Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Nepali people Social life and customs'
To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Nepali people Social life and customs.
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Nepali people Social life and customs.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Samuels, Jonathan. "Tamang clan culture and its relevance to the archaic culture of Tibet." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.669727.
Full text
2
Gibson, Ian. "Suffering and Christianity : conversion and ethical change among the Newars of Bhaktapur." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:3eea0dc1-3f8e-4564-887f-f7aae26de57f.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis argues that conversion to Christianity in the Nepali city of Bhaktapur is closely connected with ethical attitudes towards suffering in Bhaktapurian churches. This argument is situated within broader debates in the anthropology of Christianity. Anthropologists have debated the extent to which Christianity is a force for cultural discontinuity, and have often connected it with modernity and individualism. I contribute to these discussions by showing how distinctively Christian conceptions of suffering may promote cultural change by stimulating new understandings of selfhood and ethics. The first three chapters explore the social life of Bhaktapur's Hindu majority. I describe how the last fifty years have seen a process of cultural unsettlement in Bhaktapur; one aspect of this unsettlement has been a disruption of traditional norms of care and deference. It is in this context that the distinctive ethics of Christianity have proved attractive to some. Those who convert have typically experienced a significant episode of suffering, and have felt themselves to be failed by those around them. They find in churches a framework that emphasises the moral significance of inner experience (I call this 'inwardness') and addresses affliction more in terms of ethics than ritual. I describe these ethics in terms of 'care': they stress presence with the afflicted person, engagement with their experience, and appeal to God in prayer. After two chapters describing Christianity in Nepal and Bhaktapur in general terms, I devote four chapters to examining different categories of Bhaktapurian Christians: those who have experienced healing, women, leaders, and youth. I focus on four conversion narratives, and relate these narratives both to other ethnographic materials and to broader trends in Bhaktapurian and global Christianity. I highlight the significance of the values of inwardness and care, and of narrative itself, in the life-worlds of Bhaktapurian Christians.
3
Quest, A. Del. "Out of the Way and Out of Place: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Experiences of Social Interactions of Bisexually Attracted Young People." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2002.
Full textAbstract:
Research addressing the concerns of bisexually attracted youth has markedly increased in the past few years, yet remains limited in comparison to that addressing the issues of lesbian and gay youth (Brewster & Moradi, 2010). Those few studies treating bisexual participants as distinct from lesbian and gay participants have findings indicating that some youth who identify as bisexual experience higher rates of depression, pregnancy, substance abuse, suicidal ideations, and suicide attempts compared to their lesbian and gay peers (Kennedy & Fisher, 2010; Lewis, Derlega, Brown, Rose, & Henson, 2009; Saewyc, Homma, Skay, Bearinger, Resnick, & Reis, 2009). Most commonly, however, research studies examine all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer participants as one group, and little is known about the ways in which these distinct groups differ. Biphobia, defined as the aversion felt toward bisexuality and bisexuals as a social group or as individuals, contributes to barriers in addressing this gap.
The primary objective of this study was to gain an understanding of how the participants recalled their social interactions and how they made sense of them. In depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten young people who were bisexually attracted when they were of high school age. Results were analyzed and discussed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach. Analyses of these accounts revealed the ways these young people made sense of feeling dismissed, isolated, invisible, and unsafe in their environments and the ways they used their observations to control future interactions. The participants discussed their experiences with coming out to family members and friends and the strain of choosing to hide their attractions to more than one gender.
These findings indicate the need for services offering specific supports and interventions for bisexually attracted youth. Social workers, youth workers, and educators can best serve this population by acknowledging the uniqueness of their experiences. Future research, focused on group specific concerns, could close the existing gap in the knowledge base.
4
Mbewe, Mpho. "‘Ubhuti wami’: a qualitative secondary analysis of brothering among isiXhosa men." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013149.
Full textAbstract:
This project is interested in investigating the construction of the fraternal sibling relationshipwithin the South African context from a narrative perspective. In particular, this study is interested in the ways in which middle aged isiXhosa men narrate experiences of brothering and how social class, as one particular context, mediates these narratives. This project is particularly interested in brothering within the isiXhosa culture and is concerned with both middle class and working class men within this cultural context. The project takes as its particular focus the meaning of brothering, and specifically how masculinity, intimacy and money or class influence the brothering practices constructed by the men in the sample. The project employs a social constructionist perspective, using a thematic narrative analysis to analyse the data. This project uses secondary analysis of data, as the data was collected for the primary use by Jackson (2009), Peirce (2009), Saville Young (Saville Young & Jackson, 2011) and Stonier (2010). The analysis reflects emergent themes of the importance of fraternal sacrifice, care-taking and sibling responsibility, honouring the family, and challenge to traditional masculinity. These themes emerged within the prior themes of masculinity, intimacy and class within brothering. The men spoke of keeping the family prosperous and united as an important duty in their brothering role. Affection was expressed more practically and symbolically, and closeness constructed through shared experiences, proximity and similarities. My findings reflect that family expectations, culture and social context had key influences on brothering, based on the men's narratives. Findings are discussed in relation to literature on brothering, masculinity and intimacy, and the influence of money in close relationships.
5
Mu¨hlan, Eberhard. "Family structures among Adivasis in India : a description and comparison of family structures and lives within the patrilineal tribe of Saoras in Orissa and the matrilineal tribe of Khasis in Meghalaya, India." Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.683361.
Full text
6
Rozanna, Lilley. "Paperbark people, paperbark country : gender relations, past and present, amongst the Kungarakany of the Northern Territory." Thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Sydney, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/275607.
Full textAbstract:
Not having the feeling of presenting a clearly identifiable product, I will explain some of the basic impressions that motivated this thesis, point out the targets it is aimed at, the polemics it engages in or opens and indicate something of the design of the work.
7
Woodruff, Sylvia. "Sherpa women." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1988. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/402.
Full text
8
McAllister, P. A. "Xhosa beer drinks and their oratory." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012863.
Full textAbstract:
This is a study of 'beer drinks' among Xhosa people living in the Shixini administrative area of Willowvale district, Transkei. Beer drinks are defined as a 'polythetic' class of events distinguishable from other kinds of ceremonies and rituals at which beer may be consumed, and an attempt is made to outline their major characteristics. A detailed description of the way in which beer drinks are conducted is provided in Chapter 3, with emphasis on the symbolism involved in the allocation of beer, space and time, and on the speech events (including formal oratory) that occur. The main theoretical argument is that beer drinks may be regarded as 'cultural performances' in which social reality or 'practice' is dramatised and reflected upon, enabling people to infuse their experience with meaning and to establish guidelines for future action. This is achieved by relating social practice to cultural norms and values, in a dynamic rather than a static manner. It is demonstrated that the symbolism involved in beer drinking is highly sensitive to the real world and adjusts accordingly, which means that 'culture' is continually being reinterpreted. Despite poverty, a degree of landlessness and heavy reliance on migrant labour, Shixini people maintain an ideal of rural selfsufficiency and are able to partly fulfill this ideal, thereby maintaining a degree of independence and resistance to full incorporation into the wider political economy of southern Africa. They achieve this largely by maintaining a strong sense of community and of household interdependence, linked to a sense of Xhosa tradition. It is this aspect of social practice, manifested in a variety of forms - work parties, ploughing companies, rites of passage, and so on - that is dramatised, reflected upon and reinforced at beer drinks. In a definite sense then, beer drinks may be regarded as a response and a way of adapting to apartheid, and this study one of a community under threat.
9
Reig, Alejandro. "When the forest world is not wide enough we open up many clearings : the making of landscape, place and people among the Shitari Yanomami of the upper Ocamo basin, Venezuela." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.669819.
Full text
10
Boni, Stefano. "Hierarchy in twentieth-century Sefwi (Ghana)." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1999. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c3238187-7e9d-465d-b9e4-63ea1ad7eda1.
