M.A., Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, 1995

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Thesis (Ph.D. ( Animal breeding)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / Refer to document / the Agriculture Research Council

Thesis (M. Computer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-48).

Sanga-Nguni cattle have been present in Southern Africa for more than seven hundred years. They are the cattle traditionally owned by the Zulu people and have always been of great cultural and economic significance. They are distinguished by their hardiness and adaptability and are characterised by the great variety of their colours and patterns. This dissertation is a study of Sanga-Nguni cattle with special reference to colour pattern terminology and naming-practice in Zulu. More than three hundred terms in Zulu denote colour-pattern, horn-shape and type of beast. There are also a great number of terms for animals used for ritual purposes, especially those connected with the practice of ukulobola, in which cattle are exchanged during marriage negotiations. Many of these names, particularly those which refer to colour-pattern, are richly metaphorical, using imagery and analogy which connect the cattle with the birds, animals and plants that share their environment. Both archival and field sources have been employed to document as many of these names as possible and to classify them according to cultural significance, type, colour-pattern configuration and metaphorical content. Cattle names cannot be appreciated in isolation and in order to understand the complexity of the Zulu terminology, the significance of cattle in the cultural and economic life of the Zulu people as well as their biology and history has also been described. 'Cattle lore' concerning beliefs about cattle and perceptions of them in the cosmology of the Zulu people are recorded. The role of cattle in the oral tradition and cattle imagery in proverbs, poetry and tales as well as the praises of cattle themselves, have been explored in overview and provide insight into how the Zulu people perceive their herds. The dissertation is divided into four sections: i) Research setting ii) Pastoralism in Zulu society iii) Colour-pattern terminology and related naming-practice iv) perceptions of cattle and the role of cattle in the oral tradition. Although this is a primarily a language study, the subject of which is the documenting and analysis of the vast range of cattle terms found in Zulu, it is also a study of the role of cattle in Zulu society and their significance in the thought patterns of the people who own them and with whom they have lived in such close contact for so many centuries. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.

This study sought to ascertain the role that is played by traditional healers in healthcare delivery among the Nguni people of South Africa. Its objective is to ascertain who the traditional healers are, how they are trained for the profession, how they practice their profession including how people consult with them, how they gather information relevant to identify the problems of their clients, what interventions are put in place once health problems have are identified and generally the role traditional healers play in the wellbeing and upliftment of living conditions of their communities. Three traditional healers were interviewed and observed, generating important information for the study. The study found out that traditional healers are respected traditional or community leaders whose main contribution to the community is practicing healthcare delivery by which they bring well-being to the generality of the people. Traditional healers are called to their profession by their ancestors. The training of traditional healers is by apprenticeship with experienced renowned traditional healers and the training takes place between two and six years. Training takes place in the skills of diagnosis or the gathering of information, through observation, interviews, divination and the interpretation of dreams to arrive at a decision as to the probable healthcare needs or health problems of patients. Traditional healers are generally trained to be capable of identifying different kinds of problems affecting people, whether these be physical, mental or interpersonal relationship problems. Training in skills to intervene in health matters are provided including herbal medication, interpersonal interactions and as in group healing or ritual ceremonies as well as training in the skills of prevention of ill-health and promotion of health. Other skills in which traditional healers are trained include those of advocacy, mobilization and being custodians of the people's traditional culture. Traditional healers are generally trusted for their competency and the efficacy of their intervention strategies and this explains the reason for the people's generally positive behaviour tendency towards the utilization of traditional healer's services. Traditional healers generally bring about well- being to the people in their communities. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

