ANTECEDENTS AND ADAPTATIONS IN THE BORDERLANDS: A SOCIAL HISTORY OF INFORMAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE RHODESIA-MOZAMBIQUE BORDER WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE CITY OF UMTALI, 1900-1974 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Supervisor: Dr. Muchaparara Musemwa Fidelis Peter Thomas Duri University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa 2012 i CONTENTS Declaration ...................................................................................................................................... i Abstract ............................................................................................................................ ………..ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iii List of acronyms ........................................................................................................................... iv Glossary of terms ...........................................................................................................................v List of illustrations ..................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background ..............................................................................................................................1 1.2 Aim of study ..............................................................................................................................2 1.3 Justification of the study .........................................................................................................3 1.4 Delimitation of the study .........................................................................................................5 1.5 Theoretical framework ............................................................................................................8 1.6 Review of related literature ...................................................................................................10 1.6.1 Growing scholarly interest on borders and borderlands during the post-Cold War era .......10 1.6.2 Academic debate on the relevance of family and kinship dynamics as a tool of analysis in the study of mobility during times of rapid socio-economic change ..................18 1.7 Methodology ...........................................................................................................................24 1.7.1 Research framework .............................................................................................................24 1.7.2 Research methods and sources ..............................................................................................25 1.8 Summary of chapter contents ...............................................................................................35 i CHAPTER 2: SOCIO-ECONOMIC ORGANISATION, MOBILITY AND THE POLITICS OF BORDERS IN PRE-COLONIAL SOUTH-EAST AFRICA 2.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................40 2.2 Historical background ...........................................................................................................42 2.3 Conceptualisation of boundaries and borders in pre-colonial Africa ...............................45 2.4 The influence of the Mutapa state on the history of south-east Africa up to the late 16 th century ...........................................................................................................48 2.5 Rozvi influence from the late 17 th century ...........................................................................51 2.6 Gaza-Nguni influence in south-east Africa, 1836-1895 ….. ................................................54 2.7 Family and kin in Shona society ...........................................................................................59 2.8 Inter-state relations and the lives of ordinary people .........................................................62 2.9 The economy, mobility and interaction across borders in pre-colonial south-east Africa ....................................................................................................................64 2.10 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................83 CHAPTER 3: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RHODESIA-MOZAMBIQUE BORDER, THE ORIGINS OF UMTALI, AND THEAFRICAN CONDITION UNDER BRITISH AND PORTUGUESE COLONIALISM, 1888-1974 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................86 3.2 The Anglo-Portuguese border conflict and settlement, 1888-1898 ...................................87 3.3 Impact of the border on the organisation of pre-colonial African societies .....................89 3.4 The origins of Umtali, 1890-1900 ..........................................................................................93 3.5 Imposition of colonial administrative structures in Rhodesia and Mozambique ............................................................................................................................97 3.6 Administrative mechanisms to limit the freedom of movement for Africans in Rhodesia and Mozambique ..............................................................................100 3.7 Land appropriation in Rhodesia and Mozambique .........................................................106 ii 3.8 The African burden of taxation ..........................................................................................110 3.9 Forced labour in Rhodesia and Mozambique ...................................................................113 3.10 African working conditions in Rhodesia and Mozambique ...........................................118 3.11 Policing in Umtali and the Mozambican border region .................................................122 3.12 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................129 CHAPTER 4: SOCIO-CULTURAL INTERACTIONS ACROSS THE UMTALI- MOZAMBIQUE BORDER DURING THE COLONIAL ERA 4.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................130 4.2 Marital unions and resultant kinship ties across the Umtali-Mozambique border ....................................................................................................................................130 4.3 Marital disputes across the Umtali-Mozambique border ................................................136 4.4 Trans-national polygamy and its implications on family and kinship ties .....................141 4.5 Mozambican women in Umtali as ‘fugitives’ from rural socio-cultural constraints .............................................................................................................................148 4.6 Umtali as a sanctuary for Mozambicans ostracised by their family members and kin .................................................................................................................158 4.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................165 CHAPTER 5: INFORMAL CROSS-BORDER LABOUR MOBILITY AND PRACTICES, 1900-1974 5.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................167 5.2 Background: Attempts by Rhodesian and Portuguese authorities to regulate the flow of African labour .........................................................................................................168 5.3 Reasons why some Africans circumvented colonial labour recruitment formalities .............................................................................................................................174 iii 5.4 Irregular pursuits for employment in Umtali by Mozambican Africans .......................177 5.5 Harbouring of clandestine Mozambican work-seekers in Umtali ...................................184 5.6 Frequency of home visits by informal Mozambican workers in Umtali .........................188 5.7 Deserting work in Umtali and escaping to Mozambique .................................................191 5.8 Informal self-employment activities in Umtali by Mozambican women and children ..........................................................................................................................196 5.9 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................202 CHAPTER 6: PROPERTY THEFT ACROSS THE UMTALI-MOZAMBIQUE BORDER, 1920-1974 6.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................204 6.2 Background: Origins and development of property theft across the Umtali- Mozambique border ............................................................................................205 6.3 Complicity of domestic workers in cross-border property theft .....................................213 6.4 Property theft by deportees across the Umtali-Mozambique border .............................217