Tlou Setumu Inclusion of rural communities in national archival and records system: a case study of Blouberg-Makgabeng-Senwabarwana area Tlou Setumu (PhD) generally poor, less educated and underdeveloped. As Robben Island Museum a result, they are constantly involved in day-to-day [email protected] struggles for survival, hindering them from participating in archiving activities. Abstract Key words: community participation, national archival and records system, Previously colonised, marginalised communities Blouberg-Makgabeng-Senwabarwana (BMS) rarely participate in the mainstream archival and area, indigenous communities records systems throughout the world. Archiving as it is known today is preserving records on paper, electronic, audio-visual and microfilm formats. These Introduction media were not present in the pre-colonial era hence the stories, histories and heritage of most The current archival records preserved in communities, such as those in Africa, are not South Africa’s mainstream archives largely represented in the mainstream archives. The African consist of documents and materials which tradition had always been oral in which stories and were generated after the arrival of heritage are transmitted and preserved by word of Europeans in this part of the world. These mouth. The purpose of this paper is to identify the records, which are stored in archives in factors such as the non-keeping of written records paper, electronic, audio-visual and microfilm which had been preventing previously colonised formats, reflect very little about the communities from participating in archiving their indigenous communities. That is because of histories. The paper seeks to find ways in which such the historical phenomena and factors which communities could be galvanised into participating in will be investigated and unpacked in this the mainstream archival and records systems. The paper. paper will use the communities in the Blouberg- Communities in rural, peripheral areas in the Makgabeng-Senwabarwana (BMS) area, in countryside rarely participate in the Limpopo Province, South Africa, as a case study. mainstream archiving and record-keeping Researched works and projects in different systems throughout the world. This is professional fields, as well as oral history conducted probably because the communities in the in the BMS area will be used as references in this countryside are generally either poor, less study. The communities in this area are mainly educated or underdeveloped, and are mostly rural and poor, and they represent the previously involved in day-to-day struggles to survive, disadvantaged groups which had not been able to as compared to their affluent counterparts in participate in archiving their stories. While this middle and upper class strata of society who paper uses the BMS communities as a case study, it are in a better position to influence political is actually a viewpoint article in which the lack of and socio-economic issues and community participation in national archival and developments in a given country. Although records systems is interrogated and critiqued, and is each country has its own peculiar historical found to have been mainly attributed to historical background, in the African context, decades factors related to colonialism and apartheid. Other of slavery, colonialism and apartheid (in key findings in this paper include the fact that South Africa), compounded the problems communities in peripheral areas such as BMS are and added limitations in archiving activities JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIETY OF ARCHIVISTS, VOL. 48, 2015 | SASA © 34 Tlou Setumu and participation of the indigenous indigenous communities such as those in the communities who were defeated, subjugated BMS area in archiving their stories, histories and ruled by foreign forces. In the process, and heritage. After outlining its findings, the the stories of the indigenous communities paper then concludes by making were systematically uprooted and replaced recommendations on how communities in by the foreign forces’ narratives, while at the the BMS area (and in other areas) could be same time the memories, histories and drawn into systematically participating into heritage of the local communities were formal, coordinated ways in order to greatly engineered and manipulated. contribute to the entire, mainstream archival and records system from local, regional and Archiving systems became a prerogative and national levels in South Africa. domain of the victorious European occupying forces, while the local African Contextual setting communities were passive subjects. However, the indigenous communities’ past This paper uses the BMS area as a case stories, histories and heritage proved to be study to investigate community participation so resilient as they were sustained through in national archival and records systems. among other things, oral tradition. They The BMS area is a geo-cultural heritage were transmitted by word of mouth from landscape found towards the north-western one generation to the next. As a result, in corner of the province of Limpopo, almost the general mainstream of archival and next to the South Africa’s borders with record systems, there is a gap of indigenous Botswana and Zimbabwe. This landscape communities’ participation hence the has been thoroughly researched and archival documents and materials are mostly documented by various institutions and Eurocentric and colonial in character. This professionals including historians, paper focuses on the Blouberg-Makgabeng- archaeologists, anthropologists, zoologists, Senwabarwana (BMS) area, in Limpopo botanists, geologists, rock art students, etc. Province, South Africa, in order to Above all, the BMS landscape was investigate the gap in the mainstream designated as one of the iconic heritage archival and records system that resulted places with rich natural features (fauna and from the non-participation of indigenous floral), as well as culturally significant sites. local communities due to the historical The BMS landscape is a home of one phenomena hinted above. provincial heritage site declared as such in 2007 by the Limpopo Heritage Resources The paper studies and uses examples in Authority, namely, the Malebogo-Boer War which archival materials were produced in Battlefield. the area and how local communities participated (or did not participate) in those The first letter in the triangular reference of processes. The paper adopts a historical “BMS” stands for “Blouberg”. This is an approach outline in which the archival and area with deep and extensive histories, records systems in South Africa in general, which include those of the legendary using the BMS case study, are investigated Bahananwa people. The histories of the and interrogated from the pre-colonial era; early European travellers, explorers, traders, colonial/apartheid period; up to the post- missionaries, and later the Boer and British colonial/-apartheid times. As a viewpoint colonial settlers also have traces in Blouberg. article, the paper interrogates and critiques The 1894 war between the Bahananwa of the issues of participation/non- Kgoši Seketa Ratšhatšha Lebogo, and the participation/lack of participation of Boers of Paul Kruger, is one of the significant historical developments in the JOURNAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIETY OF ARCHIVISTS, VOL. 48, 2015 | SASA © 35 Tlou Setumu Blouberg area. That was why the battlefield BMS pre-colonial stories within was declared a provincial heritage site. the archival and record systems The second component of the “BMS”, The pre-colonial historical gap “Makgabeng”, is in reference of a beautiful The pre-colonial indigenous communities scenic plateau in the area which is known like those of the BMS areas did not “read for its world-class rock art paintings of the and write” as reading and writing are San, Khoikhoi and the Basotho. The understood today. They used their own ways Makgabeng rock art paintings qualify it to be of “reading and writing” embodied in what declared a world heritage site. The last letter is today generally referred to as indigenous of “BMS”, the “S”, is standing for knowledge systems. For example, they could “Senwabarwana”, which literally means, read astrological phenomena, seasons, “where the San people drank water”. This is weather, etc. They could count their also an iconic area linked with its natural and livestock; they could accurately plan their cultural significance to the general BMS buildings’ construction; they could write and landscape. inscribe on rocks; and so on. However, the This paper will use this BMS landscape rich “reading and writing” systems and methods in stories, histories and heritage to of those pre-colonial communities had investigate and interrogate the participation/ always been regarded as if they were no- non-participation/ lack of participation of existent. This has been done deliberately as a communities in the national archival and colonial project in which indigenous records systems. knowledge systems were undermined by either being claimed by colonial settlers, The approach in this paper is mainly to diluted, demonised or even attacked. The formulate a viewpoint around the issue in indigenous communities’ histories, heritage question in accordance with the sources and cultures were transmitted from one available. The study is mainly an opinion generation to the other by word of mouth. piece of work, and with it, the following Oral history became a lifeline of the past of observations