Anthropology

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Academic travel : travelling for work.
(Kamla-Raj Enterprises., 2013) Ojong, Vivian Besem.
This paper endeavours to show how academics become part of cross-cultural production, cultural circulation and ideological circulation. The stand-point of analysis of this paper is the individualised process of academic participation in tourism and the by-product of their participation. This paper is not intended to make academics that travel to conferences look opportunistic, yet the difference from mainstream tourism is that it is part of academic portfolio. Other tourists travel to places to unwind and rest but with an academic tourist, that point of disconnection is not there. This is part of valuable experience. Once an academic is highly connected that academic becomes highly successful. Attending a conference is not only about presenting a paper but also about connecting with people.
Access to health care facilities during COVID-19: probing experiences of Ntabeni a rural community in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2022) Ndlovu, Hloniphile Talent.; Zondi, Virginia Balungile.
Anthropologists have critically taken an interest in studying the political economy of health and healthcare of people especially in forgotten communities. This incorporates admittance to medical care offices and reception of medical care. While they concur that the South African public medical care framework has gone through key changes, they also agree that the implementation or the realization of such important policies have become fragmented, and exacerbated inequalities in relation to access to health care and related facilities. This happens at the heart of solid constitutional and legislative policy frameworks which are in place to guarantee the right to access to healthcare. These constitutional and legislative provisions of guaranteed health care access remain a panacea and, as a result, most poor people are still unable to enjoy this international human right to health care and health facilities. The unprecedented arrival of COVID-19 brought South African health inequalities to light as most people could not access medical health care and health facilities at the time of their need. This qualitative study titled “Access to health care facilities during COVID-19: Probing the experiences of Ntabeni, a rural community in Pietermaritzburg, KZN”, draws on critical contributions of anthropology as a field of study and uses two theoretical frameworks, namely, social constructivism and access theory, as guidelines for the study. Data was collected from thirty (30) purposely sampled participants from the Ntabeni community. The recruitment included both males and females that were deemed fit to participate in the study as guided by ethical considerations of the study. Research findings revealed that the community of Ntabeni could not access health care during the COVID-19 lockdown levels 5 and 4 restrictions in South Africa, and this took a toll on their health. COVID-19 and lockdown regulations/restrictions exacerbated inequalities because poor community members of Ntabeni encountered barriers of affordability, accommodation, awareness, availability and accessibility of health care and facilities. Community members of Ntabeni felt excluded as human beings and as voters who were promised access to free medical health care. The study recommends that: the department of health should prioritize health and access to health care and facilities for the Ntabeni Community which is caged by poverty, unemployment and many health issues. These issues threaten the survival right of all human beings. Government should remove user fees at public hospitals to maximize access to health care and facilities for indigent people. The provision of a wellness or mobile clinic should be expedited as they will also accommodate those who cannot cater for their medical needs. This will make health services more accessible and affordable. Future anthropological research is needed to understand the factors that inhibit communities from accessing universities and contributing to the high rate of unemployment. Other studies could potentially look at the impact of the Msunduzi Integrated Development Planning, which is supposed to positively impact the lives of the members of Ntabeni community in terms of their socio-economic needs.
African indigenous food security strategies and climate change adaptation in South Africa.
(2014) Gaoshebe, Tlhompho.; Kaya, Hassan Omari.
