa. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-10-14

Cyborg bodies and the search for self: an ethnographic exploration of supportive technologies as tools to mitigate daily distresses

  • Authors: Kibane, Lebogang Zandile
  • Date: 2022-10-14
  • Subjects: Posthuman , Posthumanism , Anthropology , m-health , Wireless communication systems in medical care , Cyber-ethnography , Distress (Psychology)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408625 , vital:70510
  • Description: This dissertation explores the ways in which individuals embody cyborg realities through engaging with technological aids. It examines how these interactions have the potential to bring to light new ways of thinking about and experiencing daily distresses. Pertinent human technology interaction was observed through an overarching cyborg lens, embedded in posthumanist thought. The study began with a “human as cyborg” ontology that sought to impress upon readers the intimacy with which technology is entangled in our lives. It aimed to call to attention the use of the cyborg myth as it is concerned with “transgressed boundaries, potent fusions, and dangerous possibilities” (Haraway, 1985:7). The study followed a cyber ethnographic strategy, where cyber ethnography refers to a virtual research method that observes social and cultural phenomena that are mediated by online interactions. Data was collected over a period of eight months, beginning in December 2020 and ending in July 2021. It was collected through the following means: a short self-administered online questionnaire, computer mediated in-depth interviews, and group interviews. I also kept a journal on reflections of my own use of these supportive technologies. After analysing the results of in-depth interviews with nine primary participants and twenty-six online questionnaires, the following key themes were brought to light: Firstly, the tethered self, or cyborg self, engages in evolved acts of ‘care of the self’ mitigated through supportive technology use. Secondly, access to new technologies brings about new ways of performing the self. Thirdly, engagement with supportive technologies provides opportunity for aiding distress in the way of encouraging self-reflective and self-interrogation behaviours as seen in mobile health app use. This constant self-interrogation behaviour in turn develops a kind of technological dependency, characterized by escapism and evolved methods of self- soothing. Lastly, exploring the use of technology to aid distress revealed that technologies generate equal opportunities for improved well-being, as they do for a decreased sense of connectedness and security. The research demonstrates that supportive technology use is entangled in the fabric of our everyday lives. Through it we fashion our identities, alleviate distress, evade distress, and discover new causes of distress. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-10-14

Individual decision-making and cooperation in freshwater fisheries management at the Somme River, northern France

  • Authors: Khumalo, Brian
  • Date: 2022-04-07
  • Subjects: Fishery management France Somme River , Fisheries France Somme River , Human ecology France Somme River , Traditional ecological knowledge France Somme River , Decision making , Experimental economics , Recreation France Somme River
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294561 , vital:57233
  • Description: Are altruistic individuals more likely to cooperate when exploiting common resources? This research study asks whether or not rates of human altruistic behaviour expressed by individual recreational fishers in interpersonal contexts at the Somme River, Amiens mirror those rates of altruism expressed in collective contexts concerning local fisheries resources. In a natural resources context, altruism manifests as a willingness by fishers to incur personal cost for common-pool resource benefit. Accordingly, it is understood that altruistic behaviour reflected collectively expresses itself as cooperation. The research study takes place in Northern France with the stated objectives to: 1) observe individual fishers’ altruistic propensities in interpersonal contexts involving other fishers, 2) observe individual rates of altruistic behaviour in collective contexts involving common fisheries resources and compare with those expressed interpersonally, and 3) investigate whether or not a local (informal) management system existed in the town of Amiens to better understand if informal tenure of water space influences altruistic behaviour or not. The research design consists of two components, one quantitative and one qualitative. The former employs two economic games; a Dictators Games (DG) and a Public Good Game (PGG) in service of the first and second research objectives, and the latter employs cognitive mapping and free-listing exercises in service of the third. Here economic games stand as proxies for real-world situations involving individual (DG) and collective (PGG) decision-making whereas the exercises seek to uncover local ecological knowledge (LEK). The results found that while individual recreational fishers demonstrated lower rates of interpersonal altruism overall, in a collective setting involving local fisheries resources the rate was higher, implying a greater willingness to incur personal cost. Ecological knowledge was high among experienced fishers, yet no knowledge pertaining to parallel management and or informal rules of exclusion or resource subtraction were observed, suggesting an informal management system did not exist. The study additionally documents freshwater biodiversity, providing an index of fish species present in the river collected from the free-listing exercises, categorized into native and non-native as the latter can negatively affect trophic systems and ecosystem processes. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2022
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  • Date Issued: 2022-04-07

