Beadwork identity as brand equity: an analysis of beadwork conventions as the basis for craft economies in KwaZulu-Natal, with specific emphasis on the beadwork of Amanyuswa.
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Date
2014
Authors
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Abstract
The
Zulu
identity
appears
to
have
enjoyed
precedence
over
other
polity
identities
in
KwaZulu-‐Natal
for
what
is
largely
viewed
as
time
immemorial.
Yet,
a
cursory
glance
at
emergent
literature
on
the
Zulu
and
what
has
come
to
be
called
‘Zuluness’,
the
reification
of
this
identity,
reveals
that
in
every
instance,
where
the
term
‘Zulu’
is
perpetuated
as
if
an
overarching
singular
socio-‐political
entity,
ethical
questions
emerge.
In
economic
terms
these
questions
become
inflamed,
particularly
within
Tourism
related
industries,
where
products
and
services
are
being
sold
as
authentically
‘Zulu’,
thereby
negating
other
potential
for
varied
brand
offerings.
Much
of
the
body
of
literature
on
beadwork
appears
to
be
similarly
‘framed’,
by
this
seemingly
unopposed
view
of
the
Zulu.
When
juxtaposed
against
the
dire
poverty
within
the
province,
compounded
through
HIV/AIDS,
and
retail
sites
saturated
with
‘Zulu’
product,
such
as
beadwork,
the
value
of
brand
diversification
emerges.
Based
on
this
premise,
this
study
examines
how
polity
identity
within
the
Zulu
might
translate
into
the
alleviation
of
poverty
through
micro-‐economic
approaches,
by
capitalising
on
visual
anthropologies
in
the
form
of
beadwork
identity.
To
this
end,
this
thesis
examines
whether
the
people
within
one
such
polity,
the
amaNyuswa
at
KwaNyuswa,
in
the
region
known
as
the
‘Valley
of
a
Thousand
Hills’,
in
KwaZulu-‐Natal,
continue
to
maintain
the
use
of
this
identity
and
elect
to
define
that
identity
through
a
beadwork
convention.
Further,
it
examines
whether
such
forms
of
denotation
can
serve
as
a
basis
for
a
departure
from
the
existing
position
on
beadwork
and
its
relationship
to
the
Zulu
brand.
This
study
therefore
examines
the
historical,
political,
cultural
and
socio-‐economic
factors
that
continue
to
impact
on
the
survival
of
amaNyuswa
identity,
from
numerous
theoretical
perspectives.
Methodologically
this
study
draws
on
the
training
and
experience
of
the
researcher
as
a
visual
communication
design
practitioner
and
educator,
employing
a
reflexive
ethnographic
research
framework
through
which
to
interpretivistically
deepen
understanding
on
beadwork
conventions
of
amaNyuswa,
in
relation
to
other
beadwork
conventions
within
the
Zulu.
Drawing
on
qualitative
data
gained
through
unstructured
interviews
and
participant
observation,
by
attending
numerous
traditional
events,
and
in
design-‐
based
engagements
with
three
craft
collectives
-‐
Sigaba
Ngezandla,
Simunye
and
Zamimpilo,
in
KwaNyuswa,
and
with
Durban
Beachfront
Craft
retailers
and
Rickshaw
Pullers,
it
discusses
various
prototype
handbags
and
Rickshaw
cart
and
outfit
designs
developed
to
test
the
value
of
beadwork
denotation
in
serving
micro-‐enterprise
and
polity-‐based
brands.
The
findings
of
this
study
point
to
the
value
of
polity-‐based
branding
and
product
development,
but
also
represent
the
value
of
visual
ethnographic
analysis
towards
understanding
the
material
culture
of
those
from
the
amaNyuswa,
the
extended
amaQadi,
and
the
larger
amaNgcobo
polity.
Many
of
these
groups
elect
to
denotatively
represent
themselves
through
isijolovane
,
also
referred
to
as
isiyolovane
,
the
beadwork
convention
said
to
look
like
colorful
‘peas’
floating
in
a
black
‘soup’,
examples
of
which
were
found
across
KZN
province.
These
findings
not
only
point
to
a
new
way
in
which
oral
records
might
be
validated
through
beadwork,
but
also
serve
to
challenge
the
commonly
heralded
view,
particularly
in
the
Tourism
sector,
that
the
Zulu
are
a
singular
identity
represented
by
a
single
beadwork
convention
known
as
isimodeni,
or
the
view
held
by
many
scholars
that
Zulu
beadwork
is
simply
comprised
of
a
limited
number
styles,
or
as
merely
denoting
large
regions
in
the
KZN
province.
Instead
the
outcomes
of
this
study
represent
a
step
towards
a
reconstituted
perspective
of
beadwork
as
being
a
denotative
tool
for
communicating
polity
allegiance
and
for
representing
the
diaspora
of
identities
within
the
Zulu,
displaced
through
time
and
circumstance
across
South
East
Africa.
These
findings
are
underpinned
through
the
analysis
of
secondary
data,
accessed
in
museums;
in
beadwork
archives,
across
KwaZulu-‐Natal;
online;
and
in
relevant
texts.
Description
Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2014.
Keywords
Beadwork--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal., Handicraft--Economic aspects--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal., Decorative arts, Zulu--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal., Theses--Anthropology.