The study used predominantly a qualitative and participatory research design to investigate the African Indigenous Food Security Strategies and Climate Change Adaptation in Ganyesa village (North-West Province). Qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, direct and participatory observation formed the core of data collection methods. This enabled the researcher to interact meaningfully with the respondent IK holders and practitioners in the research process. In consultation with the community leaders a purposive sample of 40 key informants (15 men and 25 women) as IK holders and practitioners was selected for the study. Emphasis was put on women IK holders and practitioners as the custodians of IKS related to food security for climate change adaption. They were the main subsistence farmers who ensured food security for their households and the community in changing climatic conditions. Moreover, contrary to western ways of knowing and knowledge production, the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the respondent IK holders and practitioners such as age group, marital status, etc. and other relevant data were collected and interpreted from their own cultural perspectives and in their local indigenous language Setswana. This was to ensure that cultural meanings are not distorted and lost. The study found that subsistence farming methods such as mixed cropping including keeping of livestock, hunting and gathering constituted main sources of food supply in changing climate conditions in the arid environment of the study area. It was also revealed that the respondent women IK holders and practitioners had a rich and wide knowledge of selecting appropriate seeds and animal species for different seasons and climatic conditions; use of wind patterns, position of stars and behavior of living organisms, early warning systems and indicators for changing climatic conditions. However, during focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, it was found that one of the major limitations for IKS sustainability in the study community was the lack of interest among the younger generations in IKS. This was due to exposure to western knowledge systems and the impact of globalization through mass media. The study recommends that existing indigenous knowledge on food security systems for climate change adaptation in the community should be documented. This is meant to ensure its sustainability, protection and to be shared with younger generation including extension workers and policy makers. Documentation will also assist in identification of gaps which could be improved through interface with other knowledge systems to meet the challenges of globalization. These knowledge systems should also be introduced in the formal educational system and developmental policy including agricultural campaigns to promote public knowledge and awareness on the importance of IKS for sustainable development and livelihood. The role of gender should be taken seriously in the documentation, promotion and interface of IKS with other knowledge and technology. This is to ensure that they are not marginalized further and alienated.
African indigenous knowledge systems in contemporary conflict transformation : a case study of the Bakweri people of the Southern West Region of Cameroon.
(2017) Ferim, Valery Buinwi.; Kaya, Hassan Omari.
The aim of this study was to investigate the relevance of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS) in contemporary conflict transformation with specific reference to the chieftaincy of the Bakweri people of the South West Region of Cameroon. The study population comprised of Bakweri indigenes as well as settlers and other short-term residents in the district of Buea such as students, business people and government employees. Taking into consideration the holistic and community-based nature of indigenous knowledge systems, interactive research methods such as in-depth interviews, participant observation, and focus group discussions were used data collection. The qualitative data from both the primary and secondary sources were analysed through content analysis. A combination of theoretical frameworks were used to analyse the challenges and prospects of using Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in contemporary conflict transformation among the Bakweri people in Buea. These included endogenous development, the postcolonial theory, the modernisation theory and the concept of integralism. The study revealed that due to the political, social, economic and cultural significance of the Buea, the contemporary conflict issues among the Bakweri people arose from land, marriage, crime, corruption and those associated with the proliferation of Pentecostal churches. It was also found that although the Bakweri people have a rich history of indigenous institutions, the most resilient of these, even in contemporary times, is the chieftaincy. The institution is very central to the cultural, economic and political ethos of local communities. In spite of this, the Bakweri chieftaincy and associated indigenous institutions tended to be marginalised by the state in the search for sustainable solutions to contemporary conflicts. The policy makers did not take the chieftaincy seriously in policy implementation. The Bakweri chieftaincy and associated indigenous institutions had certain limitations which undermined their relevance in mitigating contemporary conflicts. These included the appointment of chiefs by the state, the system being dominated by the French bureaucratic system which marginalized African traditional leadership systems, rent-seeking, the patriarchal nature of the Bakweri customary law and the impact of heterogeneity on Bakweri culture. This is compounded by the fact that state-based structures are laden with excessive bureaucratic red tapes, corruption, low morale and a culture of impunity in the civil service. The study recommended the need for conflict resolution mechanisms to adopt a bottom-up approach and for governments to empower indigenous structures to resolve their own conflicts. There is also need for further research using different cases, on the relevance of indigenous approaches to conflict transformation in the era of globalisation in order to build on or challenge existing theories. Furthermore, traditional institutions have to be interfaced with modern institutions to meet the contemporary challenges arising from globalization.
An analysis of the arrival, settlement and domestic arrangements of South Asian Muslim salon workers in Durban.
(2011) Khan, Aneesah.; Singh, Anand.