Full textAbstract:
The dissertation aims to provide an understanding of the relation between political-economic power and the attribution of social value in twentieth-century Sefwi (Ghana). The existing literature on relations of dominance amongst the Akan has flaws: works examine single relations of dominance in isolation; studies focus mostly on discontinuity and change; peripheral areas are neglected. In the dissertation these issues are addressed. Hierarchy is used as an analytical tool which enables one to link diverse expressions of dominance; the persistence of certain hierarchical patterns throughout the twentieth century is analysed alongside transformations; and the focus is on Sefwi, a marginal region of the Akan world. The dissertation is divided into five sections. The introduction presents the methodological and theoretical approach adopted in the work. Part one is concerned with change in hierarchical patterns: twentieth-century dynamics are analysed to determine the extent of change with reference to chiefly power, capitalist.relations and gender issues. Part two shows that unequal relations inform three hierarchical domains -ancestry, gender and seniority. Part three addresses the issue of the coherence and unity of hierarchy by examining modes of organization of experience that cut across the three domains of inequality: reference is made to the use of kinship terms; concepts of ownership, caretakership and help; recourse to the supernatural; food and drink transactions. In the conclusion, Sefwi hierarchy is examined in a wider comparative and theoretical perspective with reference to the notions of 'encompassing of the contrary' (Dumont) and 'fetishization' (Marx).
11
Butt, Leslie. "The social and political life of infants among the Baliem Valley Dani, Irian Jaya /." Thesis, McGill University, 1997. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=34921.
Full textAbstract:
Among the Baliem valley Dani of the central highlands of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, infants play a prominent role in social relations. Infant mortality rates among the Dani are above two hundred and fifty deaths per thousand live births and birth rates are low. To these patterns of infant survival and growth the Dani consistently ascribe complex meaning. Drawing from anthropological research conducted in 1994--1995 in the Baliem valley, this dissertation demonstrates that indigenous meanings about the infant body and assessments of infant health link the infant to political relations within polygynous families, to antagonistic gender relations, and to affiliations with powerful ancestor spirits. Gender relations play a prominent role in explanations about infants. When an infant dies, parents explain the death in ways that reflect the lower social status of women in relation to men. A study of sex ratios during the first year of life and biased use of health services by gender of the infant suggest that the Dani may generate and validate cultural patterns of gender inequality during the earliest months of life.Infants also play an important role in national politics. In Indonesia's attempts to assimilate indigenous peoples into the country's economic development agenda, the infant appears in health promotions as a member of a contrived ideal family. These national cultural models, grounded in a concern with population control, translate into an applied health agenda for infants that has little impact on the mortality rates of the very young in Dani society.
The infant, though mute, is a powerful figure at the center of many social and political relations. The richness of meaning attributed to infants in the Baliem valley suggests that further research is needed to correct lacunae in anthropological theory about one of life's key social figures.
12
Pritchard, Stephen (Stephen John) 1970. "Contested titles : postcolonialism, representation and indigeneity in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand." Monash University, Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, 2000. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/7831.
Full text
13
Anderson, Gavin Craig. "The social and gender identity of gatherer-hunters and herders in the Southwestern Cape." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22515.
Full textAbstract:
Bibliography: pages 134-166.Southern African archaeology has experienced several changes in theoretical perspectives over the past few decades. More recently there have been renewed calls for a more social and theoretical approach to the analysis of the prehistoric past, especially the Late Stone Age. This thesis is an account of the last 4000 years in the southwestern Cape, where material culture is analysed in terms of contextual meaning. Contextual meaning is used in conjunction with social identity theory to analyse the interaction between Khoi herders and San gatherer-hunters. I use the active processes of identity formation and maintenance to argue that both the isolationist and revisionist arguments have simplified the concepts of identity, where identity is seen to have a passive role in interaction. I argue that identity is dynamic and changeable, and that individuals have several social identities which are made salient according to the context of interaction. I use specific fine line images in the rock art to argue that these images, in conjunction with scraper styles, were used as strategies by San males to increase their self-esteem. I further argue that interaction would result in unequal gender relations and San females used specific adzes to reassert their gender identity within San society. I further argue that finger paintings and handprints may have been painted by Khoi females as part of their menstruation and/or menarche rituals. I use both the gender and social identities from the Khoi and the San to argue that these are interrelated and cannot be separated. I argue that interaction would result in unequal gender and social practices and these practices would be expressed in the material culture of that group.
14
Daly, Lewis. "The symbiosis of people and plants : ecological engagements among the Makushi Amerindians of Amazonian Guyana." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6bb0c864-68d3-4909-b6d1-362e653229b1.
Full textAbstract:
This ethnoecological study of the Makushi Amerindians of Amazonian Guyana explores the place of plants in the indigenous culture and cosmology. The North Rupununi, the homeland of the Makushi people, is a bioculturally diverse mosaic of neotropical savannahs, forests, and wetlands. As subsistence hunters, fishers, and horticulturalists, the Makushi live in a constant and dynamic interaction with their ecologically rich surroundings. Against the human-faunal bias latent in much Amazonian anthropology, I place plants firmly at the centre of analysis, a positioning that mirrors their centrality in the ethnographic context. Human-plant encounters explored herein include swidden agriculture, the cultivation of bitter cassava, the fermentation of cassava drinks using a domesticated fungus, the use of a category of charm plants, and the consumption of plant substances in shamanic ritual. With the Makushi, I emphasise the status of plants as living selves and agents of semiosis, occupying perspectives on the world in and outside of their interactions with human beings. In order to investigate ethno-theories of life, I attempt to understand the constitution of the person - and associated notions of body and soul - in the indigenous cosmology. Makushi ontology can be characterised as animic - though as I argue, it also incorporates naturalistic and analogic elements. Thus, it is poly-ontological. This study pursues a dual goal: first, to pay heed to the trans-specific domain of living entities revealed in the Makushi ethnoecology, and second, to rethink conventional symbolic frameworks characteristic of anthropological approaches to culture. I explore the application of a more robust approach to sign-flows in nature - Peircian ecosemiotics - that allows for the analysis of plant communication, birdcalls, insect stings, and leaf patterns, as well as human language. In tracing these interspecific webs of signification, conclusions are drawn about the varied ways in which Makushi people engage with and think about their living environment. At the same time, many Makushi multispecies engagements are based on the physical transfer of substances between bodies of different kinds. In order to better account for this pervasive 'substance logic', greater attention must be paid to indigenous notions of corporeality and personhood. In doing so, I propose a dual analytical model that takes both the flows of signs and the flows of substances as its combined objective. This approach enables new conclusions to be drawn about multispecies relationality in indigenous Amazonian cosmologies.
15
Benbough-Jackson, Mike. "Locating a place and its people : Ceredigion and the Cardi, c.1760-2004." Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.683368.
Full text
16
Stotz, Gertrude, and mikewood@deakin edu au. "Kurdungurlu got to drive Toyota: Differential colonizing process among the Warlpiri." Deakin University, 1993. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20051110.142617.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is based on fieldwork I carried out between December 1987 and June 1989 while living with the residents of a small Warlpiri Outstation Community situated ca. 75 km north-west of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Colonialism is a process whereby incommensurate gender regimes impact differently on women and men and this is reflected in the indigenous response which affects the socialization of Western things.
The notion of the indigenous KIRDA-KURDUNGURLU reciprocity is shown to be consistent with a gender system and to articulate all exchange relations as pro-creative social relationships. This contrasts with the Western capitalist system of production and social reproduction of gendered individuals in that it does not ascribe gender to biological differences between women and men but is derived from a land based social division between Sister-Brother.
