Department of Anthropology and Archaeology
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/4061
2024-03-28T22:47:15ZUmthetho uthi: commuting stories of minibus taxi commuters and taxi drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Durban, South Africa
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30682
Umthetho uthi: commuting stories of minibus taxi commuters and taxi drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Durban, South Africa
Kweyama, Hlengiwe Khululiwe
The COVID-19 outbreak in late 2019 illustrated how biological facts and social
processes often intersect to account for differential epidemiological patterns of disease
outbreaks. In South Africa, the legacy of apartheid, which facilitated separate
development, intersected with structural inequalities to shape the spread of the
outbreak. In this study, I explore the stories of minibus taxi drivers and commuters in
Mpumalanga Township, Durban, South Africa, about commuting during the COVID 19 pandemic. Informal minibus taxis are the most popular mode of public
transportation in South Africa, as they are responsible for up to 70% of daily
commutes. However, minibus taxis are usually overcrowded, lack adequate
ventilation, and are situated in areas that lack the most basic sanitation facilities; thus
making them “hotspots” for the transmission of airborne diseases such as the novel
coronavirus. Minibus taxis, due to the essential role they play in the lives of the majority
of black urban South Africans, cannot be completely shut down during a pandemic.
Using the theoretical framework of structural violence, I argue that the everyday lived
experiences of taxi drivers and commuters make them vulnerable to contracting an
airborne disease such as COVID-19, especially because they are unable to avoid
high-risk situations such as commuting. Additionally, the government’s attempts to
curb the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak further deepened the precarity of those
who generate an income from the informal sector, including the minibus taxi industry.
This structural violence to which my interlocutors are exposed is born out the deep
inequality that characterises the larger South African economy. I argue that structural
violence is not merely a matter of social inequality; it is that inequality leads to
increased risk. The overall argument of this dissertation is that existing social, political,
and economic factors intersected with the COVID-19 pandemic to exacerbate the
already existing precarity of those who operate and use minibus taxis. I was able to
draw on how the intersection of minibus taxi operations, the working conditions of taxi
drivers, minibus taxi ownership, funding, and the government’s policies amplified this
precarity during a health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic. I therefore call
for the improvement of the minibus taxi industry as a matter of social equity. This will
require the extension of public transport subsidies to the minibus taxi industry. I further
call for a review of the government’s funding model of the minibus taxi industry through
the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme.
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZAn archaeological investigation of the Bakgatla Baga Kgafela at Mabeleapodi, Pilanesberg National Park, North West Province
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/30442
An archaeological investigation of the Bakgatla Baga Kgafela at Mabeleapodi, Pilanesberg National Park, North West Province
Fairhurst, Sky-Lee
This dissertation, a collections-based study, applies a microscale approach to the study of the unanalysed material excavated from five midden features from three (Kgosing, Morêma, and Tshukudu) of the five sections that make up the 19th-century Bakgatla Baga Kgafela capital settlement, Mabeleapodi, situated in the Pilanesberg National Park, North West. Current ethnographic evidence suggests that Kgosi Pilane lived in the capital, Mabeleapodi, from AD 1830 until his death in AD 1850. As a result, it is believed that Mabeleapodi was probably abandoned in the mid-19th century soon after the death of Kgosi Pilane. However, the archaeological material indicates that Mabeleapodi was occupied from the early 1800s up until the 1860s/1870s, suggesting that the site was occupied long after the death of Kgosi Pilane, and that it may be one of the few sites in the Pilanesberg region that was occupied during and after the Difaqane period.; Tlhotlhomisi eno ke thutopatlisiso e e theilweng mo kokoanyong, e dirisa molebo wa sekale sa maekero (microscale) mo patlisisong ya matheriale o o sa lokololwang o o epilweng go tswa mo dithothobolong tse tlhano