This study examines the arrival and settlement of a sample of South Asian Muslim male migrants who are salon owners and salon employees in Durban, South Africa. The increasing visibility of the expansion of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi migrant communities in Durban led to an interest in focusing on those issues which constitute the core of this research, namely: why they migrate, who migrates, how they migrate and arrive here, as well as settle into the work that they do. The broader purpose of this research was to investigate their living arrangements and social dynamics of their working and domestic lives. It also explores the challenges and opportunities that migrants encounter from the time they decide to leave home up until arrival in the country of resettlement and the way in which transnational social ties assist in helping them transcend such obstacles and reap the benefits of available prospects. Central to this project was also the adoption of salon work as a livelihood strategy as well as issues of integration, identity construction and the perceptions of foreign migrants and their enterprises from the view of local salon owners and local customers of foreign owned salons. It shows how migrants remain who they are and how the host society becomes a terrain in which their normative social practices are recreated and enjoyed. The study is anthropological in nature and therefore aims to capture the complexities of the migrant experience from the individuals' perspectives through the use of case studies. As part of the qualitative approach, observations of foreign owned enterprises were conducted, random sampling was used to select participants, and semi-structured interviews made it possible to acquire data. The exploratory goal of the study aims to illustrate that migrants are individuals who leave home with the hope of transforming their dreams and ambitions into a brighter prosperous reality not only for themselves, but more importantly their families too.
Analyzing the inscribed body : an investigation of how the uniform inscribes the body of Zulu-speaking domestics workers in Queensburgh, Durban.
(2010) Harisunker, Nadene.; Singh, Anand.; Singh, Shanta Balgobind.
Domestic workers are commonplace in South African society, with most middle to upper-class homes employing a domestic worker. Recently the area of domestic work in South Africa has gained much needed attention with regard to legal issues. Many domestic workers in the past and even currently, are exposed to exploitation and abuse in many forms. The main concern of this dissertation, however, is the woman that does the domestic work. Women have always been concerned with their bodies – the form and shape, dieting, clothes worn, amongst many other things. Although many may not think so, this concern has not escaped domestic workers. This group of women are extremely concerned with their dress and how their clothes and bodies are perceived by the public. This study addresses this issue paying close attention to the woman behind the uniform. Domestic workers often travel daily to get to their place of work. Commuting to work holds a sense of occasion for them, where, since they do not have much in the way of social lives, they dress up to travel to work. This dressing up is two-fold. Firstly the domestic workers in this study dressed up to impress others (especially other domestic workers) and improve their self-esteem. Secondly, their dress is linked to their past and their future aspirations, many of these women have aspired to become professionals in certain fields, but their goals had become unachievable due to their unfortunate circumstances. These issues are explored and discussed in the dissertation below, situated within the context of the domestic workers lives in South Africa, both during and after work.
The anthropological understanding of depression and attached social constructs amongst university students: the case study of UKZN-PMB.
(2021) Mthembu, Sinenhlanhla Santa.; Zondi, Balungile Prudence.
Through the Cognitive Theory of Depression, Narrative Theory and the Social Constructivism Theory, this interpretive/phenomenological qualitative anthropological study purposively sampled twenty-six (25) UKZN-PMB students to explore means and understanding associated with depression. To achieve objectives of the study, this study anchored itself in linguistic and cultural anthropology to understand the power of language and cultural epistemologies that are attached on the expression and the interpretation of depression which this study has proved to be the experience of UKZN-PMB students. This study revealed that the use of cultural language depicts cultural reflexivity which anthropologists recognise as a unique trait of people’s identity and ability to socialize. This study thus contributes social constructs which are cultural epistemologies or narratives which UKZN students have own as their language to express the state of being depressed. Social constructs that were revealed and explored in this study showed that depression cannot only be understood from the lens of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), but also through emic/explanatory models that convey the impact or the extent of depression on university students. Such cultural constructs are contributed not only in the body of literature but should also inform responsive cultural interventions which UKZN as institution may adopt to become proactive and intentional about assisting its students. This study thus concludes by recommending a holistic approach (which observes social constructs that emerged in this this study) when designing and implementing of awareness programmes towards an in-depth understanding of depression amongst UKZN students. The student support services should have pop-up messages or billboards using these social constructs in order to invite students for immediate interventions. e.g. ✓ uma uzizwa ukuthi uyaGOWISHA we are here to help you or to provide any academic/therapeutic support. ✓ uma uzizwa ukuthi awukhoni, trust that the university student support service centre is here to help you pull through. More anthropological research is also suggested as follows: ✓ within the context of Covid-19 is recommended. ✓ probing why UKZN male students are not comfortable to talk about depression.