Social relationships are put under great strain in an effort to socialize Western things for Warlpiri internal use,
I argue that the colonization of Aboriginal societies is an ongoing process. Despite the historical shift from a physical all-male frontier to the present day cross-cultural negotiations between Aborigines and Non-Aborigines, men still privilege men. The negotiation process for ownership of a Community Toyota is the most recent phenomenon where this can be observed. Male privilege is established by linking control over the access to the Community Toyota with traditional rights to land.
However, the Toyota as Western object has a Western gender identity as well. By pitting women against men it engages people in social conflict which is brought into existence through an organisation of Western concepts based on an alien gender regime.
But Western things, especially the Community Toyota, resist socialization because the Warlpiri do not produce these things. Warlpiri people know this and, to satisfy their need for Western things, they engage them in a process of social differentiation. By this process they can be seen actively to maintain the Western system in an effort to maintain themselves as Warlpiri and to secure the production of Western things.
This investigation of the cultural response to Western influences shows that indigenous gender relations are only maintained through a socially stressful process of socializing Western things.
17
Segooa, Maite Stella. "The role of Chiefs as characters in Matsepe's novels : An appraisal." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2073.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M.A. (African languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2004.In this research an attempt has been made to assess, evaluate and examine the role of chiefs as characters in Matsepe's novels. The need for this study was found to be necessary because no in-depth study of the role of chiefs in Matsepe's novels has as yet been undertaken. This study demonstrates how Matsepe portrays chiefs as characters in his novels, what their duties are and how they help in developing his themes.
18
Komlosy, Anouska. "Images of the Dai : the aesthetics of gender and identity in Xishuangbanna." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/7293.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is based on fieldwork carried out m Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The main focus of the work is the Dai people, one of China's fifty-five so called 'Minority Nationalities'. I aim to paint a picture of the complex processes through which Dai ways of being and images of them are created and recreated. This is not to suggest that the Dai constitute a bounded group. Although Chinese official discourse presents a static, rigid picture of the so-called 'Minority Nationalities', I hope to have demonstrated that the everyday experiences of those in Banna are governed by a fluid and dynamic relationality. Images of 'Minority Nationalities' abound in China, these images are multiple and often contradictory. The Dai are known throughout China for their beauty, a beauty often portrayed as highly erotic. In this thesis I explore the implications of this image and the role of the Dai in its formation and continuity. With this in mind I examine the ways that the striking Dai aesthetic is used in the intricate power plays of Xishuangbanna. This work examines aspects of the Dai lived aesthetic and as such it has chapters on tattoo, architecture and feminine beauty. Dai aesthetic knowledge is interlaced with strands of moral, philosophical and cosmological insight, thus this work also includes a chapter on morality, autonomy and cooperation. The penultimate chapter uses vivid ethnography of the Water Splashing festival as a example of play of identities in Xishuangbanna. The Conclusion reiterates that the processes by which images, identities and aesthetic understandings are generated, and by which limits are explored and transgressed in Xishuangbanna are dialogic in character.
19
Dowling, Tessa. "Isihlonipho sabafazi : the Xhosa women's language of respect : a sociolinguistic exploration." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14268.
Full textAbstract:
Bibliography: leaves 166-172.Isihlonipho Sabafazi (the Xhosa women's language of respect) is a language in which syllables occurring in the names of menfolk are avoided by women. Thie thesis attempts to place the practice in it social context by applying both descriptive and analytical methodologies. The thesis include a literature survey and a critique on the dynamics of gender and language. The results of interviews conducted in three areas, one urban and two rural, are analysed and tabulated. A glossary of substitute words is included.
20
Liebenberg, Alida. "Authority, avoidances and marriage: an analysis of the position of Gcaleka women in Qwaninga, Willowvale District, Transkei." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002663.
Full textAbstract:
Authority as it operates in the daily lives of married women in Gcaleka society is reinforced and maintained by a body of avoidances which women need to observe during their married lives. Avoidances constitute part of the control system in the society whereby wives are being 'kept in their place'. Avoidances do not only restrict her, but also safeguard her position and her interests. Lines of authority emerge through the process of interaction; the structure reveals itself as avoidances are acted out in time and space. This study was conducted in Qwaninga, an administrative area in the coastal area of the Willowvale district, Transkei. The research started out as a study of ritual impurity and the status of women in a traditional, 'red' Gcaleka society. It soon became clear that pollution practices and beliefs associated with women form part of a greater body of avoidances which women need to observe during their married lives. Avoidances entail economic, dietary, sexual, linguistic and spatial prohibitions; as well as restrictions concerning what a woman is supposed to wear, and her withdrawal from social life. These restrictions are enforced through certain ritual and other sanctions. Three forms of avoidances are identified in this study, and are discussed and analysed. Avoidances are found in the everyday male/female division in society; in the ways through which the wife shows respect towards her husband and her in-laws (especially her husband's ancestors); and in the reproductive situations a woman finds herself in from time to time. In many anthropological studies in the past women have often been hidden in the background. This study is an attempt to give women the prominence they should be given, to show that nonwestern women are not as subordinated as people in Western society like to assume. In Gcaleka society the authority structure affecting the position of women is not only based on a distinction being made between males and females. It will be shown that a finer authority structure operates in this society whereby gender as well as age and kinship distinctions are being made. These distinctions constitute a system of classification which is safeguarded and protected by the avoidances and other restrictions imposed on women.
21
Fan, HaiYan (LingLing), and University of Lethbridge Faculty of Arts and Science. "Medical encounters in "closed religious communities" : palliative care for Low German-Speaking Mennonite people." Thesis, Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Anthropology and Health Sciences, 2011, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10133/3079.
Full textAbstract:
This multi-sited ethnography focuses on beliefs and practices associated with death,
dying, and palliative care among the Low German-Speaking (LGS) Mennonites. The
qualitative data, collected through participant-observation fieldwork and interviews
conducted in three LGS Mennonite communities in Mexico and Canada, show a gap
between official definitions of palliative care and its practice in real life. The LGS
Mennonites’ care for their dying members, in reality, is integrated into their community
lives that emphasize or reinforce discipleship by promoting the practices of mutual aid,
social networks, and brotherhood/sisterhood among community members. This study
also offers ethnographic insights into some difficulties that healthcare providers face
while delivering the “holistic” palliative care services to their patients in general, and to
the LGS Mennonites in particular. Finally, it provides some suggestions that may aid
healthcare providers in developing culturally safe and competent health care services
for the LGS Mennonite people living in Canada.xi, 231 leaves ; 29 cm
22
Cumes, Heide Ulrike. "Coping in two cultures: an ecological study of mentally ill people and their families in rural South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002467.
Full textAbstract:
This study explores severe mental illness in a South African ru~al district, moving, as with a zoom lens, from the macroperspectives of (i) Xhosa culture, and (ii) biomedicine, to the lived experience of the individual. Its methodology, predominantly qualitative, employed anthropological and psychological procedures. The fieldwork (1988-1989)encompassed a three month stay in the village of Msobomvu. Patients continued to be tracked informally until June, 1995. The empirical research has three parts. In part one, the person with a mental illness was contextualized within Xhosa cosmology and social attitudes. The cognitive and social ecologies were tapped through the narratives of high school and university students at different stages of a Western-biased education. Social attitudes regarding mental illness, and confidence in treatment by traditional healers and the hospital, were also evaluated. Traditional attitudes and supernatural beliefs of illness causation persisted in spite of Eurocentric education, with a concurrent increase in the acceptance of Western-type causal explanations commensurate with continued education. Part two considered the the patients in relation to (i) the biomedical framework (the mental and local hospitals), and (ii) their readjustment to the community after hospitalization. Data came from patient charts, interviews with medical staff, and follow-up visits in the villages. Socio-political and economic issues were salient. Part three case-studied people identified by the village residents as having a mental illness. Resources for treatment - traditional healers, mobile clinic, and village health workers - were the focus. The traditional healing system, and biomedicine, were compared for effectiveness, through the course of illness events. While biomedicine was more effective in containing acute psychotic episodes than treatment by the traditional healer, lack of appropriate resources within the biomedical setting had disastrous results for patient compliance and long-term management of the illness, particularly in people with obvious symptoms of bipolar disorder. The mental hospital emerged as an agent of control. While Xhosa culture provided a more tolerant setting for people with a mental illness, the course of severe mental illness was by no means benign, despite research suggesting a more positive outcome for such conditions in the developing world.
