Stories of Origin of the Sotho people of QwaQwa: The construction and maintenance of society through narratives Mantsi Teboho Pitso Thesis Submitted for the Degree: Master of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies Faculty of Social Science, University of Tromsø Norway, Spring 2009 Stories of Origin of the Sotho People of QwaQwa: The construction and maintenance of society through narratives By: Manti Teboho Pitso Thesis Submitted for the Degree: Master of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies Faculty of Social Science, University of Tromsø Norway, Spring 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………….I Abstact……………………………………………………………………………………...II CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………..1 Historical Background and Present Situation in QwaQwa…………..………1 Purpose and Significance of Study………………………………………….....4 Aims and Objectives of Research……………………………………………….4 Aims…………………………………………………………………………… 4 Objectives……………………………………………………………………....4 Definitions and Descriptions of Key Concepts and Terms…………………...5 Indigenous……………………………………………………………………..5 ‘Story of origin’…………………………………………………………………6 ‘Religion’………………………………………………………………………..6 ‘Myth’…………………………………………………………………………….9 ‘History’…………………………………………………………………...……10 Ntsoana-Tsatsi…………………………………………………………...……10 Difaqane………………………………………………………………...……..10 Previous Research………………………………………………………...……..10 Research Methodology ………………………………………………….............12 Entering the community……...…………………………………………….12 Data collection……………………………………………………………….12 Research schedule…………………………………………………………15 Research process…………………………………………………………...16 Findings………………………………………………………………………17 Reflection on my role………………………………………………………..18 Limitations of research……………………………………………………...19 Ethics of research…………………………………………………………...19 Chapter Overview…………………….………………………………………….20 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BASIS FOR ANALYSIS……………………..……..21 Introduction…………………………………………………..…………………...21 Differences between ‘Stories of Origin’……………………………………….21 Biographical Information of Informants…………………………………….….22 Categories of ‘Stories of Origin’………………………………………………...23 ‘Stories of origin’ with a predominantly ‘religious’ basis………………...23 ‘Stories of origin’ that are predominantly ‘mythical’………………………24 ‘Stories of origin’ that are predominantly ‘historical’……………………...26 Summary………………………………………………………………….…….…28 CHAPTER 3: ‘RELIGION’, ‘MYTH’ AND ‘HISTORY’………………….…………….31 Introduction………………………………………………………………………..31 Reasons for Categorizing Stories………………………………….…………...31 ‘Religion’ as a Category……………………………………………….…………32 Christianity and ‘stories of origin’………………………………….………..33 o Effect of conversion on the Sotho society…………………………37 ‘Myth’ as a part of ‘religion’…………………………………………….….....39 o ‘Stories of origin’ that make reference to know ‘myths’………..….41 ‘History’ as a category……………………………………………………...…......45 The Myth-like story………………………………………………………….....47 Transition from ‘Myth’ to ‘History’………………………………………………..48 ‘History’ as an Instrument for Structuring and Restructuring Society……….52 The use of discourse to maintain social boundaries between ‘tribes’…..53 Summary……………………………………………………………………………54 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………57 Description of Findings…………………………………………………………...57 Results of Research………………………………………………………………60 Concluding Remarks……………………………………………………………...61 Possibility of Future Research…………………………………………………...63 List of References………………………………………………………………………….64 Appendix…………………………………………………………………....……………….67 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people, without whom this thesis would be possible. Great thanks to my supervisors Dr Bjørn Ola Tafjord and Torjer Andreas Olsen for their unwavering patience and expert guidance through the process of my studies. I would also like to thank The Centre for Sámi Studies for affording me the opportunity to study the very important plight of Indigenous peoples and Lånekassen for funding my master’s education over the past two years. Moreover, I thank the Centre for Sámi Studies for providing funding for my fieldwork. I would also like to thank the Line Vraberg, Rachel Issa Djessa, Per Klemetsen Hætta, Hildegunn Bruland, Siri Johnsen, Bjørn Hatteng, Invild Svestad and Sverre Tvinnereim for your valuable assistance throughout the process of my studies. Special thanks to our Course Coordinators for the Master of Indigenous Studies programme, Bjørg Evjen and Johnny-Leo Jernsletten for their informative teachings and guidance. My sincerest gratitude to my informants for sharing their valuable knowledge and for an unforgettable experience. I would like to thank Theresa Reynolds for her beautiful photographs. Finally, a very special thanks to my husband, Bogosi oo Montshiwa Moshounyane and to my parents