Anthropology of experience : touring the past at Robben Island.
(Kamla-Raj Enterprises., 2013) Naidu, Uma Maheshvari.
This paper has a transdisciplinary orientation and is located in both anthropology and tourism studies. It draws on the seminal theoretical work of the post structural anthropologist Victor Turner and brings to the study of tourism, the concepts of performance, memory and ‘experience’. The paper focuses on what the world has come to know as the place of incarceration for Nelson Mandela, and now declared a World Heritage Site and museum, established as the blurb goes, ‘as a poignant reminder to the newly democratic South Africa of the price paid for freedom’. The paper looks at the construction of the site of Robben Island Prison Museum, in Cape Town South Africa as a performance space for the reliving and experiencing of a collective shared past and history and probes how visitors to the site, experience the space. Methodologically the paper uses narrative analysis of tourists’ sharing stories of their visits in small focus type groups and in one-on-one interviews. It also draws on a thematic analysis of the visitor entries in a Visitors Book spanning a six month period of visits. The paper attempts to show that the site and constructed heritage product (or tour), emerges as a ‘liminal space’ where different racial categories of visitors, who have had differently shaped life histories, might be made to ‘experience’ a shared past of denial and oppression. Liminality speaks to a dislocation of structure and hierarchies, and by drawing on the ethnographic interviews of a randomised sample group of local and international visitors to the site, the paper shows that the visitor is placed into a liminal space by the manner in which the tour space is constructed and experienced.
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.
(2014) Gatfield, Rowan Christopher.; Ojong, Vivian Besem.; Sithole, Maureen Phathisiwe.
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.
Believing and seeing : an interpretation of symbolic meanings in southern San rock paintings.
(1977) Lewis-Williams, James David.; Argyle, W. John.
No abstract available.
Brotherhood solidarity and the (re) negotiation of identity among Senegalese migrants in Durban.
(2014) Fomunyam, Bilola Nicoline.; Ojong, Vivian Besem.
This thesis based on a study titled “Brotherhood Solidarity and the (re) negotiation of identity among Senegalese migrants in Durban” examined Senegalese migration to South Africa, particularly Durban, and sought to show how these migrants negotiate and reconfigure their identities within a transnational context. The study principally set out to critically examine how Senegalese Mouride migrants exploit networks of solidarity and brotherhood through ‘dahira’ membership as an important source of social capital in negotiating their transnational identities. Being one of Senegal’s four major brotherhoods, the Muridiyya brotherhood possesses a deep-rooted organizational practice and solidarity system that plays a fundamental role in influencing migrants on how they make sense of the migratory experience. It is argued that Mouride networks assist its members in the social integration in host societies in maintaining transnational identities and are very important in providing migrants with spiritual and ideological points of reference and aiding the development of entrepreneurial networks and niche formation. The study equally highlights that there are embedded cultural and religious values and beliefs that constitute stepping-stones upon which Senegalese migrants choose this entrepreneurial livelihood pattern. The study opines that migration in Senegal is a complex and multifaceted enterprise which has become an integral part of people’s cultural and social lives. The gendered subject position of the woman as ‘nurturer’ and the man as ‘provider’ constitute an important facet of Senegalese identity construction and is a fundamental determinant of who migrates. The study argues that migration in this context is not simply an economic endeavour but is profoundly influenced by the culture. The Senegalese migrants regard it as a training experience, a rite of passage, an initiation process, an art, a means of world making and self-fashioning that paves the way for them to lay claims to their masculine identities. Migration for these men is associated with knowledge, adventure and ‘becoming a man’. Such a cultural disposition highlights the importance of migration for masculinity and explains why migration in Senegal has remained a male preserve. Women do not have the same autonomy as men to migrate given the stigma often attached to migrant women. It is also contended that failing to do this through non- migration is likely to result in alienation, loss of respect and self-esteem which sometimes lead to masculine gender-role stress. The study emphasizes how in renegotiating their identities in Durban the Senegalese migrants transcend ethnic and religious differences by using the consumption of home food as a common ground for a broader Senegalese identity where all internal differences are muzzled. Food in this context is a metaphor of self, a cultural feature and a non-verbal form of communication through which migrants construct the space in which they find themselves. Cuisine and culinary ways are an essential form of expression and important outlets used by Senegalese migrants to assert, sustain and reconfigure their identities in Durban. Finally, the study shows that deeply engrained in the culture of Senegalese migrants is the spirit of ‘Terenga’ solidarity whereby new social relationships are established while those already in existence are maintained.
