“Proprietor of Natal:” Henry Francis Fynn and the Mythography of Shaka

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 409-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Wylie
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Don Quixote ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Robinson Crusoe ◽  
Reading Public ◽  
Power Struggles ◽  
Formative Years

If ever South Africa could boast of a Robinson Crusoe of her own, as affable, shrewd, politically sagacious, courageous and large-hearted as Defoe's, here is one to life… “Mr Fynn”[Fynn is] a greater ass and Don Quixote than one could possibly conceive.The fictional referents in these diametrically opposed judgments of Henry Francis Fynn (1806-61) alert us to the “constructed” nature of the reputation of this most famous of Shakan eyewitnesses. Although Nathaniel Isaacs' Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa (1836) first introduced Shaka and his Zulu people to the British reading public, and had easily the profoundest influence on popular conceptions, Fynn was the more widely acknowledged “expert” on the Zulu. Having pursued an extraordinarily tortuous, violent, and well-documented career through forty formative years of South African frontier history, he left a body of writings which belatedly attained authoritative status in Shakan historiography. Since 1950, Fynn's so-called “Diary” has become the paramount, and until recently largely unquestioned, source on Shaka's famous reign (ca. 1815-1828). As recent political power struggles centered on the “Shaka Day” celebrations in Zululand have amply demonstrated, there is no more appropriate juncture at which to reassess the sources of this semi-mythologized Zulu leader's reputation.

scholarly journals Die Afrikaanse prosa, 1918 - 1926: brandpunt van die geboorte van ’n nuwe bewussyn

Literator ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. John
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Power ◽  
African Literature ◽  
Social Category ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
South African Literature ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Massive Intervention ◽  
The Way

This study looks at a selection of Afrikaans prose texts from the period 1918 to 1926 in an attempt to establish a relation between the rapid industrialisation which South Africa was being subjected to and the literature produced during this time. Georg Lukács’ argument that "nature is a social category" is used to show that a preoccupation with certain desires and emotions with which these texts are marked is an indication that a massive intervention into ‘nature’, in the form of the emotional lives of especially white Afrikaans workers, was either on the way or being proposed through the medium of literature during this time. This intervention is seen as part of an attempt by the white Afrikaans ruling class to draw Afrikaans workers into its fold in its struggle for political power. A contiguous concern of the study is to propose this kind of approach as a basis for the study of South African literature as a whole.

scholarly journals Evaluating South Africa’s utilisation of sustained export potential in sub-Saharan Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Mhonyera ◽  
Ermie Steenkamp ◽  
Marianne Matthee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Import Demand ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Traditional Markets ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background: Regional trade could be a powerful engine of economic growth and sustainable job creation. However, South Africa’s exports to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are typically smaller and more short-lived than its exports to its traditional markets. This is despite South African policymakers considering trade with SSA to be a priority. Aim: The aim of the article is to evaluate South Africa’s utilisation of sustained export potential in SSA with a view to providing practical insights that will inform future policymaking and planning. Setting: Despite the priority attention given to SSA in the country’s trade policy, South Africa is yet to make meaningful inroads into SSA’s largest and fastest-growing economies. Method: The research method applied comprised three steps. The first step involved the identification, over a five-year period from 2010 to 2014, of consistently large and/or growing import demand in SSA for all products at the Harmonised System (HS) six-digit level, as well as the identification of products South Africa consistently exported competitively (sustainable exports). The second step entailed matching SSA markets with consistently large and/or growing import demand to South Africa’s sustainable exports. The third step involved evaluating South Africa’s utilisation of sustained export potential in SSA. Results: The results reveal that South Africa is utilising just over half (54%) of its sustained export potential in SSA. Conclusion: South Africa is, therefore, underutilising or not utilising close to 50% of its sustained export potential in SSA. Most of the export potential that South Africa is utilising is in Eastern Africa while most of the export potential that the country is underutilising and not utilising at all is in Central and Western Africa.