Text in English / This study is a reflection on the culture and social life of Nguni women. The research is the interpretation and representation of how the Nguni culture and social values emerge as source of identity not a simple act of conformity. The manifestation of cultural values is presented through a body of artworks. The artworks seek to expose the complex nature of deep social bonds. These bonds are responsible for the creation of the ultimate value of aesthetic experience within a social and ethical context. The analysis addresses the significance and symbolic nature of traditional wedding rituals in relation to conformity and social identity. Various concepts and themes are discussed to ascertain how participating in these social and cultural performances helps individuals to pursue their own understanding and meaning of their experience within their lived environment. The main question this study addresses is how women make sense of their experience as mothers, wives, members of society and individuals. It is the study of cultural and social phenomena; their nature and meanings, and the focus is on the interpretation of the phenomena in terms of their individual experiences and how they relate lived experience to their identities. This is done by acknowledging the essence of meaningful nature of experiences that lead participating individuals into conformity and submission. Sculptural installation and performance are used to describe concepts in the production of visual presentation of this research. The visual installation in this research provides the symbolic meaning of nature of aesthetic experience which influences individual to connect with the society and thus creating impression of conformity. The reflection on cultural and social experience highlights the dilemma of containing conformity to an act of coercion while leaving the issue of human perception and understanding of value in relation to the experience of the body unattended. A phenomenological approach to this study has helped to address art installation as a stylistic phenomenon that is created and experienced visually in order to represents a relationship between artist and society. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Visual Arts)

M.Tech. / The aim of my research is to discover how the garments, beadwork and accoutrements worn and used by proponents of the ukuthwasa1 subculture manifest meaning and significance amongst healers and initiates in the White River area, Eastern Mpumalanga. The visual language and style of traditional healers in this region is unique in South Africa, as it is informed by belief systems incorporating primarily the Nguni2 and the Emandzawe3 cultures. Also, they are influenced by the combined garment styles of the Swazi, and to a lesser extent the Shangaan and Tsonga people resident in this area. I suggest, therefore that ukuthwasa style in this region acts as a visual repository of these amalgamated cultures, which I visually substantiate through relevant photographic documentation. This study includes considerations of the way in which ritual objects, shrines and architectural spaces are dressed and decorated. Furthermore I examine how the beadwork and apparel aid in constructing and establishing identity and status within the designated society, and how, over and above the dictates of their tradition, personal preferences and different ways of teaching doctrine allow for individual interpretation. I also examine ways in which dress and beadwork serve as a site of knowledge and healing, and results in a fluidity of artistic expression, which defies categorisation and constantly invigorates the existing culture. Lastly, I consider change through urbanization and its impact on this culture.