go tswa mo dikarolong tse tharo (Kgosing, Morêma, le Tshukudu) tsa tse tlhano tse e leng karolo ya bonno jwa ngwagakgolo wa bo19 jwa Bakgatla Ba ga Kgafela e leng Mabeleapodi, e e fitlhelwang mo Phakeng ya Bosetšhaba ya Pilanesberg, Bokonebophirima. Bosupi jwa ga jaana jwa etenokerafi bo bontsha gore Kgosi Pilane o ne a nna mo motsemogolong wa Mabeleapodi, go tloga ka AD1830 go fitlha a tlhokafala ka AD1850. Ka ntlha ya seo, go dumelwa gore Mabeleapodi e ne ya phuaganngwa mo bogareng jwa ngwagakgolo wa bo19 morago fela ga loso la ga Kgosi Pilane. Fela matheriale wa akheoloji o supa fa go ne go na le batho ba ba neng ba nna kwa Mabeleapodi go tloga kwa tshimologong ya bo1800 go fitlha ka bo1860/1870, e leng se se ka supang fa lefelo leo le ne le na le batho sebaka se seleele morago ga loso la ga Kgosi Pilane, le gore e ka ne e le lengwe la mafelo a se kae a a mo Pilanesberg a a neng a nna batho ka paka ya Difaqane le morago ga moo.; Hierdie verhandeling is ’n versameling-gebaseerde studie. ’n Mikroskaal-benadering is toegepas op die studie van die onontlede materiaal wat opgegrawe is van vyf puinvoorwerpe van drie (Kgosing, Morêma, en Tshukudu) van die vyf dele van die 19de-eeuse Bakgatla Baga Kgafela-hoofnedersetting, Mabeleapodi, geleë in die Pilanesberg Nasionale Park in Noordwes. Huidige etnografiese bewyse dui daarop dat Kgosi Pilane in die hoofstad, Mabeleapodi, gewoon het van 1830 nC tot sy dood in 1850 nC. Gevolglik word daar geglo dat Mabeleapodi waarskynlik midde-in die 19de eeu verlaat is, kort nadat Kgosi Pilane oorlede is. Die argaeologiese materiaal dui egter aan dat Mabeleapodi bewoon is van die vroeë 1800’s tot die 1860’s/1870’s. Dit kan beteken dat die plek lank ná die dood van Kgosi Pilane bewoon is, en dat dit een van die min plekke in die Pilanesberg-streek is wat gedurende en na afloop van die Difaqane-tydperk beset is.
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZRitual, liminality and communitas in Wiccan Open Circles and covens in Canada and the United States
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/29845
Ritual, liminality and communitas in Wiccan Open Circles and covens in Canada and the United States
De Klerk, Cherie
Wiccan Open Circles, have been in existence since the early 1960’s, which developed from an Outer Court system of Wicca. Since the individual small coven groups could not accommodate the growing interest in the religion, Outer Courts were formed. The purpose of an outer court system was designed so that High Priesthood of an existing traditional coven could provide a space where new witches would be trained and exposed to Wiccan ritual. Open Circles are similar to the Outer Court system because members of the public are able to experience the rituals that are similar in style to coven rituals and are also able to learn more about the religion. This study focuses on the ritual, liminality and communitas as it occurs in both Open Circle type rituals as well as traditional initiatory covens. In this is a qualitative study, making use of the various techniques of participant observation to gather data.
2022-09-01T00:00:00ZBeyond criminalized identities, a qualitative analysis of the lived experiences of sex workers in Cape Town
https://hdl.handle.net/10500/29366
Beyond criminalized identities, a qualitative analysis of the lived experiences of sex workers in Cape Town
Futshane, Vuyokazi
In various parts of the world, including South Africa, sex work is highly stigmatised and the
buying and selling of sex is illegal. As such sex workers are profoundly marginalised, and as
a by-product of criminalisation, stigma fuels the various forms of social and institutional
exclusion and discrimination that infringe their human and constitutional rights. This study
explores the experiences of sex workers within the network of the Sex Workers Education &
Advocacy Taskforce, which is a non-government organisation whose headquarters are in
Cape Town that advocates for the rights of sex workers, and how their identities are shaped,
both internally and externally.
The research design of this study is a qualitative study, informed by feminist ethnography as
both a method and grounding framework for how the research was undertaken. The field work
in this study was conducted during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Traditional fieldwork
conducted, including semi-structured interviews, two focus groups and observations, which
took place during the constraints of the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, were accompanied by
other data gathering methods. These include, several online and telephonic key informant in depth interviews and visual anthropology methods such as photo voice.