The well-being implications of Urban Natures among Black Urban Dwellers in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Walsh, Lindsey Sara
  • Date: 2021-10-29
  • Subjects: Apartheid South Africa Eastern Cape , Decolonization South Africa Eastern Cape , Urban Black people South Africa Eastern Cape , Quality of life South Africa Eastern Cape , Well-being South Africa Eastern Cape , Rural-urban migration South Africa Eastern Cape , Urban ecology (Sociology) South Africa Eastern Cape , Land use, Urban South Africa Eastern Cape , City and town life South Africa Eastern Cape , Sociology, Urban South Africa Eastern Cape , Nature Social aspects South Africa Eastern Cape
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192966 , vital:45285
  • Description: Throughout the world, urbanisation is at an all-time high. It is estimated that two-thirds of the global population will be living in urban centres by 2030. The highest urban growth rates are currently found in sub -Saharan Africa, however, approximately 70% of urban residents in Sub-Saharan Africa reside in informal settlements. Such processes have resulted in reduced areas of natural space and biodiversity. While the benefits of exposure to and experiences of nature to human well-being and quality of life are increasingly being acknowledged, these links are largely understood through a western lens, where nature and culture are dichotomised. The implications of this are that the types of nature(s) that are made available in urban areas are designed to provide opportunities for urban residents to only engage in recreational and relaxation activities within such places. However, among indigenous and non-westernised communities, culture is a dynamic and holistic entity, deeply rooted in the constructions of nature. Very few studies from the global south have entered this dialogue. In response, this study, conducted amongst Xhosa speaking urban residents living in two medium-sized towns, was undertaken to explore the connections and meanings they attributed to nature(s) and how their engagement in such places contributed to their sense of well-being. This study found that strong connections and meanings to nature still exist. Many of these relate to personal experiences which are given meaning through local understandings and associations which are deeply embedded within cultural practices and rituals. Engagement and or memories of such are strongly associated with a sense of well-being often only experienced in rural areas. In such contexts, well-being is also understood as a holistic concept that is underpinned by these nature-culture connections. Within an urban context, the benefits of such connections are hindered by the types of nature(s) found in these areas as well as high levels of crime and the poor management of such places. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Anthropology, 2021
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  • Date Issued: 2021-10-29

Changes and continuities over time in the cultural significance of the Nyaminyami water spirit among the BaTonga people of northwestern Zimbabwe

  • Authors: Matanzima, Joshua
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Water spirits -- Zimbabwe , Tsonga (African people) -- Zimbabwe , Tsonga (African people) -- Zimbabwe -- Religion , Tsonga (African people) -- Zimbabwe -- Rites and ceremonies , Tsonga (African people) -- Zimbabwe -- Social life and customs , Mythology, Tsonga , Mythology, Zimbabwean , Nyaminyami (Spirit)
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/94189 , vital:31015
  • Description: Research attests that beliefs in water spirits are an integral part of cultures of many indigenous communities across the globe. These water spirits play significant political, religious and socio-economic roles for the people concerned. However, the functions of water spirits are not constant, but change over time, especially when the people believing in water spirits undergo drastic socio- economic processes of change. It is in this context that this thesis traces the cultural significance over time, of the Nyaminyami water spirit, among some BaTonga people, living in the immediate vicinity of the Kariba gorge area, in north-western Zimbabwe. While previous studies document the existence of beliefs in Nyaminyami, none of these has systematically traced the historical significance of Nyaminyami, in terms of changes and continuities over time. Thus, this thesis makes a valuable contribution to knowledge with regards to the history and religion of the BaTonga people. The thesis argues that Nyaminyami‘s cultural significance or functions evolved over time, due to numerous socio- economic and political processes of change. The major changes that significantly influenced the practices relating to Nyaminyami include colonialism, Kariba dam construction and resettlement, the migration after resettlement in the 1960s and 1970s, the independence of Zimbabwe, and the alienation of the Kariba waterscape from the BaTonga. To be able to arrive at specific findings and conclusions, the thesis is underpinned by theories about resettlement, approaches to water divinities, and theories of religion and social change. The thesis has five ethnographic chapters that focus on specific time periods, illustrating the major socio- economic changes of each epoch, and showing how these changes impacted upon practices and beliefs relating to Nyaminyami. The thesis also documents how Nyaminyami beliefs are variedly distributed along different social variables that include gender, age, income and geographical location. In order to achieve the findings presented, the thesis utilized ethnographic evidence obtained from semi- structured interviews, participant observation, anthropology of extraordinary experience, document review and archival research.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Plants, people, and place: complex, mutualistic, and co-evolving global patterns through time

