The “ukufuduka” practice and the extinction of cultural heritage and identity: an emic perspective of the experiences of the Gonde tribe of Manguzi, KwaZulu Natal.

Abstract

This qualitative study titled: The “ukufuduka” practices and the extinction of cultural heritage and identity: an emic perspective and experiences of the Gonde tribe of Manguzi, KwaZulu Natal was aimed at investigating the ukufuduka practice in the Manguzi area and how it affected cultural heritage and identity. To investigate this subject, this study employed a qualitative phenomenological research design. The realities of the Gonde tribe were gathered through several focus group discussions guided by open-ended semi structured interview questions. Purposive sampling guided the requirement of 20 research participants who were between the ages of 18 and 70 years. The rationale for the recruitment of the participants was to ensure the inclusion of the descendants of the Gonde tribe who were believed to have experienced ukufuduka. The qualitative analysis and the interpretation of research findings were guided by three theoretical frameworks, the social construction theory, the social identity theory and the diffusion theory. Data revealed that the Gonde tribe was largely affected by colonialism. The arrival of imperial settlers-imposed diffusion, and it also affected their socialisation and promoted acculturation. In the process of diffusion /ukufuduka, the Gonde tribe perished physically, mentally, and spiritually thereby leading to the loss/disruption of their ancestral territory and the subsequent extinction of their cultural heritage and identity. The tribe lost what they called ifa lobabo’mkhulu (their ancestral inheritance). Those that are remaining remain hopeful that, they will not ascend to the world of the great ones (ancestors/obabo’mkhulu) without having reclaimed what was stolen from them. If this fails, they are contemplating siyofike sithini kobabo’mkhulu (what will we tell our great ones/ ancestors? The content of this thesis is intended to contribute to expanding the scholarship of space and place, cultural as well as linguistic anthropology. The critical contribution of the thesis is that the lived experiences of the Gonde tribe should inform the schooling curriculum of the South African History subject and that the artifacts of the tribe should be preserved so that future generations will celebrate the life of the heroes and the heroines of the tribe. Future research in the anthropology of space and time, cultural and linguistic anthropology should ethnographically continue to understand the impact warfares, growing hybrid communities, assimilation, acculturation, deterritorialisation, reteritorialisation, and the cultural extinction of indigenous cultural identities as a result of ukufuduka.