The study made An Investigation Into The Attitudes Of The !Xun And Khwe Communities In Northern Cape, South Africa. Towards Protection Of Indigenous Knowledge Systems And Their Implications For Policy And Research. Taking into consideration the complexity of investigating the attitudes of these indigenous communities, the research followed a participatory and triangulation approach. In order to explore the personal experiences of the respondent community members, the researcher undertook to document these experiences in the form of narratives. The use of narrative in this study was one way of moving away from western empiricism and epistemology. They also help to describe sequences of experiences undergone by a certain group of people in a study area. The major findings of the research were: As a result of isolation from their places of origin and the problem of unemployment, the !Xun and Khwe communities. especially the young generations have become dependent on social welfare grants. However, the majority of the elder generations continued to utilize indigenous knowledge and practices to augment the low income. As a result of historical circumstances including removals, the !Xun and Khwe people have experienced various changes in their lives including westernization. This has impacted on their relationship and attitudes towards the utilization of indigenous knowledge and practices for livelihood. Their satisfaction of basic needs has changed from depending mainly on the veldt products to include wage labour and social welfare grants. The !Xun and Khwe communities expressed the desire to benefit from the new democratic dispensation in South Africa through provision of housing. water, electricity and other social amenities. Education was a necessity that most respondent members valued. It was seen as a vehicle for social mobility in modem conditions of life. The respondent communities realized the role of research in influencing policy that affects their lives. As a result. they wanted to be involved in all research processes instead of merely being used as objects or subjects. There were various aspects of community life that required protection through policy and legislation. These included local resources. especially access to land, indigenous language; cultural heritage and practices including dances and music. Various community structures had been established to address different issues facing the survival of these communities. They called for a better government policy coordination including their participation in policy and legislation formulation and implementation to ensure the survival of their culture including language. On the basis of these findings the study presents the following recommendations to the study communities. individual researchers. organizations and governments within the Southern African region where these indigenous people are located: Researchers should be sensitive to me interest of indigenous communities as participants and co-owners of the whole research process including research results; Researchers should acknowledge the use of narratives as a method of collecting and interpreting data among local and indigenous communities. Narratives help to explore the personal experiences of the community members in relation to the problem under investigation: Researchers and policy makers involved with indigenous communities should not only consult but should ensure that the respective communities as beneficiaries become part of whole research and policy formulation and implementation process. There is need for more research on the impact of westernization. especially the lack of policy and legislation enforcement to protect the lives of indigenous communities against the vagaries of western modernization such as HIV/AIDS. commercialization of indigenous knowledge and resources for profit motives. / (Ph.D.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2004

Voices of Our Forefathers (2008) is a participatory video that was made with a group of Khwe Bushmen in Platfontein in the Northern Cape. It is unique not only for its inclusion of the Khwe subjects in the production process, but also for its unique representation of them. It portrays them from historical as well as modern perspectives. This research explores how a group of Khwe youth – the research participants – engaged and negotiated their encounter with the Voices of Our Forefathers (2008). It does this within the context of participatory communication for development and participatory video. It draws on theories of empowerment, reception and representation. A qualitative methodology was employed with in-depth interviews comprising the main data collection method, and thematic analysis and semiotics being the main data analysis methods. Thematic analysis was aided through the use of a software programme, Nvivo 8. The research explores research participants’ responses to Voices of Our Forefathers and critically examines articulations of empowerment. Most of the research participants felt empowered because VOOF (2008) incorporated the Khwe in the production process, particularly in terms of how they wanted to be represented. The Khwe Bushmen’s