  • Authors: Van Wijk, Yvette Ethné
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Ethnobotany -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Khoisan (African people) -- Ethnobotany , Human-plant relationships -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Plants -- Classification -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Plant remains (Archaeology) -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Ethnoscience -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Regression analysis
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76575 , vital:30609
  • Description: My thesis studies and analyses the suite of distinctive plant taxa which persist in small patches of vegetation growing in close association with archaeological habitation sites in the southern Cape, South Africa. The unexpected correlation and overlap between botanical taxa collected at 75 site complexes, and ethnobotanical data collected in collaboration with modern Khoi-San communities in the same area, is explored and interrogated. Although sparse, reports of the same suite of taxa recovered from archaeological excavations in the Cape provinces provides depth of time to the study, linking the past to the present. The three-way correlation of a suite of plants closely associated with humans and habitation sites through time, allows for triangulation of the data in order to validate and cross verify the results using more than one frame of reference. Both the plants and the knowledge about their uses have persisted in spite of historical attrition, and alienation of land and language, suffered by the Khoi-San over the past 300 years. Drawing on a large body of primary and secondary data, and using an interdisciplinary, abductive and pragmatic mixed methods approach, a pattern can be traced throughout Africa and globally. Regression analysis strongly indicates that the most ubiquitous taxa were selected for a purpose and are not randomly present in association with humans. Botanical, anthropological, and archaeological studies seldom focus on the inter-connectedness of people and plants at the sites they inhabited. Very little research into modern vegetation in close association with the sites has been undertaken, and vegetation mapping has not captured the occurrence of these site-specific small vegetation patches recorded during my surveys. The topographically, geologically, and vegetatively complex and varied southern Cape, and greater Cape area, is extremely rich in archaeological sites and history. This study suggests that the value of site-specific plant taxa to humans throughout the aeons of pre-agricultural history, persists into the present. Due to tolerance of a broad range of climatic and environmental variables, there is value in the study of these ancient and neglected useful plants in the face of climate change. That this vegetation is so closely associated with archaeological sites of cultural and historic importance confers an urgency to recognising the existence and significance of the distinctive and possibly anthropogenic vegetation surrounding the sites.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

The impact of policies on development-induced resettlement processes and outcomes: a Lesotho-India comparative study

  • Authors: Tsietsi, Teboho Priscilla Mosuoe
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Forced migration -- Lesotho , Forced migration -- India , Dams -- Social aspects -- Lesotho , Dams -- Social aspects -- India , Irrigation projects -- Economic aspects -- Lesotho , Irrigation projects -- Economic aspects -- India , Land settlement -- Government policy -- Lesotho , Land settlement -- Government policy -- India
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72307 , vital:30032
  • Description: The practice of Development-Induced Displacement and Resettlement (DIDR), historically, has often led to negative consequences for those affected by development projects, including but not limited to, the construction of large dams. Although DIDR arises from the need to provide goods and services that characterise development, it often leaves those who are forced to give up their assets, resources, and long standing social networks in dire socio-economic conditions as a result of resettlement. In many such cases, the provision for losses suffered by those primarily affected is often insufficient, leading to further losses experienced as a result of the complete life change experienced by those affected by resettlement. Research has shown that the insufficiency of such provisions for losses is attributable to not only the value of the provision itself, but also the manner in which resettlement processes are implemented. While early on, researchers believed that the development of policies would have a significant, positive impact on the practice of resettlement and its outcomes, evidence would later show that the development of policies alone is not a panacea for all challenges associated with forced resettlement. Further research revealed that resettlement is characterised by inherent and active complexities which are often at play, and may impede effective implementation. Hence, while the development of policies is essential, both the development and implementation of policies must be undertaken in a manner that seeks to actively address the inherent complexities of resettlement. This thesis aims to explore the implementation of resettlement policies in two case studies, where in one case, resettlement was informed by national policy, and in the other, by policies developed by a parastatal tasked with the responsibility of executing resettlement. The study makes a comparative analysis between the two cases, and explores the factors at play in the implementation of resettlement policies – whether such factors serve to facilitate or impede effective implementation – as well as the nature of the outcomes on the ground. As an overarching goal, the research aims to provide a basis upon which a framework for the development of a national level policy of resettlement may be developed. In this regard, the thesis undertakes a comparison of the Indian resettlement case with the Lesotho case. The former, in addition to having developed a resettlement policy at the national level, has a long history of experience in forced resettlement and displacement, from which invaluable lessons have been learned. The latter, on the other hand, has no resettlement policy at the national level, although the country has also experienced forced resettlement dating back to nearly three decades ago. Although India and Lesotho have distinct social, cultural, economic and demographic characteristics, research has shown that the complexities of forced resettlement, and their outcomes on affected people, are largely applicable across the different contexts. Hence, certain dimensions and lessons can be transferable from the Indian case to the Lesotho case, and vice versa. However, for the purpose of this thesis, the focus is on providing a basis for national policy development in Lesotho, in light of Indian policies and practice. The empirical basis of the thesis is an ethnographic study undertaken in relation to the Chandil Dam resettlement case in Jharkhand, India and the Mohale Dam resettlement case in Maseru, Lesotho. The thesis engaged both qualitative and quantitative research methods, as well as four, complementary theoretical tools that analyse the effects of forced resettlement on affected people. The thesis reveals that the negative consequences of forced resettlement resulting from its inherent complexities continue to manifest with concerning effects on the lives of those affected. It shows that the implementation of policies is a complex process that requires collaborative effort from a wide range of stakeholders in a given context. National policies of resettlement are, thus, instrumental in this regard, as they can create an enabling environment for the facilitation of collaborative efforts towards sustainable livelihood re-establishment for those who involuntarily suffer losses to resettlement.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

