The inheritance of private property among the Nama of southern Africa, reconsidered

Africa ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Carstens
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Personal Communication ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
The Status ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
Anthropological Literature

Opening ParagraphAlthough the Khoikhoi or so-called Hottentots are still discussed in social anthropological literature, there is relatively little interest in them nowadays in comparison with the San (Bushmen) or various Bantu-speaking peoples. This lack of interest is really quite surprising since Radcliffe-Brown drew heavily on the Nama Khoikhoi material in his essay on the mother's brother in South Africa (Radcliffe-Brown 1924). Radcliffe-Brown, incidentally, based his knowledge of the Nama almost entirely on his interpretation of the field work of Mrs A. W. Hoernlé, using two unpublished papers and personal communication with Mrs Hoernlé as his sources. There is, however, a more important reason why the Khoikhoi are of interest. Many aspects of their way of life, ranging from the status of wives to religious beliefs and practices, are very ‘unAfrican’ if we equate African with Bantu-speaking Africa as is so often done.

The importance of English communication skills in multilingual settings in Southern Africa

English Today ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Fandrych
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
The United States ◽  
Official Language ◽  
Political Struggle ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Status ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
Language Issues

ABSTRACTAn account of the need for appropriate language skills in a developing multilingual context.Language issues in Southern Africa have always been marked by political struggle. In South Africa, these were sometimes violent, as with, for example, the 1976 Soweto uprisings, in which protests over the medium of education were prominent. One of the priorities of the first democratically elected government of 1994 was to democratise the situation by making eleven languages official, in contrast to the two prior to that, namely Afrikaans and English. In other Southern African countries, language issues have also been characterised by debates and struggles. A prime example is the decision by the Namibian government to make English the official language of the country, even though English had never even been a colonial language in Namibia. Another example is Lesotho, a former British protectorate, with two official languages, English and Sesotho. In the last two decades, there have been numerous debates about the status of English as a subject necessary for a pass in schools and as a prerequisite for admission to university. Kramsch's observation that ‘[l]inguistic wars are always also political and cultural wars’ captures the situation well. Language issues are still on many speakers' minds and influence their sense of self and identity. As Baugh observes, ‘[i]n societies like the United States and South Africa, where race and language development have strongly been influenced by racial strife, many students do not aspire to “talk like Whites”’.

Sheep and Sheep-Herders in South Africa

Africa ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 432-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Willcox
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Roman Period ◽  
Middle Kingdom ◽  
Hair Sheep ◽  
South West ◽  
South West Africa ◽  
Opening Paragraph

Opening ParagraphIn a recent paper Mr. C. K. Cooke, F.S.A., discusses the questions of the introduction of sheep into Africa and their arrival in southern Africa (Cooke, 1965).Mr Cooke quotes Zeuner's conclusion (Zeuner, 1963) ‘that the first sheep in Africa were screw-horned hair sheep from Turkestan or Persia which reached lower Egypt about 5000 B.C. and Khartoum by 3300 B.C. This breed disappeared with the Middle Kingdom when it was replaced by a wool sheep and the fat-tailed sheep reached Africa only from the Roman period.’ Zeuner further asserts thatOne breed of sheep descended from the Egyptian hair-sheep had reached South-West Africa before the arrival of the Europeans. In these animals the profile is convex, the eyes are placed high on the skull and close to the drooping ears. The rams carry thick horns and a long ruff on the throat.