Editing and Publishing the John Philip Papers: Practical Considerations

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 39-47
Author(s):  
Roger B. Beck
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Historical Documents ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Full Support ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Source Materials ◽  
Documentary Editing

There is a long tradition in South Africa of publishing private and public documents, beginning with Donald Moodie's The Record, which first appeared in 1838. At the turn of the century the seemingly indefatigable Geroge McCall Theal published a number of collections that have become standard references for South African historians: Belangrijke Historische Dokumenten verzameld in de Kaap Kolonie en Elders (3 vols.); Basutoland Records (3 vols.); Records of South Eastern Africa (9 vols.); and the massive thirty-six-volume edition of the Records of the Cape Colony. The Van Riebeeck Society has just published the seventieth volume in its series of edited diaries, journals, and letters.3 And every student of contemporary South Africa has referred to the four-volume collection of African political documents edited by Gwendolen Carter and Thomas Karis.In this essay I want to discuss the evolution of my own work with the papers of the South African missionary John Philip. I do not intend to delve into the intricacies of transcribing these papers but rather to discuss them in the broader context of documentary editing and the publication of multi-volume editions. The recently organized Association for the Publication of African Historical Sources has rightly identified the need for a coordinated effort to make African historical documents and source materials more readily available to the scholarly community. If the first of these sources to be published is an indication of what may be expected from this series, then all Africanists should join together to give the association their full support.5 But documentary editing is not a simple or inexpensive undertaking, as I hope to show in this paper.

scholarly journals Taxonomic revision of the Afrotropical Agabus raffrayi species group with the description of four new species (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae)

ZooKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 963 ◽  
pp. 45-79
Author(s):  
William F. Englund ◽  
Laban Njoroge ◽  
Olof Biström ◽  
Kelly B. Miller ◽  
David T. Bilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Species ◽  
South African ◽  
Taxonomic Revision ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Eastern Africa ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Diagnostic Characters ◽  
Quantitative Measurements

We revise the Afrotropical Agabus raffrayi species group, motivated by the discovery of new diversity in Kenya and South Africa. Whilst Agabus is mainly a holarctic genus, the Agabus raffrayi group is restricted to high altitude regions of eastern Africa and temperate parts of South Africa, from where we describe the southernmost Agabus in the world. The following new species are introduced: Agabus anguluverpussp. nov. from Mount Kenya in central Kenya, Agabus austellussp. nov. a widespread species in South Africa, Agabus riberaesp. nov. from the Kamiesberg and northeastern Cederberg ranges in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa and Agabus agulhassp. nov. from the Agulhas Plain, Western Cape Province, South Africa. We provide a distribution map, a determination key for males, quantitative measurements of diagnostic characters, habitus photos and detailed photos of male genitalia for all described species in the group, as well as images of diagnostic characters and habitats. The presence or absence of an elongated section between the subapical broadening and the base of the apical and subapical teeth of the male aedeagus is a useful novel character, first revealed by our study. In contrast with the most recent revision of Afrotropical Agabus, we show that Agabus ruwenzoricus Guignot, 1936 is restricted to eastern Africa; South African records of this species having been based on misidentifications, no species of the group being common to southern and eastern Africa. We speculate that the raffrayi group may display phylogenetic niche conservatism, being restricted, as an originally temperate taxon, to higher elevations in tropical eastern Africa, but occurring at lower altitudes in temperate South Africa.

scholarly journals Die NG Kerk en die oorgang na ’n nuwe Suid-Afrika

1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-38
Author(s):  
D. E. De Villiers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Power ◽  
New South ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
African Society ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed Church

The Dutch Reformed Church and the transition to a new South Africa The comprehensive transformation of the South African society that followed the transfer of political power to a new government in 1994 has had significant consequences for the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) and its members. In the article an analysis is given of these consequences. Attention is also given to the reaction of members of the DRC to the transformation of the society. An attempt is made to formulate a responsible approach to the new South Africa by the DRC and his members. The need for the DRC to inspire his members to be true to their Christian calling, to equip them to serve effectively and to find new and effective ways to witness publicly in the new South Africa, is stressed.