23
Woodress, Frederick A. "The impact of the media on the elderly (over 60) population in America's middletown." Virtual Press, 1989. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/720407.
Full textAbstract:
Researcher Frederick Woodress has added another study, one on media as it has impacted the elderly, to the large 65-year-old data bank for Muncie Indiana's "Middletown." The basic data was established in 1924 when Robert and Helen Lynd, pioneer sociologists, arrived in the Midwestern town to research and write their Middletown books. This new study covers 553 males and females ages 19 to 92--400 over 60 selected at random by computer, 75 in the 30 to 50 group, also selected at random by computer, and 78 journalism students. The elderly and 30 to 50 year-olds were interviewed by telephone while the students completed questionnaires face-to-face.As part of this investigation, Woodress surveyed prominent newspaper columnists, TV news people and editors about their perceptions of the media's coverage of the elderly. With 53 percent return, the author summarized the results of this mail survey.The 14 mediums examined included television, radio, newspapers, tabloids, magazines, books, comics, computers, VCR's and motion pictures. Complaints and compliments were expressed about various media with television rating as the medium the respondents of all ages would miss the most with newspapers a distant second. Elderly respondents displayed a strong interest in television, newspapers, magazines and books, spent considerable time listening to police/fire radio scanners and showed some interest in using computers. The elderly were very critical of the movie industry and two-thirds said they had not attended a movie for at least a year. Almost one-third of the 30-50 age group also admitted they had not attended a movie theater showing for a year, but all groups were watching movies on television, cable and VCR's.All three groups commented on the media coverage of the 1988 presidential election campaign and told what activities they would rather be doing than reading newspapers, listening to radio or watching television. This study is an overview of the growing elderly population, a group given scant attention in previous Middletown studies. It provides important insights for the media concerning this growing segment of the population.
24
Robson, Elsbeth. "Gender, space and empowerment in rural Hausaland, northern Nigeria." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2002. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:e40bc658-dff2-4876-a845-090a2552457a.
Full textAbstract:
Reducing gender inequalities by enabling women's empowerment is a major focus of the literature and practices of gender and development. The work of this thesis contributes to debates about female empowerment, especially for peasant women in peripheral capitalist economies. The central themes of enquiry are power relations of gender and space in the socio-economic processes in which peasant households and their members are embedded. The focus of investigation is the extent to which commodity exchange outside the household reinforces, or reduces, women's position of power/disempowerment. The central question taken for analysis is whether income earning via trading empowers women, thus reducing their subordination. This hypothesis is widely accepted. Many NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and other development institutions base efforts around the notion that income earning is liberating for women. This hypothesis is investigated for rural Hausa women in Northern Nigeria who are secluded within their homes by the religio-cultural practice of purdah, but who engage in trade, often through the agency of children. The major empirical part of the study develops and applies an original framework for analysis of empowerment that identifies and maps gender divisions of labour and space in the spheres of production, reproduction and circulation in which rural Hausa men and women are embedded. The overall conclusion reached is that gender divisions of work, both inside and outside rural Hausa households, and especially in trade, reflect and sustain the subordination of women and their inferior position relative to men, especially through the control of space. The notion of income earning as universally empowering for women does not hold because rural Hausa women engaged in the market are not significantly empowered by their income earning because of the complex realities of patriarchy whereby women have weak bargaining powers.
25
Coulehan, Kerin Maureen. "Sitting down in Darwin: Yolngu women from northeast Arnhem Land and family life in the city." Phd thesis, Northern Territory University, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/268621.
Full text
26
Booi, Beauty Ntombizanele. "Three perspectives on ukuthwasa: the view from traditional beliefs, western psychiatry and transpersonal psychology." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002445.
Full textAbstract:
Among the Xhosas, the healing sickness called intwaso is interptreted as a call by the ancestors to become a healer. Transpersonalists also see these initiatory illnesses as spiritual crises, while according to the widely accepted Western psychiatric view, illness is purely perceived in physical and psychological terms. A case study was conducted where a single participant who has undergone the process of ukuthwasa and is functioning as a traditional healer was interviewed. A series of interviews were done where information was gathered about significant experiences related to ukuthwasa process. Tapes were transcribed and a case narrative was written and interpreted using the traditional Xhosa beliefs, the western psychiatric and the transpersonal psychology perspectives. Strengths and weaknesses of each perspective were then examined.
27
Deliwe, Dumisani. "Responses to Western education among the conservative people of Transkei." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002662.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is concerned with the impact of Western education on the social life of the members of a Transkeian village. Various authors in the locally relevant literature, have for a long time commented that, due to Western education and Christianity, African societies became divided into 'school'people, who readily accepted Western education and culture, and 'red' people, who initially resisted these. Whilst the terms 'red' and 'school' became used as analytical constructs for the differing responses to Western culture, they were also used by African people. My findings at Qhude, Transkei, confirmed such a social division. I argue that this social division does not present an absolute distinction, but may best be conceived in terms of a continuum. Whilst the thesis considers interaction between the 'school' and the 'red' people of Qhude in various fields of life such as politics, law, religion (see Chapter Two) and education (see Chapter Six), the main emphasis is on the 'red' people. Thus, the thesis concerns itself, to a large degree, with an analysis of the 'red' people's experience and interpretation of Western education and Western educated people. The main argument is that the 'red' people's perception of Western education and Western educated people is ambiguous. That is, they see them in both positive and negative terms (see Chapter Five). This ambiguity is looked at here as a manifestation of the difficulties encountered by the 'red' people in adjusting to an institution (i.e Western education)that was initially foreign, and to which they were initially opposed. The perception of Western education as positive follows from the fact that it is seen as leading to economic empowerement by the 'red' people of Qhude, who are facing poverty, due to an economic decline (see Chapter Three). However, the economic contribution of the young (who are the ones receiving western education) and the knowledge they gather from school, threaten the authority of elders, as the young become increasingly independent from the elders. As a result of such independence, and other factors, Western education is seen in negative terms by the 'red' people. Such potential dangers of Western education are well recognised by the 'reds' of Qhude, and are dealt with culturally. That is, it is made clear to the young, in particular during occasions such as circumcision rituals, that education has to be made relevant to the building of the homestead, which is under the overlordship of parents whom the young are called upon to respect (see Chapter Six). In conclusion, it is argued that the use of culture in this way, shows how 'tradition' is employed to deal with crisis. Such use of culture necessitates a clarification of the opinion that uneducated Africans rejected Western education (see Chapter Seven).
28
Hanisi, Nosipho. "Nguni fermented foods: working with indigenous knowledge in the Life Sciences: a case study." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008372.
Full textAbstract:
This study examines learning interactions around indigenous ways of knowing associated with fermented grain foods (the making of umqombothi) and the concept of alcoholic fermentation in the Grade 11 Life Sciences curriculum. As an environmental education study it also investigates the cultural significances of the fermented grain food and how learners might make better lifestyle choices. The inclusion of indigenous ways of knowing in the Life Sciences curriculum (FET band) created spaces and opportunities for the use of both knowledge's in sociocultural context and the structured propositions of the learning area in order to construct knowledge. This stimulated learners' understanding of fermentation and also led to a valuing of social context as well as the cultural capital embedded in the indigenous ways of knowing. The study suggests that parental involvement contributed to this valuing of intergenerational ways of knowing. Learners also deliberated how colonial interpretations of Nguni culture and the religious beliefs of Christians had served to marginalise and foster a widening urban rejection of isiXhosa cultural practices related to fermented foods. In their learning and discussion, learners developed new insights and respect for isiXhosa fermentation practices (ukudidiyela) that bring out the food value and nutrition in the grain. The data illustrates that lesson activity that drew on relevant Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards to integrate Indigenous Knowledge practices in a Life Sciences learning programme, served to enhance learner understanding of alcoholic fermentation. They also document a revaluing of cultural heritage and learners bringing up the problem of alcohol abuse in the community. Curriculum work with Indigenous Knowledge thus not only assisted learners to grasp the science but to use this alongside a valued cultural knowledge capital to deliberate and act on a local concern.