The primary research participants of this study were 10 Black sex workers, recruited through
non-probability snow ball sampling. This study sought to understand how sex workers navigate
the social stigma they experience and how they determine their own identities outside of sex
work. Furthermore, this study focuses on advocacy for sex workers’ rights as a form of
resistance against discrimination and a means to claim their rights and their humanity. The
findings in this study demonstrate that criminalisation of sex work is a barrier to the realisation
and enjoyment of socioeconomic rights (for example the difficulties in accessing healthcare
and reporting gender-based violence to the police) and it recommends that decriminalisation
would make a drastic improvement in the quality of life of sex workers. Moreover, this study
stresses the importance of the recognition of the womxn who engage in sex work as people
with inherent humanity and dignity, which should not be negated by the stigma associated with sex work.; Mo dikarolong tse di farologaneng tsa lefatshe, go akarediwa Aforikaborwa, tiro ya thobalano
e kgobiwa thata, mme go rekisa le go reka thobalano ga go mo molaong. Ka ntlha ya seo,
badiri ba thobalano ba kgaphelwa thoko thata, mme jaaka setlhagiswapotlana sa go dirwa
molato wa bosenyi, sekgobo se etegetsa mefuta e e farologaneng ya go tlhaolwa ga loago le
mo ditheong gammogo le tlhaolo e e gatakang ditshwanelo tsa bona tsa botho le tsa
molaotheo. Thutopatlisiso e tlhotlhomisitse maitemogelo a badiri ba thobalano mo
kgolaganong ya Setlhophatiro sa Thuto le Puelelo ya Badiri ba Thobalano, e leng setheo se
e seng sa puso. Kantorokgolo ya sona e kwa Motsekapa mme setheo se buelela ditshwanelo
tsa badiri ba thobalano le ka moo boitshupo jwa bona bo bopegang ka gona, ka fa gare le kwa
ntle.
Thadiso ya patlisiso ya thutopatlisiso eno ke e e lebelelang mabaka – mme e theilwe mo go
tlhatlhobeng maitemogelo a baagi e le mokgwa le letlhomeso la ka moo thutopatlisiso e
dirilweng ka gona. Tiro ya kwa mafelong mo thutopatlisisong eno e dirilwe ka nako ya
leroborobo le le neng le tsweletse pele la Covid-19. Tiro ya tlwaelo ya kwa mafelong e e
dirilweng e akareditse dipotsolotso tse di batlileng di rulagane, ditlhopha tsa puisano le
kelotlhoko tse di diragetseng ka nako ya pitlagano ya tekanyetsometsamao ka 2020 le 2021.
Mekgwa eno e ne e patilwe ke mekgwa e mengwe ya go kokoanya data e e akaretsang
dipotsolotso di le mmalwa tse di tseneletseng tsa mo maranyaneng le tsa megala le
basedimosi ba botlhokwa, mekgwa ya ditshwantshopono e tshwana le Photovoice.
Bannileseabe ba ntlha ba patlisiso mo thutopatlisisong eno e ne e le badiri ba thobalano ba
bantsho ba le 10, ba ba neng ba ngokilwe ka mokgwa wa go tlhopha sampole moo
bannileseabe ba ba leng gona ba thusang go ngokela ba bangwe. Thutopatlisiso e ne e batla
go tlhaloganya gore badiri ba thobalano ba samagana jang le sekgobo se ba se itemogelang
le gore ba nna le boitshupo jo bo ntseng jang kwa ntle ga tiro ya thobalano. Mo godimo ga
moo, thutopatlisiso e ne e lebeletse go buelelwa ga ditshwanelo tsa badiri ba thobalano jaaka
tsela ya go ema kgatlhanong le go tlhaolwa le jaaka sediriswa sa go boelwa ke ditshwanelo e botho jwa bona. Diphitlhelelo tsa thutopatlisiso eno di bontsha gore go dira tiro ya thobalano