Where dreams become reality: professionalism in flight training in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Allison, Martin
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Professional socialization , Flight training -- South Africa , Flight schools -- South Africa -- Case studies , Air pilots -- Training of -- South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/95376 , vital:31150
  • Description: This study explores the construction of the identity of professional pilots through a case study of a flying school in South Africa. Here, a 15-20-month period of intensive study and training of students, fresh from school or college, leads in most cases to the attainment of a Commercial or Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence. The construction of identity is a continuous process and a lifelong project and hence this study can only reflect upon the factors influencing the early stages of a pilot’s career, until the point where the licenced Pilot leaves the Air School and enters full time employment with a commercial undertaking, but it is argued that this is a crucial step in the formation of professional identity, habitus in Bourdieu’s terms. The culture of the air School reflects the military background of the founders of the school and the staff employed in senior positions. The school, which is residential, observes a strict regime of Ground School and Practical Flying Training and a high standard of performance and personal conduct is demanded, both during training and in off duty hours and excessive consumption of alcohol and smoking are discouraged, and drug use absolutely taboo. Progress with training at the school is closely monitored and a disciplined environment maintained by surveillance cameras, house monitors and security guards; in Foucauldian terms, a modern version of the Panopticon, but somewhat less than Goffman’s Total Institution. It was found that the construction of a flying identity for most of the students entering the air school commenced in childhood or early adulthood, through the influence of friends and relatives and they enter the school with the firm intention of becoming Professional pilots. Full participation of the author in the Ground School revealed how professionalization is implemented through the discipline and rigor of the training methods employed. Through mastery of a complex body of theoretical knowledge in the Ground School and the practical skill of learning to fly in a one-on-one relationship with an instructor, the students gain confidence and efficacy which contributes to their self-respect and maturity. The international reputation of the school, confers prestige upon its graduates and they benefit from membership of a profession which commands respect and a high level of income. In large measure, the thesis shows, the success of the School is a function of the founders’ ‘invention of tradition’ focusing on the wartime training school that existed on the site and the many echoes of those times in the (re)construction of its buildings and facilities, continuing in the approach of the multinational that now owns the School.
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  • Date Issued: 2019

“Ndingumfana osemncinci, kodwa ndizibonile izinto”

  • Authors: Qambela, Gcobani
  • Date: 2019
  • Language: English , Xhosa
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92236 , vital:30694
  • Description: Expected release date-April 2021
  • Full Text: false
  • Date Issued: 2019

A micro-ethnography: exploring relations between Somali and South African traders in Clarehill, Cape Town

  • Authors: Solomon, Kelly Michelle
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Immigrants South Africa , Immigrants Social conditions , Xenophobia South Africa , Social capital (Sociology) South Africa , Somalis Migrations , Identity (Philosophical concept) , South Africa Race relations
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/61277 , vital:27999 , https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/61277
  • Description: Xenophobia has become a dominant narrative in contemporary South Africa. In this thesis, I hone in on a micro, informal economic market that functions cohesively and convivially with both South African and Somali transmigrant traders in it. Religion is one of the key ways through which migrants are able to access social networks and social capital. Islam, the dominant practised religion in the market, thus forms a foundation for strong, emotionally supportive, caring relationships between Somali transmigrants and South Africans The relationships between South African traders and Somali transmigrants are mutually constitutive, as they lean on one another for stability during a time that is unstable for both groups. The closeness of their relationships is evident through the way in which they tease and joke with one another, and the many ways in which they offer intangible support to each other. This thesis illustrates that despite the dominant xenophobic narrative, a close social kinship is formed in the Roelof Street market between South Africans and Somali transmigrants.
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  • Date Issued: 2018