29
Redd, David Allen. "Yoruba migrants : a study of rural-urban linkages and community development." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/MQ50561.pdf.
Full text
30
Kaschula, Russell H. "The transitional role of the Xhosa oral poet in contemporary South African society." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002085.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis outlines the changing role of the Xhosa imbongi in contemporary South African society. The changing socio-economic and political scenario in South Africa, and the way in which the imbongi is adapting in order to accommodate new pressures created by these changes, form an integral part of this thesis. The effects of education and increasing literacy on the tradition are outlined. The interaction between oral and written forms is explored in chapter 2. The role of the imbongi within the religious sphere is included in chapter 3. Xhosa preachers within the independent churches often make use of the styles and techniques associated with oral poetry. Iimbongi who are not necessarily preachers also operate within this context. The relationship between the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the African National Congress and iimbongi has also been researched and forms part of chapters 4, 5, and the epilogue. The modern imbongi is drawn towards powerful organisations offering alternative leadership to many of the traditional chiefs. In the epilogue collected poetry is analysed in the context of Mandela's visit to Transkei in April 1990. Interviews have been conducted with chiefs, iimbongi attached to chiefs as well as those attached to different organisations. Poetry has been collected and analysed. In chapter 5, three case studies of modern iimbongi are included. The problems facing these iimbongi in their different contexts, as well as the power bases from which they draw, are outlined. Finally, an alternative definition of the imbongi is offered in the conclusion
31
Harple, Todd S. "Controlling the dragon : an ethno-historical analysis of social engagement among the Kamoro of South-West New Guinea (Indonesia Papua/Irian Jaya)." View thesis entry in Australian Digital Theses Program, 2000. http://thesis.anu.edu.au/public/adt-ANU20030401.173221/index.html.
Full text
32
Nxoko, Lloyd Chumani. "The significance of Nguni cattle with reference to traditional value in agriculture." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/10243.
Full textAbstract:
In the Xhosa culture, Nguni cattle have always been valued due to cultural rituals purpose but were not viewed from a development perspective. In fact, traditionally, in Xhosa society, cattle were used not only as primary sources of food such as milk, meat and other related secondary products, but in the performance of rituals. From milk one can get sour milk (amasi) which is a staple diet for both young ones and adults. Furthermore, butter, which was traditionally used for cosmetics purposes, is also derived from milk. Thus, the focus of this study is on the paradigm shift, as well as the role played by cattle in Xhosa cultural rituals and agriculture.
33
Nihill, Michael. "Roads of presence : social relatedness and exchange in Anganen social structure /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1986. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phn691.pdf.
Full text
34
Afari-Twumasi, Lucy. "Traditional and cultural practices and the rights of women : a study of widowhood practices among the Akans in Ghana." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2844.
Full textAbstract:
The study investigates the human rights violations that underlie widowhood practices in Cape Coast and Komenda in the Central Region of Ghana. Review of the relevant literature on widowhood practices suggests that widowhood practices are a global cultural phenomenon, which is not confined to Sub-Sahara Africa. A survey of relevant studies on the phenomenon suggests that there are two competing perceptions on African widowhood practices: (1) a dominant negative perspective and (2) a minor positive perspective. The dominant negative perspective, which receives overwhelming research attention, focuses only on the negative characteristics of widowhood while the minor positive perspective which receives scanty research attention, rejects the criticisms levelled against widowhood practices as being externally influenced by Christianity and Western Feminism. Various stakeholders within the Akan community were given an opportunity to retell their own versions of widowhood practices. In order to achieve this purpose, the research extracted competing narratives from all the multiple sample subgroups of the proposed study: widows; widow family heads; chiefs; widowhood ritual practitioners; elderly female supervisors of widowhood practices; an official from the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ); an official from the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MOWAC); and an official from the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of Ghana. The study found out that despite legislative intervention and policy frameworks, the practice still persist among the Akan communities in Ghana. The reasons for the continued existence of such rituals are explained followed by recommendations for possible solutions.
35
Husni, Rahiem Maila Dinia. "Learning from the west : sexuality education in taboo Javanese society." Thesis, McGill University, 2004. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=81497.
Full textAbstract:
In this thesis I examine the issues of sex education in Western and Javanese society using a conceptual-comparative approach. My main goal is to highlight the importance of sex education for young people in Javanese society. Research foci and discoveries include: how the notions of conservatism with regards to sexuality are rooted in Javanese culture and social values; the definitions, history, components, methods and principles of Western sex education (particularly Canadian); the measures of success for sex education programs in the West; and to what extent Western sex education can be applied to Javanese society. In the final chapter I offer recommendations for Javanese educational authorities on the need to create a new terminology of sex education.
36
Lombo, Nocawa Philomina. "Mental health care practitioners' perceptions of mental illness within the isiXhosa cultural context." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1179.
Full textAbstract:
This study sought to explore the perceptions of mental health care practitioners’ perceptions on mental illness within the isiXhosa cultural context. A qualitative exploratory descriptive and contextual design was used for the study. A non-probability purposive sampling method was used to select eight participants from Komani Hospital in Queenstown. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The services of an Independent Interviewer were used to avoid any bias as interviews took place where the researcher is employed. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data collected was analyzed according to Tesch’s eight steps of data analysis as described in Cresswell (1994:155). The researcher utilized services of an Independent Coder who verified the identified major themes. Four major themes emerged from the analysis of the interview: Mental health care practitioner’s perceptions of mental illness, perception of the causes of mental illness within the isiXhosa cultural context, mental health care practitioners’ views in the management and treatment of mental illness and suggestions put forward to improve the services to mental health care users. The major findings of this study were the lack of knowledge of culture of mental health care users. It is recommended that it would be proper if there could be co-operation between mental health care practitioners and traditional healers by working together as a team.
37
Kenema, Simon. "Bougainville revisited : understanding the crisis and U-Vistract through an ethnography of everyday life in Nagovisi." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/10289.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis offers an ethnographic study of everyday life in Nagovisi of Southwest Bougainville. The study focuses on aspects of how the Nagovisi construe social relations with a specific focus on vernacular categories and ideologies. The thesis deals with ideas about land, perceptions about the fluid nature of Nagovisi sociality, movement, and U-Vistract. The study is primarily based on thirteen months of field research I conducted in the Nagovisi between September 2011 and November of 2012. Through the exploration of the various thematic issues in the individual chapters the thesis offers a comparative scope for a tangential re-evaluation of the mine related crisis on the island. The focus on Noah Musinku and the Kingdom of Papala further illustrates this comparative scope by drawing an analogy between Panguna and U-Vistract and the complex entanglements and interrelationships between ideas relating to land, history, myth, relatedness, social unpredictability, and notions about wealth. It deals with the question of how persons, land and knowledge are mutually constitutive, and how each can affect the other as a result of history, and movement in time and space. By focusing on Nagovisi notions of the unpredictability of talk, knowledge, and the implication this bears on the nature of how people relate to each other and different places the thesis deals with what has long been proven a recalcitrant problem in PNG anthropological literature in which local life worlds are characterised by a fluidity of social forms.
38
Heim, Erik A. "An exploration of people, culture and work organization across cultures : theoretical framework and case studies." Thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/28340.
