An Ethnographic Study in Barkly East
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Land as a Site of Remembrance: An Ethnographic Study in Barkly East By Karen Nortje Supervisor: Dr. R. Ebr.- Vally A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS University of the Witwatersrand Department of Social Anthropology 2006 1 Abstract This thesis is an examination of the ways in which people in Barkly East, a small town in the Eastern Cape, attribute feelings of belonging to the land they own and work. In a country such as South Africa, where the contestation of land is prominent and so integral to the political and social discourse, questions related to the idea of belonging are necessary and important. Significant questions addressed by this thesis are: Who belongs and why do they feel they belong? More importantly, the question of who does not belong, is addressed. In Barkly East a tug of war exists between groups and individuals who want matters to remain constant and those who need the status quo to change. What stands out, moreover, in this community, is its duality on many levels of society, which is played out both consciously and unconsciously. This duality is also manifested through social, racial and economic relations, and is supported by an unequal access to land. This thesis identifies three main elements which contribute to the creation of narratives of belonging in Barkly East. Firstly, history and the perception of history create strong links between personal and communal identity, which in turn reinforces and legitimises claims of belonging. Secondly, hierarchy in terms of gender and race plays an important part in this narration, as some residents are more empowered in this process due to either their gender or race. And three, the connection to the land that people appear to have, plays a definitive role in narratives of belonging. Those who feel they have a heritage in this place also feel a connection to the land. For this reason, land for these people embody, not only the physical space of ‘somewhere to belong to’, but becomes an integral ingredient to the act of belonging and even identity formation. 2 Declaration I declare that this is my own unaided work. It is being submitted for the requirements of the Degree of Masters in Social Anthropology, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. Karen Nortje 30 June 2006 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many to thank. First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Rehana Ebr. Vally. Her support and guidance has kept me going since my Honours project and has never wavered. Thank you Rehana for ‘sticking with me’ and always knowing what to say! Secondly, I would like to thank Ms. Nicole Ridgway and Dr Andre Czegledy for their input to my thesis at the initial stages. I would also like to extend my utmost gratitude to all my respondents and friends in Barkly East who have shared their lives and stories with me. In particular, Mr Peter and Mrs Marietjie Dormehl, Reece and Blaine, Dawn, Wynn and Tannie San. Thank you for sharing your lives with me. A big thank you also to Naledi who taught me a bit about “driving in the township”. I must also acknowledge my support system at work. Thank you to Thea, Kelly and Yvonne for believing in me, and to all those students and friends who have shared my anxiety. Also, to the parents and Gran, thank you for your unwavering support and putting up with me and my papers. It is appreciated! Lastly, Liz it is always your support that gets me through the long hours and self doubt. Dankie! 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURES, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TABLES 8 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 10 Research Question 11 Research Aims and Goals 11 Problem Statement 11 Rationale 12 Barkly East In Context 15 Location and Geography 15 Community Profile 20 Education and Economic Activity 24 Origins 30 Chapter Outline 35 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY 37 Literature Review 37 South Africa and Land 37 Space and Place 45 Landscape 48 Methodology 50 Ethnography and Anthropology at Home 51 Methods 56 Participant Observation: 56 Focus Groups, Interviews and Questionnaires 58 Textual Strategies 61 Ethics 63 CHAPTER THREE: THE HISTORY OF OUR FUTURE 66 Introduction 66 The Nature Of History And Its Duality In South Africa And Barkly East 67 Writing History 67 Everyday Living 72 Official Repositories of History and Knowledge 79 Conclusion 83 5 CHAPTER FOUR: “PLACING” BARKLY EAST 84 Introduction 84 Practised Places 85 Place related to identity and belonging: 86 Race And Place 88 South Africa’s Historical Context 88 Race and Place in Barkly East 93 Categorisation According To Place 105 Of town and township 106 Conclusion 109 CHAPTER FIVE: WOMEN, LAND AND GARDENING 111 Introduction 111 The Use Of Space 112 A gendered use of space 113 Land as gendered space in South Africa 116 Division Of Farms In Barkly East According To Gender 119 Gender division of farms in Barkly East linked to homemaking 122 How Does My Garden Grow In Barkly East? 126 Gardens of Beauty and Prestige 127 Gardens of Subsistence 131 Conclusion 134 CHAPTER SIX: MEMORY AND LANDSCAPE IN BARKLY EAST 136 Introduction 136 What Is Memory And How Can We Understand Its Significance? 