Thesis(M.A.(African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / Ndzi ba mandla ndzi vuyelela eka wena Dokodela N.E. Nxumalo, muleteriwa mina eka dyondzo leyi. A wu ndzi helelanga mbilu hambiloko swi pfa swi gonya swiganga.A wu ndzi tiyisa nhlana hi masiku hinkwawo.Ndzi ri khanimambo Ndwandwe! Ndzi khensa Xikwembu Tatana wa hina loyi a nga yena a ndzi tumbuluxeke, a tlhela a ndzi nyika vutomi ni vutlhari byo humelerisa xitsalwana lexi hi mfanelo. Ndzi ngava ndzi endla xihoxo loko ndzo rivala wena nkatanga, Cakes Colbert Nukeri ku va u ndzi seketerile no ndzi komba rirhandzu eka ntirho lowu. Hambi leswi a ndzi pfa ndzi ku siya na vana, a wu ndzi helelanga mbilu. Vavanuna vo fana na wena va hlayiwa hi tintiho eka leyi misava. Xikwembu a xi ku katekise Gunela.Eka vana va mina Vialli, Sakhile naTalita, ndzi khensa nseketelo lowu mi ndzi kombeke wona. A mi pfa mi pfumala rirhandzu ra manana loko ndza ha yile ku ya handza vutivi.Ndza khensa vana va mina ku tiyisela ka n’wina. Eka vatswari va mina Tatana Samson na nghamu Selina N’wa-Malesa Ngoveni, ndzi pfumala marito yo khensa eka rirhandzu leri mi ndzi kombeke rona. Vamakwerhu Xitlhangoma, N’wa-Khada, Calvin, Charles na Mcgyver, ndzi khensa nseketelo wa n’wina vana va mhani. Na n’wina kokwana Midjadji, kokwana N’wa-Mongwe, kokwana N’wa-Hlabathi,kokwana N’wa-Juliyazi,Mhani Mphephu, Hahani N`wa Xitlhangoma na kokwani N`wa-Jakobo,ndzi ba mandla ndzi vuyelela. A mi nga karhalin loko ndzi tshama ndzi ri karhi ndzi mi vutisela swivutiso. Hosi a yi mi endle hi tintswalo. A ndzi mi rivalangi na n’wina mhaninkulu N’wa-July Mabunda na Sesi Ednah Mhinga. Mi ndzi khatsisile ndzima leyi. Ndzi ri kudya hi ku engeta. Ndzi hetelela hi ku khensa makwerhu Florence Motupa na Mixo Nkuna lava va nga vathayipi

Thesis (M.CUR.) --University of Limpopo, 2014 / Indigenous practices (IPs) are experiences generated by people who are living in a specific region context and a specific cultured group. IPs are shaped by cultural traits that are passed from one generation to the next. The practices are rooted and embedded in such a society and, therefore, the practices become part of the people’s lifestyle. It is difficult to try and change these practices, since people have adhered to them throughout their entire lives. The believe system plays a major role in health care seeking behaviour of individuals because they are informed by the IPs that are observed in their environment (Shaik & Hatcher, 2005). IPs are stored in people’s memories and are expressed in songs, dances, beliefs, rituals, cultural values, myths, and healing of diseases by using herbs. During pregnancy, IPs are still applied worldwide. Ayaz and Efe (2008) indicate that it occurs mostly in Turkey and Africa where women’s reassurance is depending on the local context and meaning of pregnancy. THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY To determine indigenous practices of pregnant women at the Dilokong Hospital in the Greater Tubatse Municipality of the Limpopo Province.This was achieved by the exploring and describing the indigenous practices of pregnant women in the antenatal (ANC) clinic of the maternity ward at the Dilokong Hospital.. DESIGN AND METHOD A qualitative, descriptive, explorative and contextual research design was used for the participants to describe the indigenous practices by pregnant women. Data was collected by means of unstructured one-on-one interviews in maternity unit of the ANC clinic at the Dilokong Hospital of the Greater Tubatse Municipality. Ethical considerations as described by Denosa (2000) were adhered to in order to ensure the v quality of the study. The criteria for trustworthiness were observed as stipulated in Babbie and Mouton (2009).Fifteen pregnant women were interviewed. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Four themes with sub-themes emerged from the data analysis by using Tech’ṡ open coding approach (Creswell 2006, Botma, Greef, Mulaudzi & Wright, 2010). Four themes were emerged namely; indigenous practices based on ancestral knowledge; indigenous practices based on spiritual diviners versus church principles; restricted practices versus instructions followed during pregnancy and labour and indigenous practices during labour and delivery. It is recommended that a national IP strategy needs to be developed to provide a framework and platform to support and promote grass roots IPs into mainstream development in the health care system in relation to midwifery practice. CONCLUSION The study findings indicated that IPs were regarded as an honourable health intervention by THPs, families, and pregnant women. They showed trust in methods used to preserve pregnancy, labour, and delivery, although, the indigenous practices by pregnant women still continue. Indigenous practices such as cords around their waists, are still observed during physical examinations. However, there is a reduction of prescribed potions mixed with cool drinks for use to accelerate labour and to prevent negative consequences because the potential toxicity has been explained during the provision of health education. These findings call for health care professionals to emphasise training and workshops for the THPs church diviners that are the fundamental principle of effective implementation of IPs to enhance improvement in the prevention of complications during pregnancy, labour and delivery. KEYWORDS Pregnant women Indigenous practice Indigenous knowledge