Revision of the first therocephalian,TheriognathusOwen (Therapsida: Whaitsiidae), and implications for cranial ontogeny and allometry in nonmammaliaform eutheriodonts

2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam K. Huttenlocker ◽  
Fernando Abdala
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Late Permian ◽  
Triassic Boundary ◽  
Karoo Basin ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Status ◽  
Assemblage Zone ◽  
Jaw Function

AbstractHistorically, the whaitsiid therocephalianTheriognathusOwen was one of the earliest described nonmammalian therapsids, its morphology helping to link phylogenetically the Paleozoic synapsids of North America and southern Africa to their mammalian successors. However, decades of taxonomic over-splitting and superficial descriptions obscured the morphologic diversity of the genus, hindering its utility as a study system for the evolution of synapsid cranial function as well as its biostratigraphic significance in the Late Permian of southern Africa. Here, we revise the status and provenance of all the known specimens ofTheriognathusfrom South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. We present both qualitative and quantitative support for the presence of a single morphospecies as proposed by some authors. Proportional differences in skulls that were previously ascribed to different morphotypes (‘Aneugomphius,’ ‘Notosollasia,’ ‘Moschorhynchus,’ and ‘Whaitsia’) are largely size-related and allometric trends are considered here in the context of jaw function and prey prehension. Our results suggest that the single species,Theriognathus microps, represented one of the most abundant Late Permian therocephalians in southern Africa and is consequently a potentially useful biostratigraphic marker for the upperCistecephalus-lowerDicynodonAssemblage Zone transition (i.e., late Wuchiapingian). The wide range of preserved sizes in conjunction with recent paleohistological evidence supports that individuals spent much of their lives in an actively-growing, subadult phase. LaterDicynodonAssemblage Zone records (e.g., upper Balfour Formation) are unconfirmed as the genus was likely replaced by other theriodont predators (e.g.,Moschorhinus) leading up to the Permo-Triassic boundary in the Karoo Basin of South Africa.

Belief in ‘Witches’ among the Rural Wolof of the Gambia

Africa ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ames
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
The Gambia ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Opening Paragraph

Opening ParagraphThe material for this paper was collected while making a general ethnographic study of the Wolof people in the Saloum districts of the Gambia and neighbouring Senegalese villages in 1950–1. The extraordinary concern of the Gambian Wolof with ‘witches’ soon became evident when discussing and observing many ‘distinct’ aspects of their way of life. The object of this paper is twofold: to describe not only emotional reactions to ‘witches’, but to give an account of the behaviour ascribed to them, and the techniques for coping with their attacks; some functions and dysfunctions of these beliefs and practices will then be discussed.

International Sanctions: A Framework for Analysis with Special Reference to the UN and Southern Africa

1972 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Doxey
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
International Economic ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
The Status ◽  
International Sanctions ◽  
The Relationship

This paper falls into two main parts. In Part I an attempt is made to develop a simple framework which can be used for analyzing the role of sanctions, with special reference to international sanctions.1In Part II this framework is used to investigate the status of the United Nations as a sanctioning body and, in particular, the relationship between the UN and Southern Africa where Rhodesia has been subjected to international economic sanctions since 1965 and South Africa has been under threat of similar measures since the early 1960s.2

scholarly journals Irlandzcy Trawelerzy i status mniejszości etnicznej

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-38
Author(s):  
Edyta Radzewicz
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Minority Status ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Western Ireland ◽  
Formal Recognition

The Irish Travellers, a native, traditionally migratory group, were recently accorded formal recognition in the Republic of Ireland, ending more than three decades of political negation of Traveller ethnicity by the Irish authorities. Awarding the Travellers the status of ethnic minority should lead to changes in state policy, which previously perceived the Travellers and their way of life in terms of a social problem; above all, there should now be hope for a new, more equal social position for the Travellers in today’s increasingly diverse Ireland. The author discusses the mobilization of the Irish Travellers and the circumstances of their being awarded ethnic minority status. She also considers the Travellers’ attitudes to the question, on the basis of her own field work conducted among the Traveller community in Galway in western Ireland.

scholarly journals The rediscovery of the role of the laity in the mission of the Church � with reference to the Baptist Union of Southern Africa (BUSA)

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Christofides ◽  
Piet G.J. Meiring
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Christian Missions ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Missional Churches ◽  
The Church

The role of the laity is at the cutting edge of Christian missions today. The author conducted a number of interviews and questionnaires to determine the status of the laity across denominations of the Christian faith in South Africa. His findings are in a number of instances startling: The picture of the laity, and what lay Christians in South Africa believe, run against general expectations. Some suggestions and proposals on how to empower the laity in general, and the churches of the Baptist Union in Southern Africa (BUSA) in particular, are made. The underlining motive for the research is to encourage the BUSA churches to become truly missional churches that make a difference in the world in which we live.

