Original Research

New “traditional” strategies and land claims in South Africa: A case study in Hammanskraal

Sarah Godsell
New Contree | Vol 67 | a289 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/nc.v67i0.289 | © 2024 Sarah Godsell | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 26 February 2024 | Published: 30 December 2013

About the author(s)

Sarah Godsell, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa

Full Text:

PDF (1MB)

Abstract

In post-apartheid South Africa, many hopes were pinned on the process of land-restitution to be a major part of power and wealth redistribution. However, as the land claims process is linked to demonstrable historical legitimacy, this process has sometimes necessitated both the restating and reinventing of local histories and “ethnic identities”, in line with new political structures or moral frameworks. This article addresses continuity and innovation in strategies around historical adaptation to governance structures, ethnicity and “traditional” structures in South Africa. These themes will be explored using Hammanskraal, located in the north of Gauteng, as a case study, examining the way legitimacy has been gained, constructed and established in two specific periods: around 1911-1944 and 1995-2010. In 1944, government ethnographer NJ Van Warmelo produced a history of Johannes “Jan Tana” Kekana’s Ndebele, depicting the history and lineage of the AmaNdebele-a-Moletlane group. In 1995, a substantial land-claim was lodged by a contestant for the chieftaincy of the AmaNdebele-a-Moletlane, presenting a different historical background that contested the narrative produced by Van Warmelo. The contestant for the chieftaincy, not currently officially recognised by South African state structures, has used various strategies to concretise his position. These strategies show how entrenched historical legitimacy is being counteracted by popular modes of expression, construction and communication. This new politics, consciously constructed around ideas of traditional structures and legitimacy, interacts with new power structures, adding the importance of political connections or resources to the construction of the claim. Contextualising this historically shows how continuities regarding “traditional” authorities have interacted with the state before, during and after apartheid.

Keywords

Chieftaincy; Hammanskraal; AmaNdebele-a-Moletlane; AmaNdebele ba Lebelo Chieftaincy disputes; Legitimacy; Oral history; Historical adaptation; Lineages; Knowledge production; NJ Van Warmelo

Metrics

Total abstract views: 538
Total article views: 138

 

Crossref Citations

1. Engendering Community Support for Conservation: A Case Study of Kekana Gardens Community and Dinokeng Game Reserve, South Africa
Dorothy Queiros, Kevin Mearns
Journal of Asian and African Studies  vol: 59  issue: 2  first page: 391  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1177/00219096221111358