participation in their representation resulted in a range of nuanced interpretations and responses to VOOF (2008), which included discussions on rethinking their identities, learning new skills, fostering a sense of ownership of the film and the use of their language (Khwedam) in The Voices of Our Forefathers. It is argued, however, that although the research participants may have expressed that they are empowered, this needs to be understood and critically examined with respect to the larger contexts within which Bushmen, in general, live, which may or may not affect their senses of and the realities of their empowerment. Finally, it is argued that VOOF (2008) needs to be understood as a part of an on-going process in participatory communication for development. It might not have provided research participants with the necessary resources to completely transform their lives; it did, however, contribute to changing how they perceive themselves, which, according to Freirean theory, is a necessary step in empowering oneself. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Abstracts in English, Zulu and Xhosa / Rock art affords unique opportunities for engendered research because it provides emic views of how specific people re-presented themselves. My feminist study investigates under-researched ‘San/Bushman’ gendered identities to understand more about area-specific constructions of personhood through analysing 2852 rock paintings from two adjacent areas of the northern Eastern Cape, South Africa. Using quantitative and qualitative methods and evidence from excavation archaeology, ethnography, ethology, and neurocognitive research, I identify three categories of ritual specialists: experienced and preeminent; ordinary; and novice. These paintings show that wo/men ritual specialists could transcend the identity norms of ordinary people, but men ritual specialists may have had more status and power. I suggest the paintings acted as a controlling mechanism for the potency of women, indoctrination of novices, and present an ideal for the practice of ritual specialists and ordinary people. This research has important implications for identifying different types of identity marking by different groups of southern African San. / Bonono ba majwe bo fana ka menyetla e ikgethang bakeng sa dipatlisiso tse fokolang hobane e fana ka ditjhebo tsa bonnete tsa hore na batho ba itseng ba ne ba itlhahisa jwang. Boithuto ba ka ba tsa bosadi bo fuputsa boitsebiso ba batho ba maSan/Busumane bo so kang bo batlisiswa haholo ele ho utlwisisa haholwanyane ka dikaho tsa dibaka tse ikgethileng tsa botho ka ho manolla metako ya pente e 2852 e tswang dibakeng tse pedi tse bapileng tsa borwa ho Kapa Botjhabela, Afrika Borwa. Ka tshebediso ya mekgwa ya bongata le boleng le bopaki ho tswa ho dipatlisiso tsa excavation archaeology, ethnography, ethology, le tsa neurocognitive, ke hlwaya mekgahlelo e meraro ya ditsebi tsa mekete ya meetlo: ba nang boiphihlello le ba hlahelletseng ka mahetla; ba tlwaelehileng; le bomaithutwana. Metako ena ya pente e bontsha hore ditsebi tsa basadi tsa mekete ya meetlo di ne di kgona ho tlola ditlwaelo tsa boitsebiso tsa batho ba tlwaelehileng, empa ditsebi tsa banna tsa mekete ya meetlo di ka di ne le di na le maemo le matla a fetang. Ke sisinya hore metako e ne e sebetsa jwalo ka mokgwa wa ho laola bakeng sa matla a basadi, thuto ya bomaithutwane, le ho hlahisa se lokelang ho ba sona bakeng sa tshebetso ya ditsebi tsa meetlo le batho ba tlwaelehileng. Patlisiso ena e na le bohlokwa bakeng sa ho hlwaya mefuta e fapaneng ya matshwao ba boitsebiso a dihlopha tse fapaneng tsa maSan a Afrika e borwa. / Imizobo esematyeni inika amathuba akhethekileyo ophando lweemeko ezingqonge isini ngoba le mizobo ibonisa indlela abaziveza ngayo abantu abathile ngokwenkcubeko yabo. Isifundo sam ngobufazi siphanda ngohlanga lwama ‘San/Bushman’ okanye Amaqhakancu/abaThwa nekuphandwe kancinci ngabo, injongo ikukuqonda ubume bobuntu babo kwiindawo ngeendawo. Olu phando lwenziwe ngokuhlalutya imizobo esematyeni engama-2852 ekwiingingqi ezimbini eziseMntla-Mpuma Koloni, eMzantsi Afrika. Ngokusebenzisa uphando olusekelwe kubungqina bamanani nobusekelwe kwiingxoxo nokuzathuza kwanobungqina obuvezwe zizinto ezigronjwe/ezigrunjwe kwiziza zakudaladala, obuvezwe kwiinkcazelo zenkcubeko yabantu abahlukeneyo, obuvezwe kwiinkcazelo zoluntu xa lujongwe ngokwenkalo yendalo (i-itholoji) nobuvezwe kwizifundo zokuqiqa nokusebenza kwengqondo, ndiphawule iindidi ezintathu zeengcali zezithethe: abanamava nolwazi olubalaseleyo; abanolwazi oluqhelekileyo; abangenalwazi kangako. Le mizobo ibonisa ukuba iingcali zezithethe zamadoda nezabafazi zinakho ukubona ngaphaya kwendlela ababona ngayo abantu jikelele, kodwa kusengenzeka ukuba iingcali zezithethe zamadoda zazinewonga negunya elithe chatha. Ndibona ukuba imizobo yayisebenza njengesixhobo sokulawula amandla neziphiwo zabafazi, ukuqweqwedisa iingcinga zabangenalwazi luthe vetshe, nokuvelisa okulindelekileyo kwindlela yokusebenza kweengcali zezithethe nabantu jikelele. Olu phando lubalulekile ekunakaneni iindidi ezahlukeneyo zokuphawula ubuyena bamaqela ahlukeneyo ohlanga lwamaSan/ Amaqhakancu aseAfrika. / M.A. (Archaeology)