Full text
39
Chuene, Maria M. "Belief systems of Xhosa-speaking people on HIV/AIDS." Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/438.
Full textAbstract:
This study explores the following research problem: given that knowledge influences our behaviour, how do the belief systems of elderly Xhosa elderly people about HIV/Aids influence their behaviour? The goal of the study was to explore and describe the belief systems of Xhosa-speaking people about HIV/Aids, specifically focusing on elderly people. The goal was also to reach conclusions about how these belief systems influence their knowledge. The objectives were threefold: firstly to conduct interviews with respondents; secondly to do a literature study with the aim of doing a literature control; and, thirdly, to reach conclusions about the belief systems of elderly Xhosa-speaking people. The research employed a qualitative paradigm and a phenomenological qualitative design. The research setting was defined as a township area that is situated in the south-eastern part of Johannesburg or Gauteng area. The researcher chose ten respondents who were all Xhosa-speaking and elderly, and the interviews were conducted individually. Non-probability or judgemental sampling, which is also known as convenience sampling, was used. The interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim, and field notes were also used as another method of collecting data. The data was analysed according to the eight steps of Tesch (1990) in Cresswell (1995:155). The process of data verification was done according to Guba’s Model of Trustworthiness (in Krefting, 1991:215-222). The actions taken to ensure trustworthiness included prolonged and varied engagement, triangulation, peer examination of research methodology, interviewing techniques and skills such as probing, clarifying, reframing and establishing the researcher’s authority. Seven themes and eleven categories with their sub-categories were drawn from the data obtained during the interviews. The first theme was: how do people contract the HIV/Aids virus? Under this theme, there were eight categories: contraceptives, cancer, sexual intercourse, witchcraft, sexually transmitted disease, blood transmission, sores and respect for cultural norms. The second theme was prevention and treatment, which included the following categories: condoms, one partner and trust, traditional herbs, medicine and prayer. Theme three was: how did HIV/Aids develop? Theme four was: how can people avoid getting HIV/Aids? Theme five was: who gets HIV/Aids? Theme six was: who brought HIV/Aids? Theme seven was: do you know anyone who has HIV/Aids and how do you think the person was infected? Specific conclusions were drawn based on these findings. Firstly, it was concluded that people contract the virus in many ways, as mentioned above – such as through unsafe sexual intercourse (see paragraph 2 above). Secondly, people like immigrants and drug injectors are more susceptible to spreading the Aids virus. Thirdly, the issue of cultural dominance also increases the spreading of the virus due to the failure to practise safe sex. Fourthly, people lack knowledge about the virus. Fifthly, HIV/Aids cannot be cured by medicine, traditional means or even the church. Instead, it can be treated by using drugs, such as neviropine, zidovidine and other medicines which can stop the virus from multiplying its cells in the person’s system. However, further research is needed before we draw conclusions, especially on the issue of cultural beliefs towards the virus. The conclusions were complemented by specific recommendations.Dr. E. Oliphant
40
Molnar, Andrea Katalin. "The grandchildren of the Ga'e ancestors : the Hoga Sara of Ngada in West-Central Flores." Phd thesis, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/111186.
Full textAbstract:
The thesis is based on eighteen months of fieldwork in the regency of Ngada on
the eastern Indonesian island of Flores. It examines the system of organizing
principles and symbolism of Hoga Sara society as is expressed in its social
organization and cosmology.
The people of the modem village and former village confederacy of the Sara
Sedu, the Hoga Sara, are on a continuum with the Ngadha and Nage-Keo ethnic
groups of the regency. They exhibit, however, their own unique cultural features as a
group in their own right, and as a part of a larger grouping which encompasses the
peoples of their neighbouring villages of Taka Tunga, Sanga Deto, and Rowa.
The introduction situates the Hoga Sara in their ethnographic region and
provides a brief literature and historical review of the regency.
The first chapter of the thesis examines Hoga Sara identity in the context of
contrasting themselves to the Ngadha on the one hand, and predicating commonality
with the Hoga Taka, Are, and Rowa on the basis of common derivation from a
ancestral pair and their offspring, the Ga'e siblings, on the other. Common ancestral
derivation, ebu mogo, is also a basis of defining the identity of the Hoga Sara as a
group, although composed of authochthonous and immigrant clans. Other aspects of
group definition are connected with shared agricultural calendar and other collective
ritual activities. The second chapter focuses on the individual traditional villages ( nua) which
make up the territory of the former village confederacy of Sara Sedu. The
composition of the nua and spatial orientation within it are examined.
The third chapter deals with Hoga Sara organization of the individual clans
(woe) that occupy the nua. The woe is composed of a number of named and
supporting unnamed houses. The two eldest houses, sa'o pu'u (source houses) — sa'o
saka pu'u and sa'o saka lobo (trunk and tip rider houses) -- form the major dual
division within the clan. All named houses relate to each other and to their unnamed
houses as elder-younger, ka'e-azi, based on the order of precedence of their
establishment. The trunk and tip parts of the clan furthermore relate to each other as
female and male. Structural differences between the clans of Sara and Sedu(Bodo)
are also highlighted.
Chapter four looks at the house as the basic unit of social organization. The
house is a collectivity of a group of related families. The principles of membership,
who is an ana ebu of the house, as well as the process of derivation from one named
house from another are examined. Membership is based on a range of principles:
payment of bridewealth, fulfilment of ritual obligations, tracing derivation through
the father's houses and the house of origin of the mother, and marriage. Access to
ancestral land is ultimately dependant on membership (ana ebu status). The named
house ties together wide ranging social relations and is thus the basic unit of social
organization of the Hoga Sara. The fifth chapter examines the significance of the named house (sa'o meze) and
other physical objects emblematic of house and clan organization with regard to
Hoga Sara concepts of identity and continuity. Social use of space, various symbolic
aspects, and cosmological significance of the sa'o are explored. The buffalo sacrifice
post (madhu or peo), the ancestral mother house (bhaga) and megalithic stone
platforms (nabe and ture) are also considered with respect to identity. Chapter six continues to examine the significance of these physical structures
of a clan in the context of Hoga Sara concepts of continuity. The cycle by which
deceased members of a house become the specific protective ancestors of a clan and
house are considered with a focus on the ancestral embodiment in the parts of the
house, stone platforms, and sacrificial post. The ritual installation of these objects is
thus essential in securing the continuity of a house or clan in the form of lifegenerative
potential granted by the ancestors.
Chapter Seven looks at the relationship of the Hoga Sara with their ancestors.
The nature of the ritual interaction between the living and the ancestors is examined.
A specific example, the ritual installation of the buffalo sacrifice post (madhu or
peo) is considered in this regard.
The conclusion provides an overview of Hoga Sara society with reference to
current approaches of comparative studies of Austronesian societies. The
comparative remarks highlight the presence of several wide-spread organizing and
symbolic principles which the Hoga Sara share with other Indonesian groups, yet in
their own unique configuration which is the result of local historical process of
development.
41
Mulambuzi, Francis Xavier. "Beliefs in ancestral spirits : interpreting contemporary attitudes of the Baganda to the ancestors." Thesis, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/5948.
Full textAbstract:
Ancestors represent a more enduring reality in the African world-view than deities,
other non-human spirits, or amulets and charms. This thesis argues that many
Baganda have beliefs in ancestors. Much of the knowledge on ancestors in Buganda
is still confined to oral tradition. It can be useful to have some material on the
ancestors in a written form. The time will come when those who know about the
subject will die and much of the information will disappear with them for ever.