Hegemony, leadership, and integration in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-116
Author(s):  
Robert W. Compton Jr.
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Power ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
The South ◽  
The Future ◽  
National Congress ◽  
Thabo Mbeki

The African National Congress and the regeneration of political power, S. Booysen, 2011. Wits University Press.Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, D. Acemoglu & J. Robinson, 2012. Crown Publishing (Random House). A Legacy of Liberation: Thabo Mbeki and the Future of the South African Dream, M. Gevisser, 2009. Palgrave-Macmillan.

Reframing Xenophobia in South Africa as Colour-Blind: The Limits of the Afro Phobia Thesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-444
Author(s):  
Amanuel Isak Tewolde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
Black African ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Online Newspaper ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Realistic Conflict Theory

Many scholars and South African politicians characterize the widespread anti-foreigner sentiment and violence in South Africa as dislike against migrants and refugees of African origin which they named ‘Afro-phobia’. Drawing on online newspaper reports and academic sources, this paper rejects the Afro-phobia thesis and argues that other non-African migrants such as Asians (Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Chinese) are also on the receiving end of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. I contend that any ‘outsider’ (White, Asian or Black African) who lives and trades in South African townships and informal settlements is scapegoated and attacked. I term this phenomenon ‘colour-blind xenophobia’. By proposing this analytical framework and integrating two theoretical perspectives — proximity-based ‘Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT)’ and Neocosmos’ exclusivist citizenship model — I contend that xenophobia in South Africa targets those who are in close proximity to disadvantaged Black South Africans and who are deemed outsiders (e.g., Asian, African even White residents and traders) and reject arguments that describe xenophobia in South Africa as targeting Black African refugees and migrants.

Region of Birth and Child Mortality among Black Migrants to South Africa: Is there a foreign-born advantage?

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany L Green ◽  
Amos C Peters
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Child Mortality ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Black Immigrants ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Region Of Origin ◽  
Child Deaths

Much of the existing evidence for the healthy immigrant advantage comes from developed countries. We investigate whether an immigrant health advantage exists in South Africa, an important emerging economy.  Using the 2001 South African Census, this study examines differences in child mortality between native-born South African and immigrant blacks.  We find that accounting for region of origin is critical: immigrants from southern Africa are more likely to experience higher lifetime child mortality compared to the native-born population.  Further, immigrants from outside of southern Africa are less likely than both groups to experience child deaths.  Finally, in contrast to patterns observed in developed countries, we detect a strong relationship between schooling and child mortality among black immigrants.

Some Reflections on Reparation in Post-Apartheid South Africa, using a Couple Therapy Intervention as a Microcosm of South African Society

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Hill ◽  
Sylvia Poss
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Couple Therapy ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Depressive Position ◽  
Central Hypothesis ◽  
Transference And Countertransference ◽  
Constructive Engagement ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Therapy Intervention

The paper addresses the question of reparation in post-apartheid South Africa. The central hypothesis of the paper is that in South Africa current traumas or losses, such as the 2008 xenophobic attacks, may activate a ‘shared unconscious phantasy’ of irreparable damage inflicted by apartheid on the collective psyche of the South African nation which could block constructive engagement and healing. A brief couple therapy intervention by a white therapist with a black couple is used as a ‘microcosm’ to explore this question. The impact of an extreme current loss, when earlier losses have been sustained, is explored. Additionally, the impact of racial difference on the transference and countertransference between the therapist and the couple is explored to illustrate factors complicating the productive grieving and working through of the depressive position towards reparation.

The Final ‘Thank You’

Derrida Today ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Grant Farred
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
The Other ◽  
World Cup ◽  
The Core ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Black President ◽  
The Moment

‘The Final “Thank You”’ uses the work of Jacques Derrida and Friedrich Nietzsche to think the occasion of the 1995 rugby World Cup, hosted by the newly democratic South Africa. This paper deploys Nietzsche's Zarathustra to critique how a figure such as Nelson Mandela is understood as a ‘Superman’ or an ‘Overhuman’ in the moment of political transition. The philosophical focus of the paper, however, turns on the ‘thank yous’ exchanged by the white South African rugby captain, François Pienaar, and the black president at the event of the Springbok victory. It is the value, and the proximity and negation, of the ‘thank yous’ – the relation of one to the other – that constitutes the core of the article. 1

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