Psychologists investigating dreams in non-Western cultures have generally not considered the meanings of dreams within the unique meaning-structure of the person in his or her societal context. The majority of dream studies in African societies are no exception. Researchers approaching dreams within rural Xhosa and Zulu speaking societies have either adopted an anthropological or a psychodynamic orientation. The latter approach particularly imposes a Western perspective in the interpretation of dream material. There have been no comparable studies of dream interpretation among urban blacks participating in the African Independent Church Movement. The present study focuses on the rural Xhosa speaking people and the urban black population who speak one of the Nguni languages and identify with the African Independent Church Movement. The study is concerned with understanding the meanings of dreams within the cultural context in which they occur. The specific aims of the study are: 1. To explicate the indigenous system of dream interpretation as revealed by acknowledged dream experts. 2. To examine the commonalities and the differences between the interpretation of dreams in two groups, drawn from a rural and urban setting respectively. 3. To elaborate upon the life-world of the participants by the interpretations gained from the above investigation. One hundred dreams and interpretations are collected from two categories of participants referred to as the Rural Group and the Urban Group. The Rural Group is made up of amagqira [traditional healers] and their clients, while the Urban Group consists of prophets and members of the African Independent Churches. Each group includes acknowledged dream experts. A phenomenological methodology is adopted in explicating the data. The methodological precedure involves a number of rigorous stages of explication whereby the original data is reduced to Constituent Profiles leading to the construction of a Thematic Index File. By searching and reflecting upon the data, interpretative themes are identified. These themes are explicated to provide a rigorous description of the interpretative-reality of each group. Themes explicated within the Rural Group are: the physiognomy of the dreamer's life- world as revealed by ithongo, the interpretation of ithongo as revealed through action, the dream relationship as an anticipatory mode-of-existence, iphupha as disclosing a vulnerable mode-of-being, human bodiliness as revealed in dream interpretations and the legitimation of the interpretative-reality within the life-world. Themes explicated within the Urban Group are : the physiognomy of the dreamer's life-world revealed in their dream-existence, the interpretative-reality revealed through the enaction of dreams, tension between the newer Christian-based cosomology and the traditional cultural-based cosmology, a moral imperative, prophetic perception and human bodiliness, as revealed in dream interpretations and the legitimation of the interpretative-reality within the life-world. The essence of the interpretative-reality of both groups is very similar and is expressed in the notion of relatedness to a cosmic mode-of-being. The cosmic mode-of-being includes a numinous dimension which is expressed through divine presence in the form of ancestors, Holy Spirit or God. These notions cannot be apprehended by theoretical constructs alone but may be grasped and given form in meaning-disclosing intuitions which are expressed in the lifeworld in terms of bodiliness, revelatory knowledge, action and healing. Some differences between the two groups are evident and reveal some conflict between the monotheistic Christian cosmology and the traditional cosmology. Unique aspects of the interpetative-reality of the Urban Group are expressed in terms of difficulties in the urban social environment and the notion of a moral imperative. It is observed that cultural self-expression based upon traditional ideas continues to play a significant role in the urban environment. The apparent conflict revealed between the respective cosmologies underlies an integration of traditional meanings with Christian concepts. This finding is consistent with the literature suggesting that the African Independent Church is a syncretic movement. The life-world is based upon the immediate and vivid experience of the numinous as revealed in the dream phenomenon. The participants' approach to dreams is not based upon an explicit theory, but upon an immediate and pathic understanding of the dream phenomenon. The understanding is based upon the interpreter's concrete understanding of the life-world, which includes the possibility of cosmic integration and continuity between the personal and transpersonal realms of being. The approach is characterized as an expression of man's primordial attunement with the cosmos. The approach of the participants to dreams may not be consistent with a Western rational orientation, but nevertheless, it is a valid approach. The validity is based upon the immediate life-world of experience which is intelligible, coherent, and above all, it is meaning-giving in revealing life-possibility within the context of human existence.

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of different dietary fibre levels on methane production and growth performance of Bonsmara and Nguni steers. Nine Bonsmara and nine Nguni male weaners aged 8 – 9 months were used for the study. On arrival, animals were fed Eragrostis curvula hay on ad libitum basis for the first 14 days as part of adaptation to the feedlot environment. Animals were gradually adapted to treatments to prevent metabolic disorders. The study was conducted as a 3 x 3 x 2 factorial experiment. Treatments were allocated in a completely randomised design. Data were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Student's t-LSD was calculated at the 5 % level (P < 0.05) to compare treatment means for significant effects. Feeding a diet that is low in crude fibre content had significantly increased (P < 0.05) growth performance in both breeds. Bonsmara steers had significantly higher growth performance (P < 0.0001) across all treatment diets compared to Nguni steers. High rumen total microbial count was observed in animals that received diets with low crude fibre. Reducing dietary crude fibre resulted in reduced methane production. Low dietary fibre showed low rumen archaea counts. There was a positive correlation between rumen pH and methane emission for both Bonsmara (R2 = 0.9105) and Nguni (R2 = 0.9517) steers. However, a negative correlation was observed between rumen total microbial count and feed conversion ratio for both Bonsmara (R2 = 0.8286) and Nguni (R2 = 0.7208) steers. The low rumen archaea counts were detected from the Bonsmara. Feeding diets with low fibre levels is recommended for improving growth performance and reducing methane production for Bonsmara and Nguni steers. / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M. Sc. (Agriculture)