The business of divining : a study of healing specialists at work in a culturally plural border community of Kwa-Zulu Natal.
(2002) Chang, Yong Kyu.; Kieman, Jim.
This thesis is the result of virtually a year's research conducted in three adjacent villages in northern Zululand, in the district known as KwaNgwanase. This community is distinguished by being subject to historical Zulu conquest, to a continuing influx of migrants fron neighbouring countries and to more recent social and economic transformation. It therefore exhibits a considerable degree of structural variation and cultural complexity, which in divining practice is registered as 'divinatory syncretism'. The theoretical stance adopted to make sense of this complex of variants is praxeological, with an enphasis on understanding divination from within, for which purpose the field method of participant observation is particularly suitable. Built upon close and prolonged interaction with some twenty diviners, the thesis examines divination from two interconnected perspectives; as a mystical performance, in which the inspired diviner endeavours to uncover the truth of a client's condition, and as a professional business in which the econanic motive is pararrount and in which the more successful corrpetitors flourish as entrepreneurs. KwaNgwanase itself emerges as a workshop of experimentation in mystical and syrrbolic forms, while it begins to export its innovative techniques to a broader market.
Changing patterns of Black marriage and divorce in Durban.
(1984) De Haas, Mary Elizabeth Anne.; Preston-Whyte, Eleanor.
No abstract available.
Community knowledge and perceptions towards the use of traditional and western medical service systems in Coligny community in the North West province, South Africa.
(2016) Hlabe, Anna.; Kaya, Hassan Omari.
Abstract available in PDF file.
Community perceptions of an early warning system: a case study of Swayimane, UMshwathi Local Municipality’s lightning warning system.
(2021) Ndlela, Senelisiwe.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe.; Naidu, Uma Maheshvari.
This study attempts to understand community perceptions of a lightning warning system in the community of KwaSwayimane. The study therefore takes a detailed look at the local community’s views on and insights into the warning system, and how these are shaped by the cultural practices and beliefs embedded in indigenous/local knowledge. The study was carried out at KwaSwayimane, and adopted a mixed methodology, making it both qualitative and quantitative. It involved 100 participants who engaged in questionnaires, focus group discussions and face-to-face interviews. Social constructionism and symbolic interactionism theories were used to analyze the insights gathered during data collection. Findings revealed that the community has recommendations on how to improve their experience of the lightning warning system installed in the area (especially in the context of the dissemination of the warning messages) and these recommendations involve integrating their local/indigenous understandings for protection against lightning strikes with the existing system.
A comparative analysis : contestation of two systems of political representation : Isphakanyiswa and Ngcolosi traditional communities.
(2015) Ngubane, Mlungisi.; Naidu, Uma Maheshvari.; Ojong, Vivian Besem.