137 What is memory and how does it work? 138 Memory: Filtered and Subjective, Individual and Collective 139 The Sweet With The Bitter: Remembering Barkly East 142 The Sweet 143 The Bitter 144 Landscape And Sacredness 148 Land Becomes Sacred 149 Conclusion 155 CHAPTER SEVEN: INTO THE FUTURE 157 Introduction 157 6 Revival Comes From Within 158 ‘Modern’ Farmers 165 The Link: Economic Upliftment And Land Policies 169 Conclusion 170 CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSION 172 Introduction 172 Conclusions 173 REFERENCE LIST 176 Academic 176 Newspaper, Magazine Articles 192 National & Local Government And NGO Publications And Research 193 APPENDIX I 196 7 FIGURES, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TABLES Figures Figure 1.1 Local tourism map of Barkly East and its surrounds 16 Figure 1.2 Town map distributed by the Barkly East Tourism Association 18 Figure 1.3 Distribution of population according to race 21 Figure 1.4 Percentage of language spoken across race groups 22 Figure 1.5 Population distribution according to age and population group 24 Photographs Image 1.1 Barkly East town is nestled against the Drakensberg Mountains 19 Image 1.2 Sheep farming is very successful in the area 20 Image 1.3 Sezamulwazi Primary School in the township 26 Image 1.4 A Variety of children can currently attend school at the Barkly East School that is situated in the town itself 27 Image 1.5 The tar road that leads to Bloemfontein 29 Image 3.1 The soccer “team” 74 Image 4.1 Uncle Siswana’s house 97 Image 4.2 The farmhouse that belongs to the Danish owner of the farm Uncle Siswana currently resides on 98 Image 4.3 A house in the ‘black’ part of the township 106 Image 5.1 A Sun-dial in a secluded corner of the garden 128 Image 5.2 Pumi on a piece of land recently donated for a garden of Subsistence 133 Image 7.1 Ntombekaya, one of the seamstresses at the Qhubeka Sewing Project, displays her handiwork 162 8 Image 7.2 Several farmers from Barkly East and the outlying district came to the Farmers Association meeting 166 Tables Table 1.1 Level of education across population groups 20 Table 3.1 Legislation regarding land issues 73 Table 4.1 Perceptions of residents of Barkly East of the town and township 103 Table 5.1 Level of income of Black African women 128 Table 7.1 Level of unemployment across race and gender 159 9 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Barkly East does not immediately grab one as the hub of activity, nor does it flatter you with eloquence or style. Rather this place lies in its cradle of mountains, unchanging it seems, experiencing life at the very slow pace of day- to-day living. From time to time some strangers pass through, usually on their way to somewhere exciting, maybe Queenstown or the Tiffindell Ski resort, even Bloemfontein. For most of these passers-by, Barkly East is hardly ever a destination. Neither its green hills in summer, nor its icy white, snow caps in winter, is enough to make them stay. The question is thus; why did I choose to stay – for a little while at least? In 1999, Barkly East captured my attention and enslaved my pen and ink. I had decided upon this place as a study area for my honours project concerning issues of identity and gender. Having been somewhat familiar with this ‘space’, with some family staying there and personally visiting sporadically, I felt it would lend itself well to the kind of issues I would like to investigate. Little did I, at that stage, envisage the scope my work would later take. Upon finishing my honours research I came to realise that there was more to know about Barkly East and its people. My research in Barkly East to this point was limited in its focus to issues of gender, and I believed there to be another study, or rather other stories about this place that needed to be told. This thesis will attempt to tell some of the stories of Barkly East as captured and experienced by myself. Barkly East however has taught me that the research inquiry is not easily answered, and that while I might be looking for one particular type of story, this place has chosen many more for me to reveal.