Essence of home: relevance of home and the assertion of place amongst Centane migrants, South Africa

  • Authors: Njwambe, Avela Thandisiwe
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Rural-urban migration -- South Africa , Migrant labor -- South Africa , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Social conditions , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Immigrants -- South Africa -- Homelands , Homelands (South Africa) , Home -- Psychological aspects
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/51866 , vital:26136
  • Description: South Africa is currently experiencing ever-increasing rural-urban migration with many citizens from the former homeland areas migrating to cities to seek employment. Despite long-term residence in urban areas, many township dwellers do not consider these places to be home. Research into circular migration patterns reveal the lifelong relationships that migrants (amagoduka) have with their family home (ekhayeni). This study aimed to explore this relationship, looking in particular at the meanings imbued in the locality of home. In addition, the role of natural landscapes and social components in constructing meanings and attachments to ekhayeni for Xhosa-speaking migrants in Cape Town townships, who have family linkages to rural villages in the Transkei, was also explored. The study found that the landscape of home remains central to migrants’ cultural identity, belonging and well-being. Childhood experiences in nature, and cultural and recreational activities that continue to take rural inhabitants into these landscapes, remain key to this relationship. The rural area, as a geographical entity embodied with social and cultural/spiritual components continued to supply and satisfy many human needs for migrants, which were seen as crucial for psychological, mental and spiritual well-being.
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  • Date Issued: 2018

“We are white”: oral tradition, documented history and molecular biology of Xhosa clans descended from non-African forebears and their expression of this ancestry through the idiom of ancestor religion

  • Authors: Hayward, Janet M
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Clans -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Patrilineal kinship -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Xhosa (African people) -- Genealogy , Oral history -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Genetic genealogy , Xhosa (African people) -- Rites and ceremonies , Xhosa (African people) -- Race identity
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62939 , vital:28312
  • Description: Xhosa clan membership is symbolised by a clan-name (isiduko) and passed along the male line from father to son. This social indicator has a biological counterpart in Y chromosome DNA that passes through successive generations in the patriline. Both relate specifically to a distant patrilineal forebear or apical ancestor. The present study has involved the collection and documentation of oral-historical information relating to the descent of certain Cape Nguni clans from non-African forebears and (where possible) a review of documented accounts of such origins. The research has also included collection of buccal cells from male research participants and analysis of their Y chromosome DNA. This method indicates whether a man’s patrilineal forebear lived in Africa. Otherwise, it indicates the broad geographical region from which he originated, hence providing an additional, independent source of information relating to ancestry that can confirm or challenge claims made based on oral history. Ethnographic research into the performance of distinctive ancestor rituals by clan members explores the continuing relevance of foreign ancestry in the contemporary context of rural communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study heeds calls for the decolonisation of scholarship in various ways: methodologically, through transdisciplinary research; ontologically, by questioning the utility of the nature: culture and related dichotomies; and epistemologically, because instead of relying entirely on the western academic tradition, it takes account of other modes of knowledge production. In rejection of the notion that only one side of history is true, it records multiple voices – those of the powerful but also the ordinary. The study deals with race and racial identification, but confirms the superficiality of these constructed differences by offering evidence of their submergence in the unifying power of kinship and descent.
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  • Date Issued: 2018

Ngomso 'special school': contestations of morality and education in the Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Pattenden, Oliver
  • Date: 2017
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65200 , vital:28704
  • Description: Expected release date-May 2019
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  • Date Issued: 2017

Understanding the policy-planning-implementation disjuncture: a case study of the Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province