Early European writers on Baganda people touched the topic of ancestors only briefly
in their texts, without reaching great depth. The subject is given little space in their
works. Hence, they missed some major and dynamic aspects of the Baganda religion
and beliefs. Another point is that there are many changes that have taken place and
influenced Baganda's beliefs since these writers produced their works. By highlighting
those changes, this thesis tries to give a clear picture of what has transpired between
the period when those early writers wrote and today (1996), as far as such beliefs are
concerned. The early part of the thesis defines the word ancestor and other key
concepts. It gives a general analysis of ancestors in Africa. Then it moves on to
consider ancestors and the ancestral cult in Buganda. The thesis describes the earliest
accounts of the cult of ancestors in the pre-colonial period after which it looks at
ancestral observances. The effects of christianity, Islam, and political independence
on Baganda ancestral beliefs are discussed. The final stage of the study covers my
findings from fieldwork. This includes statements from some of the informants I
interviewed during fieldwork and my own conclusions regarding change and the
contemporary situation.
In this study, I have reflected on the perspectives of recent academic findings in order
to facilitate comprehensive descriptions, analysis, discussion and careful interpretation
of the beliefs under investigation. The ability of the Baganda people to retain their
traditional beliefs along with basic Christian, Muslim and modern beliefs has been
described and discussed.Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.
42
Shabangu, Thoko Margaret. "Ucwaningo olunzulu ngesiko lemvelo lokunakekelwa kokukhulelwa nokubeletha = A critical analysis of indigenous knowledge systems related to pregnancy care (antenatal) and infant delivery." Thesis, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/263.
Full textAbstract:
Submitted in partial fullfilment for the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of IsiZulu namaGugu in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, 1999.This research work is an effort to scrutinize the custom of cultural preparations for pregnancy, following the procedures and African traditions because culture is the backbone of human life and the most important factor in human development. In this thesis, explanations are also given for the infertility of young brides and what is done traditionally to solve such problems. Problems of complications during the gestation period which result in miscarriages are analyzed as well as procedures which must be undertaken after a miscarriage in order to prevent a recurrence thereof, by following African methods. What encouraged the researcher was to bring to the awareness of the Black Nation the need to look back to their ancestors' customs which they lived before the advent of hospitals and clinics. It has to dawn their minds that the numerous health problems which they encounter these days and which white doctors fail to cure, can be controlled if they stick to their customs. Some of these problems is failure of women to conceive when they are already married as well as miscarriages. Most of these problems emanate from the fact that the majority have lost their traditional practices and have stuck to those of nations belonging to the Western culture. Therefore, the knowledge which is gathered in this research emphasizes the gist of the research which says: "The science of the Blacks, of using traditional herbs and of communicating with their ancestors in order to get help, worked for the great grandparents, is stiff working nowadays, and it will continue to work effectively for the next generations as long as they practice it. The first chapter indicates the objectives and the incentives which inspired the researcher to research this topic, following the processes of the African culture after experiencing the pain suffered by African women who lose their marriages because of not bearing children, as well as suffering miscarriages which is caused by neglecting or looking down upon their customs, or because of not believing in them or ignorance about them. The predecessors who have researched and written something on this topic are also highlighted in this chapter. The second chapter focuses on the research which has been done on African rituals which should be done for men and women when they reach puberty which have an impact on their fertility when they have or have not been observed. Other customs are performed when the girl has been engaged, prior to her wedding day and they are carried on when she leaves her home right up to when she gets to the groom's place on the wedding day. This encourages both the maternal and paternal ancestors to co-operate between themselves in providing the married couples with children and overall wellbeing in their married life. In the same chapter there is a discussion of traditional preparations for enabling the bride to fall pregnant after marriage when she encounters problems of not conceiving even when customary precautions have been practiced. The third chapter focuses on emphasizing the causes of failure to conceive in the bride and what should be done, using traditional methods so as to overcome these problems. Different types of diseases that lead to barrenness or infertility, ancestral spirits, African traditions Which have been neglected, different ways of witchcraft as well as different types of snakes of love potions which eventually destroy the blood clots where from the feotus develop have been highlighted. The fourth chapter focuses on revealing the causes of miscarriages and resolutions thereof the African way. Close scrutiny is given to the different ways of sorcery which lead to miscarriages, dreams of man-made bad spirits and those of the deceased, and infectious and non-infectious diseases which may have a detrimental effect on the unborn baby. Focus has also been placed on the importance of cleansing the woman who has had a miscarriage, being cleansed from bad luck using the stomach contents of a goat. What happens to a man who gets intimate with an unpleased woman is also clarified in this research work. The fifth chapter is an analysis where the research is being analyzed. There are also recommendations which can be followed to open the eyes of the community so as to get their problems solved. These recommendations encourage especially Black people to stick to their customs which is a way of keeping traditional rituals or practices as well as their traditional religion so that even if they follow the Western culture but they should not do away with the science of their black ancestors.
43
"The Malay community of Gauteng: syncretism, beliefs, customs and development." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1869.
Full textAbstract:
M.A.The dissertation focuses on a particular community, religiously defined, residing in a certain area. It characterizes their particular beliefs and customs, and portrays the history and development. For this purpose several sources have been consulted and no less than 37 people interviewed. The Malay community of Gauteng predominantly originated from the Cape and Port Elizabeth. Their ancestors were originally posted to South Africa from the Dutch settlements in the Malay Archipelago during the 17th and 18th centuries as slaves and political exiles. Some of them, however, were people of high rank. The Malays settled in Johannesburg and Pretoria towards the end of the 19th century and in Nigel between 1976 and 1977. This area is presently known as Gauteng. The Malay community of Gauteng are all Muslims and predominantly followers of the Shafi‘î madhhab (Islamic School of Thought). They constitute a minority group both religiously and ethnically. The Malays of Gauteng furthermore consist of various ethnical groups who were classified as part of the Coloured population group under the Group Areas Act 41 of 1950. In Johannesburg and Nigel the Malays lived in Coloured residential areas but in Pretoria the Malays rather associated them with the Indian Muslims. In Pretoria the majority of the Malays therefore settled in the Indian residential area Laudium instead of the Coloured residential area Eersterust. The research highlights the prominent early ‘Ulamâ’ (Muslim religious scholars) in both the Cape and Gauteng as well as their contributions towards the preservation, growth and development of Islam in both areas. Unfortunately in the Gauteng province (formerly part of the old Transvaal province) the Malays were often denied their contributions and initiatives in the Islamic field by another Muslim ethnical group. Attention is paid to the Malay communities’ acceptance of various syncretistic elements and innovations in their daily Islamic belief systems and social and religious customs. These include certain practices during pregnancies, ‘aqîqah (birth ceremonies), grave worshipping, engagements, weddings, doopmaal (baptisms), religious celebrations and tamats (Muslim religious school graduations). The research shows how pure Islamic elements were diffused and transformed into a unique local version of Islam since their days of slavery. The said practices also reflect possible elements of Hinduism and local tribal customs in them. It is founded in the research that the Malay community practised syncretism in the spirit of pure Islam. Their syncretistic customs were never intended to show disrespect to Islam or to create a new brand of Islam. It was practiced by the majority of the Malay community rich and poor, educated and uneducated. The Malay community of Gauteng never realised nor were they aware that their various religious customs and cultures were actually syncretistic in nature and not part of pure Islam. It was only during the last fifteen years that they became aware of this fact. To many Malays what they were practising was part of Islam and as such will always be part of Islam and part of their heritage. Their practices, however, brings them into conflict with some of the Malay ‘Ulamâ’. The research also discusses the various dark superstitious beliefs of the Malays of Gauteng. These kinds of superstitious beliefs formed an integral part of the belief system of the Pagans prior to the advent of Islam. Unfortunately even today superstition still forms part of some Malays’ belief system which include elements such as visiting dukums (Malay spiritual doctors), fortune tellers; avoiding double weddings; superstitious beliefs pertaining to pregnant ladies, new born babies and the misperception that the month of Safar (2nd Islamic month) is filled with fear, ill fortune and bad luck. Some Malay ‘Ulamâ’ especially those who are alumni from the Dâr al-‘Ulûms tried and are still trying various methods to rid the general Malay community of Gauteng from their syncretistic practises and superstitious beliefs but unfortunately they are not very successful in it. Wherever and whenever these ‘Ulamâ’ officiate at Malay religious functions they would not participate nor allow or even encourage that any of the Malay syncretistic practices should be part of the proceedings. Since the Malays of Gauteng have moved to new mixed racial areas far from vibrant Malay communities the future of the Malay culture is however unpredictable. The research further focuses on the spiritual, educational and economical development of the Malays of Gauteng. Firstly it focuses on the fact that the Malays were forcibly removed from their homes in Johannesburg and Pretoria and compelled by the government to resettle in new Coloured residential areas. Here they were however afforded the opportunity to purchase their own residential properties and built their own businesses. (Formely the Malays were deprived by the authorities to rent businesses from government owned business enterprices). Secondly it focuses on the growth and development, deterioration and eventual resurgence of the Malay Hifz (memorization of the Qur’ân) tradition. A similar tendency is also reported with regard to the number of ‘Ulamâ’. Most students are nowadays trained locally at the Dâr al-‘Ulûms in South Africa. Formerly they were educated at institutions in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Many Malay ‘Ulamâ’, past and present were known for their extensive academic qualifications. Thirdly the research focuses on the Malay ‘Ulamâ’s inability and unsuccessful attempts since 1923 to establish a recognized ‘Ulamâ’ body (theological council) in Gauteng. The research found that the Malay ‘Ulamâ’ had over the years resisted all attempts to unite on a common ground in Gauteng.
