Khomani San of the Southern Kalahari 74 3.1 Introduction
Genealogies and narratives of San authenticities The ≠Khomani San land claim in the southern Kalahari by William Ellis Source: Bantu Studies 11(3) Jones & Doke 1937 Thesis presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts: Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of the Western Cape Supervisor: Professor Diana Gibson University of the Western Cape 15 November 2012 Keywords: San, Bushmen, ≠Khomani, authenticity, land claims, Kalahari, traditional leadership 1 Abstract Genealogies and narratives of San authenticities The ≠Khomani San land claim in the southern Kalahari William Ellis Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts: Department of Anthropology and Sociology In this thesis, I examine the narratives of authenticity, the limits thereof, the potential interests served by these narratives, and the power relations involved in the promotion of an authentic San identity. I focus on four key areas to achieve this goal: the methodological issues involved in studying authenticity, the framing of the land claim lodged by the San against the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in South Africa in 1995, the post-land claim settlement activities on the restituted farms, and the various issues around authenticity and traditional leadership. I will also highlight a variety of issues, ranging from livelihoods to governance, community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), identity and ethnicity, and common property debates. The study begins with a brief introduction to the richly textured and highly contested debates and analytical issues concerning the San. Among other things, this first part of the thesis deals with naming, the alleged disappearance of the San, and the eventual reemergence of this group in the post-apartheid landscape of southern Africa.
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