The Aboakyer of the Effutu: A Critique of Meyerowitz's Account

Africa ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-85
Author(s):  
Robert W. Wyllie
Keyword(s):  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Research Note ◽  
North African ◽  
Full Account ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
Southern Ghana

Opening ParagraphIn her book, The Akan of Ghana (1958), Eva L. Meyerowitz examines some of the religious beliefs and practices of the Akan in an attempt to show that they are of Libyo-Phoenician origin and that Akan civilization is essentially pre-Arab North African in character. As an example of an Akan New Year festival she describes the annual Aboakyer (lit. ‘the catching of an animal’) ritual of the Effutu people of southern Ghana and interprets it in a manner which supports her theory of Akan origins (Meyerowitz, 1958, pp. 38–42). This research note subjects Meyerowitz's treatment of the Aboakyer to critical analysis. It is concerned with her theory of Akan origins only in so far as it results in misinterpretation of the Aboakyer. The note does not provide a full account of the Aboakyer, but a brief outline showing the sequence of ritual events. The field-work upon which it is based was conducted among the Effutu in 1964 and 1965 and included the study of the Aboakyer rituals of these years.

scholarly journals Perceptions of free enterprise and business: An examination of the status quo in South Africa

1985 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
M. E. Nasser
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Income Level ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Free Enterprise ◽  
Limited Knowledge ◽  
Business System ◽  
Extensive Field ◽  
The Status

Management has always contended that corporate employees have a very limited knowledge regarding the free enterprise and hence business system. The consequences of such a lack of understanding have always been apparent - worker dissatisfactions, labour unrest, conflict, and decreased productivity. This study is the first attempt to quantify the exact extent of this non-understanding among corporate employees in South Africa. This study has examined scientifically, via very extensive field work in 78 medium to large organizations situated in the PWV, western- and eastern Cape, and Natal regions, the perceptions of some 3 723 employees regarding business in South Africa. The analysis which covers six major categories of business comprehension, separated by education, position in the hierarchy, years of service, income level, sector, and race, provides very worrying evidence of the depth of the problem. The concomitant impacts accompanying the problem are also sketched so that management might better understand the nature and extent of the problems facing business in South Africa.

scholarly journals Where have all the Prophets Gone? URCSA 25 years Later: Re-Acquainting with Prophetic Theology in Post-apartheid South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Andre Fortein
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Black Liberation ◽  
Black Liberation Theology ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
State Capture ◽  
The Status ◽  
Mission Church ◽  
The Church

The Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) was formed in 1994 as a merger between the former Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA). URCSA, as the bearer of the Belhar Confession, has always stood within the tradition of Prophetic Theology. This article upholds the presuppositions that the prophetic nature of Black Liberation Theology impacted on the reasoning of the authors of various anti-apartheid documents like the theological declarations of the Belydendekring and Alliance of Black Reformed Christians in Southern Africa (ABRECSA), the Kairos Document and Belhar Confession; and with the advent of our democracy, URCSA not only lost her Kairos conscience but parted with Prophetic Theology—hence the title of this paper. Issues like state capture, corruption, the expropriation of land without compensation, poverty, racism, and so forth are all issues plaguing our young democracy and require a clear theological response. This article argues for renewed acquaintance from the church, URCSA, with Prophetic Theology, which will enable the church to not only speak prophetically but to challenge the status quo. Prophetic Theology is much better prepared to engage with the challenges posed in post-apartheid South Africa because it is grounded in a hope that is unprepared to accept the world as it is.

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