Governance requires the support of different ‘categories’ of stakeholders. One such ‘category’ is comprised by the traditional leaders, who are potentially significant players in the implementation of governmental policies and services, within the contemporary democratic South Africa. As such, they represent a community that is potentially able to contribute to the shape and the implementation of the government’s policies and service plans within their local communities. Their possible role, however, has continued to be limited by both, certain sectors of the government as well as the public. This ‘limitation’ comes in the form of challenge on the capability of traditional leaders in conducting policy implementation within a democratic system and on the legitimacy of the leaders, especially the non-elected traditional leaders – isiPhakanyiswa, regarding tradition leaders and the system as mundane, “old fashioned”, and archaic, thus meant to be done away with the relics of the past society. Local communities also tend to question the legitimacy of the traditional leaders. Thus, two is contesting views are created based on the ability of traditional leaders or institutions to contribute to the promotion of good governance and the role of the government and its personnel in carrying out its services. This study explores this contestation by showing the role played by traditional leaders, both elected and non-elected, in contributing and promoting the government’s services in their local communities, probing the embedded assumptions about their inability to play such a role in a democratic society. The study looked at two local government areas, Ngcolosi and Kholwa -Ntumeni in eThekwini Municipality and uThungulu District Municipality, who have elected and non-elected traditional leaders, respectively.
Constructing “woman”: probing how the cultural practice of chinamwali among the Shangaan people is used to construct ‘womanhood’.
(2018) Muchono, William.; Naidu, Uma Maheshvari.
This study aims to probe how the cultural practice of chinamwali among the Shangaan people is used to construct ‘womanhood’. The study probes the perceptions, understanding and lived experiences of the men and women who reside in the Mahenye community of Chipinge District (south eastern Zimbabwe) where chinamwali, (cultural rite of passage for girls and women) is practised. The study was premised on the understanding that the practice of chinamwali socially constructs or defines women in a particular (Mahenye) culture. Interview questionnaires and focus group discussions as well as observations were used to gather data from people in the Mahenye community in Zimbabwe. The study reveals that if a woman is not initiated she is considered no longer valuable in the community and tends to be a social outcast or to be excluded from several cultural activities.
Creating an African tourist experience at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
(University of Pretoria., 2008) Naidu, Uma Maheshvari.
This article considers the example of palaeo-heritage tourism at Sterkfontein Cave, situated in a geographic area designated the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, or Cradle for short. The article looks at how a particular “African” tourist experience is constructed through the architectural vocabulary and the narrative built around the Sterkfontein Cave, which, with the adept use of a particular theory of human origins, allows the visitor to identify with a trajectory of a shared prehistory and shared humanity. These appear to be constructed in an attempt to redefine the visitor’s image of himself or herself in terms of a shared African history. This sense of a shared history is attempted through the architectural design of the interpretive centre, the virile narrative contained in the logo of the centre, and the process of appropriating seminal fossil artefacts found here. The constructed tourist experience is itself fed by a larger emerging discourse to rearticulate the identity of the African.
The cultural construction of illness amongst isiZulu-speaking nurses: probing nurses' understanding of patient's illness and health in hospitals.
(2014) Darong, Gabriel Gyang.; Naidu, Uma Maheshvari.
This study attempts to understand how cultural constructions of illness amongst isiZulu-speaking nurses shape their understanding of health, illness and patient care. The study thus takes as a backdrop, the idea that people‟s views of the world and daily phenomena are shaped by their cultural practices and beliefs. The study was qualitative and ethnographic and was carried out at a public hospital in the Durban area. It involved 20 participants and the data was collected through in-depth participant observation and semi-structured interviews. A unique feature of the study was that some of the participants were both trained biomedical nurses as well as practicing izangoma. The findings of the study show that the isiZulu-speaking nurses‟ understandings of health and illness have been shaped by their cultural constructions of health and illness. Aside from their nursing training, isiZulu-speaking nurses‟ understanding of health and illness is likewise understood as being in part, shaped by and embedded in their cultural practices and beliefs such as bewitchment and ancestry curse. These cultural constructions and understandings in turn influence their clinical decisions and patient care. The research findings reveal that the isiZulu-speaking nurses involved in the study face levels of internal conflict in carrying out clinical decisions. Such a conflict was deeply expressed by the nurses; especially the isangoma nurses who felt that their twin expertise as traditional practitioners and nurses places them in a better position to understand „how‟ to care for patients, against the care prescribed by the hospital. This difficulty faced by the nurses is informed by the sometimes conflicting and contested expectations on them as biomedical personnel against their own culturally embedded understanding of health, illness, and patient care.