44
D'Arcy, Paul. "The people of the sea : the maritime dimension of Pacific Island history." Phd thesis, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/148151.
Full text
45
Bongela, K. S. 1936. "Isihlonipho among Amaxhosa." Thesis, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/948.
Full textAbstract:
Isihlonipho among amaXhosa is a study based on the indigenous culture of amaXhosa, a vibrant nation forming a black section of the South African population. In order to capture those interesting aspects embraced within the theme of this study, the researcher has deemed it proper and appropriate to focus his attention largely on the cultural practices of these people citing various stages of their cultural development. Although some of the most important cultural activities such as religion, ancestor worship, totems and others have been highlighted together with the statuses of certain personalities, places and family units, nevertheless, the emphasis is on hlonipha
language associated with cultural practices such as, inter alia, ulwaiuko (circumcision) and traditional marriage. It is also placed on the language of respect associated with the veneration of aspects such as the weather, animals, rivers, graves, inkundla and
many others. Of grave concern to the researcher is the fact that arrival of western civilisation, the spread of Christianity and the miscegenation of Black and White races have been
instrumental in eroding hlonipha practices and hlonipha language which has remained the pillar of the amaXhosa culture for centuries.
In view of the historical and political changes which have significantly affected the validity of these cultural practices, this thesis is inclined to support the spirit of renaissance which seeks to recoup those aspects ofthe past which our posterity needs for its cultural existenceAfrican Languages
D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)
46
Fakude, Nonkululeko Beauty. "Lucwaningo ngekulahleka kwemasiko nemihambo yemaSwati." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/936.
Full textAbstract:
Submitted in fulfillment for the Degree Master of Arts in the Department of African Languages at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2006.Lolu lucwaningo lolumayelana nekulahleka kwemasiko nemihambo yemaSwati. Luhleleke ngetehluko. Lolucwaningo lugcile kakhulu emaSwatini aseNingizimu Afrika luye luyewuphelela kaNgwane eSwatini. Sehluko I, sichaza lucwaningo kutsi lumayelana nekulahleka kwemasiko esiveni semaSwati, Sivete kubaluleka kwemasiko esiveni. Siveta tinhloso telucwaningo, tindlela telucwaningo, kubaluleka kwelucwaningo, nemkhawulo lucwaningo, sigcine ngekuvuselelwa kwesimilo. Sehluko 2, sichaza imphilo yemaSwati ngembi kwekufika kwebadzeshi. Siveta umlandvo wemaSwati aseNtalasifali, simonhlalo nekudla kWemaSwati. Siphindze sivete, umuti, kufa kwemnumzane ekhaya nemisimeto lechutjwako nakufiwe. Kubuywe kwachazwa imisebenti yemaSwati ngebulili nangekwehlukana kwetigaba . Sehluko 3, Sichaza ngekubaluleka kwemphilo nemikhosi lemikhulu yesive. Siveta kubaluleka kwekutimbandzakanya nalemikhosi, kanye nemvunulo yemaSwati. Sehluko 4, Sibuka tinkholelo temaSwati nalokunye lokubukeka kuligugu esiveni semaSwati. Sehluko 5, Siveta sikhatsi semphucuko esiveni semaSwati. Sitsintsa tintfo letehlukene letiyinkhomba yekulahleka kwemasiko nemihambo yesintfu. Sehluko 6, Sibutselandzawonye konkhe lokntsintfwe lucwaningo. Siphindze sivete nalokntfolakele ngesikhatsi selucwaningo kanye netincomo.
47
Dube, Mbusiseni Celimpilo. "The tourism potential of Zululand north of the Tugela River with special reference to Zulu culture and history." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/757.
Full textAbstract:
Submitted in fullfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in the Department of History, University of Zululand, 2011.This thesis highlights historical sites with tourism potential between the Tugela and Lower Umfolozi Rivers up to Kosi Bay and the Mozambique border. This is roughly the area administered by the Uthungulu Regional Council today. These historical sites are monitored and administered by two most important acts i.e. the National Heritage Resources Act No. 25 of 1999 and the KwaZulu-Natal Heritage Act No. 10 of 1997. This research project comprises four chapters. It examines factors related to pre-colonial Zulu culture and focuses on how these factors could attract tourists. Furthermore it deals with historical places rich in tourism potential, showing how these historical places can attract the tourists. Chapter one addresses Zulu history from the earliest times to the present and the important aspects shaping current Zulu culture. Chapter two deals with traditional ceremonies which are part of African culture. Chapter three deals with sites of archaeological and historical interest. It further identifies and describes specific areas that are rich in Zulu history. The fourth chapter examines the Maputaland area and the St. Lucia Node and surroundings. The purpose is to explore the tourism potential of each heritage site and or region. Zulu customs that have the potential to become tourist attractions are identified and discussed prior to conclusions, which are drawn in the last chapter.
48
Kuckertz, H. "Authority structure and homestead in a Mpondo village." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/18039.
Full text
49
Therik, Gerzon Tom. "Wehali: the four corner land : the cosmology and traditions of a Timorese ritual centre." Phd thesis, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/143872.
Full text
50
Cleal, Alizon M. "Five narratives of religious itinerary from the Bosomefi and Anowa families of Ian Oguaa in Fanteland, Ghana : a theological exploration of the affinity between the world-view of the Christian scriptures and the African primal world-view." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/1900.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of the study is to show the presence of Christ in Fanteland by treating five Fante ancestral and current narratives as analogues of Genesis XIV and interpreting the resulting interpenetrating Scripture and Fante narratives sensus plenior in the manner of Hebrews VII for Fante Christians, revealing the hidden presence of Christ in them. This is made possible by a postulate of an affinity between the Hebrew world view and that of the Fante. What is considered right behaviour in Fanteland is also resonant with the ethics in Hebrews. A section on ethics arising out of the presence of Christ in the narrative follows in each case. The first chapter is introductory giving the aim and objectives of the study the justification, scope and limitations. This is followed by the intellectual framework from secondary sources and the methodology used. In Chapter II there is a comparison of the world view of Hebrews and of Fanteland with a view to seeing their affinity. Chapters III -V give the literary and historical background to each narrative, the narratives themselves and a theological and ethical meditation. In conclusion the fruit of these meditations is summarized and an evaluation is made.Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.