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / This study sought to identify the bottlenecks in the promotion of Zimbabwean Traditional Medicines (ZTMs) towards improving the national healthcare delivery system. The indigenous medicines lost value and recognition to the Conventional Western Medicines introduced by the British colonialist since 1871 and is still dominating the national healthcare delivery system. There are growing challenges to ensure accessibility of affordable drugs especially for primary healthcare. The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) is in support of re-engaging indigenous medical interventions to achieve the Millennium development goals. Indigenous Traditional Medicine Knowledge-Based Systems (ITMKS) form the basis of the main source of health care for about 80% of the population in the developing countries. The implementation of the Zimbabwe Traditional Medicines Policy (ZTMP) has been at a stand-still since inception in 2007. The research used mixed methods involving qualitative and quantitative approaches. Data was collected through desk and field research. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to record perceptions and attitudes of key informants. The stakeholders included Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs), Medical Doctors, Pharmacists, Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe (MRCZ) staff, Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), Traditional Medical Practitioner’s Council (TMPC), Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (Zinatha), Ministry of Health and Childcare, WHO, Higher Education Institutions (UZ School of Pharmacy staff and students), Christian Groups, NGOs and Prostate Cancer Patients in Harare CBD. The stakeholders sampling framework was obtained from the list of registered practitioners. The stakeholder mapping involved selection of 5 key informants from each focus group obtained through random selection. The Snowball sampling technique was used to follow the closest 5 key informants in each focus group. The key findings established that 80% of respondents agreed to the integration of ZTM. The major bottlenecks were lack of modern dosage forms and standardization to determine quality, safety and efficacy of the ZTM. The study suggests that in order to fast track the integration process, a bottom up implementation strategy providing ZTM advocacy, capacity building in the institutionalization and training of ZTMPs, pharmacists and CMP need to be engaged for a favorable and quick buy-in. The study also recommends further analysis of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) areas of specialization in pharmaceutical practice in order to improve treatment outcomes.