go nna molato wa bosenyi ke sekgoreletsi sa go fitlhelela le go itumelela ditshwanelo tsa
ikonomiloago (sekai, mathata a go fitlhelela tlhokomelo ya boitekanelo le go begela sepodisi
ka tirisodikgokang ya bong) mme thutopatlisiso e atlenegisa gore go fedisiwa ga go dira tiro
ya thobalano go nna molato wa bosenyi go ka dira diphetogo tse di boitshegang mo
matshelong a badiri ba thobalano. Mo godimo ga moo, thutopatlisiso e gatelela botlhokwa jwa
temogo ya basadi ba ba dirang tiro ya thobalano jaaka batho ba ba nang le ditshwanelo tsa botho le seriti, mme seo ga se a tshwanela go ganediwa ka sekgobo se se amanngwang le
tiro ya thobalano.; Ezingxenyeni ezahlukene zomhlaba, okuhlanganisa neNingizimu Afrika, ukudayisa
ngomzimba kucwaswa kakhulu njengoba ukuthengwa nokudayiswa kocansi kungekho
emthethweni. Ngakho-ke, abathengisa ngomzimba babandlululwa kakhulu, futhi
njengomphumela wokwenza ubugebengu, ukucwaswa kubhebhezela izinhlobo ezahlukene
zokubandlululwa kwezenhlalo nezikhungo kanye nokucwaswa okwephula amalungelo abo
obuntu kanye nomthethosisekelo. Lolu cwaningo luhlole iziipiliyoni zabaqwayizi ngaphakathi
kuyinethiwekhi Yethimba Lemfundo Yabaqwayizi kanye Nokuzimela, okuyinhlangano
engekho ngaphansi kukahulumeni. Ikomkhulu layo liseKapa futhi le nhlangano ilwela
amalungelo abaqwayizi kanye nendlela ubunikazi babo obakhiwe ngayo, ngaphakathi
nangaphandle.
Umklamo wocwaningo walolu cwaningo ungowekhwalithi - ukwaziswa i-ethnografi
yabesifazane njengendlela kanye nohlaka oluyisisekelo lokuthi ucwaningo lwenziwa kanjani.
Umsebenzi oqhubekayo kulolu cwaningo wenziwa ngesikhathi sobhubhane oluqhubekayo
lwe-Covid-19. Umsebenzi ojwayelekile owenziwe wawuhlanganisa izingxoxo ezihlelekile,
amaqembu amabili okugxilwe kuwo kanye nokubhekisiswa okwenzeka ngesikhathi
kunezingqinamba zokuvalwa kwezindawo ngonyaka wezi-2020 nangonyaka wezi-2021. Lezi
zindlela beziphelezelwa ezinye izindlela zokuqoqa imininingwane okuhlanganisa nezingxoxo
eziningi ezijulile ze-inthanethi nezocingo nabanolwazi olubalulekile, nezindlela ezibukwayo
ze-anthropholoji njenge-Zwi lezithombe.
Ababambiqhaza abangqala bocwaningo kulolu cwaningo kwakungabaqwayizi abamnyama
abayi-10, aqoqwa ngamasampula esnobholi sokungenzekanga. Lolu cwaningo belufuna
ukuqonda ukuthi abaqwayizi babhekana kanjani nokucwaswa kwezenhlalo abahlangabezana
nakho nokuthi banquma kanjani ubunikazi babo ngaphandle komsebenzi wocansi. Ngaphezu
kwalokho, ucwaningo lwalugxile ekukhulumeni kwamalungelo abaqwayizi njengendlela
yokumelana nokubandlululwa kanye nezindlela zokufuna amalungelo abo kanye nobuntu babo. Okutholwe kulolu cwaningo kukhombisa ukuthi ukwenziwa kube yicala ukudayisa
ngocansi kuyisithiyo ekufezekisweni nasekuthokozeleni amalungelo enhlalo-mnotho
(isibonelo, ubunzima bokuthola usizo lwezempilo kanye nokubika emaphoyiseni udlame
olusekelwe kubulili) futhi ucwaningo luncoma ukuthi ukwehliswa kobugebengu kuzokwenza
ngcono kakhulu izinga lempilo yabaqwayizi. Ngaphezu kwalokho, lolu cwaningo lugcizelela
ukubaluleka kokuqashelwa kwabesifazane abazibandakanya emsebenzini wocansi
njengabantu abanobuntu nesithunzi esizalwa nabo, okungafanele kushaywe indiva istigma
esihambisana nomsebenzi wocansi
Text in English with abstracts and keywords in English, Setswana and Zulu
2022-01-01T00:00:00Z