The customary significance of using ‘ihlahlalomlahlankosi’ in death processes within the eNqabeni community.
(2021) Makhathini, Xoliswa.; Zondi, Balungile Prudence.
This study contributed to the African qualitative understanding of the significant use of Ihlahlalomlahlankosi/Umlahlankosi (tree branch/leaf), also known as Ziziphus Mucronata, in death processes by the eNqabeni Community in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Drawing from the Social Constructivism Theory, indigenous knowledge and in-depth interviews conducted, as well as the purposive sampling. Twenty (20) research participants, between the ages twenty-five (25) and seventy-nine (79), voluntarily participated in the study that was ethically cleared by UKZN HSSRC. The scope of this study was in cultural anthropology, which shaped the wording of themes that are thematically described in the data analysis chapter. Data analysis revealed ten themes, theme one: Defining Ihlahlalomlahlankosi; theme two: The customary use of Ihlahlalomlahlankosi in all death rites; theme three: Importance of practicing this custom; theme Four: Gendered use; theme five: Social constructs; theme six: Disposing the Ihlahlalomlahlankosi leaf. theme seven: Knowledge transmission; theme eight: Uses; theme nine: Symbolic signs and the last theme; theme ten: Industrialization. Such themes are contributed by this study into the existing body of knowledge, and they recognize the well of indigenous knowledge that the community of eNqabeni holds in relation to ihlahlalomlahlankosi. They further offer a heterogenic view of the use of this topic against the literature reviews that exist. These themes confirmed that cultural relativism is socially constructed because of indigenous knowledge that has historically existed amongst people of the same community, culture, family, or society; it reveals that the celebration or observation of customs, rituals, and other cultural schemas, give people a cultural symbolic identity, which is the gift that their ancestors socially constructed to be celebrated or performed in their remembrance. Research participants further alluded that if this cultural rite is not performed it triggers the anger of their ancestors and the spirit of the person wonders around and could cause more death in the family, however, when this custom has been carried out successfully (appreciating the goat that was slaughtered when the family was preparing for the burial ceremony), ancestors communicate with them through dreams. The study also revealed that ancestors communicate even before the body and spirit of the dead person is laid in his or her new home, they said, if the candle that has been put next to the coffin lights up, that signals that the spirit is at peace. Narratives of the respondents further revealed that the community of eNqabeni that used Ihlahlalomlahlankosi, recognizes the grave as a ‘new house or home’ for the dead person. Other themes that emerged from data collection revealed that patriarchy, as well as the religion (Christianity), has contributed to the social construct of gender assigned leadership roles, which this community embraces as indigenous knowledge. Such gender assigned leadership roles to exclude women from leading the spirit of the dead person to the grave, as this hegemonic patriarchy believes that women were not born to lead or to be the heads of households. While this gender exclusion was concern, several advocacy calls were made to recognize the agency of women in all aspects of life, it was interesting to note that other people in the community recognize women as capable and echoed that they should be trusted with this leadership role, given the fact that most households are female headed households. This study thus contributes that some trees are not alien trees or form part of vegetation but they have a customary significance; that some cultural customs are not dependent on the level of affluency but on accessing trees that naturally grow on mountains, hence it is important to conserve nature from harmful environmental hazards because if Ihlahlalomlahlankosi becomes extinct, this would anger their ancestors or propel them to deviate from celebrating their customs, which makes them culturally unique from other existing cultures in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa or in Southern Africa. In conclusion, cultural insights into the use of this leaf or tree branch contribute to the existing body of literature.

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