  • Authors: Mhlahlo, Andile
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Political planning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Amathole District Municipality (South Africa) -- Planning
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/168521 , vital:41591
  • Description: The aim of this study is to investigate why well planned policies are not getting implemented as intended. The study was conducted in the offices of Amathole District Municipality (ADM) in the Eastern Cape Province, including the cooperative project in Alice as one of the projects that was coordinated by the ADM. Concerning the research design and methodology, a qualitative research design was used. The data collection process involved conducting unstructured interviews with the officers from the Amathole District Municipality office (the ADM officers / the municipality officers) and the members of cooperative projects (cooperatives/projects). Mainly, an ethnographic approach was used; it involved embracing participant observation in the ADM offices for approximately 6 months. As the researcher, I participated as one of the ADM’s officers in different activities, namely: attending meetings and one workshop, and accompanying the development officer while conducting an observation of various projects in Butterworth. The findings in the study disclose that the disjuncture between policy planning and implementation may be attributed to 4 factors, which are associated with the ADM office as the development agency for the Amathole region. These are: the incapability to respond to policy implementation complexities, failure to exploit policy implementation complexities as learning opportunities, the insufficient understanding of ‘process monitoring’ as a tool that could be integrated in projects management, as well as the execution of policy implementation in the absence of policy documents as a guide in implementation processes. Moreover, these factors are examined as being related to each other, and they will be discussed in detail in the course of the thesis.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2017

Understanding the policy-planning-implementation disjuncture: a case study of the Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province

  • Authors: Mhlahlo, Andile
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Political planning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Amathole District Municipality (South Africa) -- Planning
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4422 , vital:20668
  • Description: The aim of this study is to investigate why well planned policies are not getting implemented as intended. The study was conducted in the offices of Amathole District Municipality (ADM) in the Eastern Cape Province, including the cooperative project in Alice as one of the projects that was coordinated by the ADM. Concerning the research design and methodology, a qualitative research design was used. The data collection process involved conducting unstructured interviews with the officers from the Amathole District Municipality office (the ADM officers / the municipality officers) and the members of cooperative projects (cooperatives/projects). Mainly, an ethnographic approach was used; it involved embracing participant observation in the ADM offices for approximately 6 months. As the researcher, I participated as one of the ADM’s officers in different activities, namely: attending meetings and one workshop, and accompanying the development officer while conducting an observation of various projects in Butterworth. The findings in the study disclose that the disjuncture between policy planning and implementation may be attributed to 4 factors, which are associated with the ADM office as the development agency for the Amathole region. These are: the incapability to respond to policy implementation complexities, failure to exploit policy implementation complexities as learning opportunities, the insufficient understanding of ‘process monitoring’ as a tool that could be integrated in projects management, as well as the execution of policy implementation in the absence of policy documents as a guide in implementation processes. Moreover, these factors are examined as being related to each other, and they will be discussed in detail in the course of the thesis.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2017

Borderline hospitality: homestays as a commercial hospitality development project in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape

  • Authors: Von Lengeling, Volkher Heinrich Christoph
  • Date: 2016
  • Language: English
  • Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/706 , vital:19983
  • Description: This study started as an anthropological investigation of commercial hospitality from the point of view of the hands-on host. The chosen case study for this investigation was the Kwam eMakana Government Initiated Poverty Alleviation Project which offered homestays in the townships of Grahamstown East since 2004. Homestays are the most intimate form of commercial hospitality, one step removed from non-commercial or social hospitality. Even at the homestay level there is a conceptual conflict between poverty and (Westernized) commercial hospitality, however, Kwam homes are more middle class than poor. Later the investigation revealed the deeper-seated form of poverty of the Kwam participants being (almost) illiterate. Kwam was a development project like many others, in which huge amounts of money were spent in the name of the project but very little of the benefits reached the intended beneficiaries. Thus, as fieldwork ensued, the emphasis of research migrated from an empirical study of homestay hospitality, to actively assist with the struggle of the Kwam hostesses to maintain the project and gain autonomy for themselves. This study was from the outset reflexive, as the host’s point of view could technically only be presented by auto-ethnography. Then the investigation shifted to a form of engaged anthropology far exceeding advocacy as it is usually understood. The presentation of this can be called radical reflexivity, while it is simultaneously an ethnographical account in the sense of anthropology ‘at home’. It also implied, besides ethical concerns, revisiting literary sensibilities, such as the use of a third person narrative for the reflexive account. To conceptualize the development process of both Kwam and the research interventions Bourdieu’s ‘totality of capital’ (in which the strands of economic, symbolic, cultural and social capitals intertwine) proved most useful. By assessing the various capitals the development of the project and the power struggles central to it can be understood. This study confirms that long-term anthropological investigation is best suited to the study of development projects, if not necessary for real development to be effected. Reflexivity and ethnography are complementary methods to reveal truths which under certain research circumstances may have been very difficult or even impossible to research.
  • Full Text:
  • Date Issued: 2016
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