and sister for your love and support through the process of my studies. Most importantly, I thank God for His love, guidance, leadership and support. I ABSTRACT This thesis studies the role of narratives, particularly stories that describe the origins of people, in the construction, maintenance and restructuring of society. The focus of this thesis is on the ‘stories of origin’ of the Basotho of QwaQwa, a small town in the Free State province of South Africa. The narratives told are diverse in their content and context however they play a similar role in their effect on the structure of society. The part of society that is most impacted by each story is determined by the content of predominance and emphasis of each story. Each story is categorized according to its content into one of the following categories: ‘religion’, ‘myth’ and ‘history’. ‘Stories of origin’ that are religious are used to cement relations between members of society that share the same beliefs for example Christians, while ‘mythical’ stories are used to create bonds between all Sotho people, however ‘historical’ stories draw clear lines between members of the society and outsiders thereby creating solidarity within society. These findings are specific to the society of the Sotho people in QwaQwa and cannot be generalized to other Sotho societies, however, the study of narratives and social structure can be applied to other societies including those of Indigenous peoples. II CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Historical Background and Present Situation in QwaQwa Research was conducted in QwaQwa among the South Sotho people of Southern Africa. Citing Sharp and Murray, anthropologist Rachel Slater (2002) estimates the population of QwaQwa at about four hundred and fifty thousand by the late twentieth century. The exact size of the population today has not been shown in the recent government census; emphasis has been on cities and large towns. QwaQwa is situated between the borders to the Natal province and Lesotho in the Eastern Free State province of South Africa. The population is largely of Sotho origin, but other groups are found in this region. People of different origins arrived in this town under different circumstances. According to Anthropologist, Tim Quinlan (1988: 81), the Sotho people arrived in QwaQwa under the leadership of Mopeli Mokhachane who had moved to this region to avoid conflict with the sons of king Moshoeshoe. Quinlan (1988: 80) states that the half brother of king Moshoeshoe, Mopeli Mokhachane, signed a treaty in 1867 that allowed him and his people, who were seven hundred in number, to settle in the area of QwaQwa which was then known as Wietsieshoek. This treaty was signed with the government of the Orange Free State which was made up of mostly Dutch and German settlers who had occupied the area and held legal control of the region of the Orange Free State. See appendix for map of the location of QwaQwa in the Free State Province of South Africa (figure 1) (courtesy of Slater 2002: 118). Signing the treaty served as a step forward for him and his followers in their establishment as a recognized group, both legally in terms of the government of the Orange Free State and traditionally in terms of the leadership of the Sotho people. They became known as the Bakoena ‘tribe’, which Quinlan (1988: 82) refers to as the precursive Sotho society as oral tradition claims. He maintains that they were allocated the label of ‘tribe’ by the government in an effort to distinguish between the various groups of Bantu peoples and to distinguish between those who were compliant to governmental laws and rule and the non-compliant (Quinlan 1988). The Bantu people are the ‘black’ people of Southern Africa that include the Nguni and Sotho-Tswana groups. These two categories were 1 formed on the basis of linguistic variation, but various groups that speak a variety of languages exist within each of the two groups (Quinlan 1988). The South Sotho or Basotho, as they are commonly called, people belong to the Sotho-Tswana group. ‘Black’ people are the dark-skinned people that belong to various groups all over the world. These people experienced years of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination at the hands of others. The more specific experiences of the South Sotho people will be discussed later in this section. Two more ‘tribes’ settled in this region; the Batlokoa and Makholokoe ‘tribes’. However, Quinlan (1988: 83) puts emphasis of the idea that “… their identities were ideological constructions rather than apt conceptualizations of African society on the Highveld”. It is therefore important to note that the concept of ‘tribe’ was not a construction of the Bantu people, but rather a concept that was applied to them which eventually took a life of