Traditional food knowledge (TFK) refers to a cultural tradition of sharing food, recipes and cooking skills and techniques and passing down that collective wisdom through generations. The value of this knowledge is hidden in a global food system offering an abundance of commercial convenience foods. This study defines TFK and explores its value to assert space for its recovery and renewal. Using Trevor Hancock’s research on healthy communities and models, such as the Mandala of Health (1985), traditional food knowledge will be analyzed for its potential to contribute to individual and community ecosystem health. The role of traditional food knowledge is examined with respect to promoting biocultural diversity and improving the capacity for food production among citizens. Food diversity is an important component of human nutrition and can be an indicator for a bioculturally diverse region. Studies on biocultural diversity recognize the close connection between cultural and biological diversity. Only recently have the losses in cultural heritage, such as traditional food knowledge garnered academic and policy attention. Traditional food knowledge can be one means of asserting cultural identity and can be a way to connect people to the natural world. Transmitting this knowledge is one important means of fostering sustainable livelihoods, ecosystem health and enhanced individual and community capacity. Traditional food knowledge can provide an individual with the capacity to prepare meals that are nutritious, safe and culturally relevant. This skill can support adaptation to altered food environments, such as is the case for immigrants and indigenous populations. The food system itself has rapidly changed with global industrialization, urbanization and cultural homogenization; and traditional food knowledge is no exception. The distinct expressions of taste and place are facing a continuity gap when traditional food knowledge is not passed forward, but rather sidelined as an abstract, historical concept. This study takes a qualitative case study approach exploring the concept of traditional food knowledge. The existing literature is compared to the lived experience of immigrants and their families in the Canadian suburban context, specifically in Mississauga, Ontario. This study explores the relevance and value of traditional food knowledge to Indonesian-Chinese New Canadians, their families and the wider community. Despite the colossal challenges posed by a global food industry, there are personal and community benefits to gaining or relearning traditional food knowledge. The community capacity increases with a greater number of skilled practitioners and educated consumers. Informal sharing of the cultural life skills engages people from various walks of life as they learn about, and from, each other. Governance that enables and sustains this type of community exchange will require changes to ensure equitable support for the opportunity for such informal learning and capacity building to occur among all citizens.

Traditional food knowledge (TFK) refers to a cultural tradition of sharing food, recipes and cooking skills and techniques and passing down that collective wisdom through generations. The value of this knowledge is hidden in a global food system offering an abundance of commercial convenience foods. This study defines TFK and explores its value to assert space for its recovery and renewal. Using Trevor Hancock’s research on healthy communities and models, such as the Mandala of Health (1985), traditional food knowledge will be analyzed for its potential to contribute to individual and community ecosystem health. The role of traditional food knowledge is examined with respect to promoting biocultural diversity and improving the capacity for food production among citizens. Food diversity is an important component of human nutrition and can be an indicator for a bioculturally diverse region. Studies on biocultural diversity recognize the close connection between cultural and biological diversity. Only recently have the losses in cultural heritage, such as traditional food knowledge garnered academic and policy attention. Traditional food knowledge can be one means of asserting cultural identity and can be a way to connect people to the natural world. Transmitting this knowledge is one important means of fostering sustainable livelihoods, ecosystem health and enhanced individual and community capacity. Traditional food knowledge can provide an individual with the capacity to prepare meals that are nutritious, safe and culturally relevant. This skill can support adaptation to altered food environments, such as is the case for immigrants and indigenous populations. The food system itself has rapidly changed with global industrialization, urbanization and cultural homogenization; and traditional food knowledge is no exception. The distinct expressions of taste and place are facing a continuity gap when traditional food knowledge is not passed forward, but rather sidelined as an abstract, historical concept. This study takes a qualitative case study approach exploring the concept of traditional food knowledge. The existing literature is compared to the lived experience of immigrants and their families in the Canadian suburban context, specifically in Mississauga, Ontario. This study explores the relevance and value of traditional food knowledge to Indonesian-Chinese New Canadians, their families and the wider community. Despite the colossal challenges posed by a global food industry, there are personal and community benefits to gaining or relearning traditional food knowledge. The community capacity increases with a greater number of skilled practitioners and educated consumers. Informal sharing of the cultural life skills engages people from various walks of life as they learn about, and from, each other. Governance that enables and sustains this type of community exchange will require changes to ensure equitable support for the opportunity for such informal learning and capacity building to occur among all citizens.

This thesis aims to gain an insight to the properties that make a living structure and examine these properties and the concept of living structure in traditional Kastamonu Houses in the light of Christopher Alexander&amp / #8217 / s theories of wholeness and centers. Especially in the last century, building activity has become a significant field with the developments in the construction techniques and technology. In this way, human life is being shaped also, beside the earth. The traditional housing fabric, which is the heritage of years of experience and the reflection of the lifestyle of a particular society, is being neglected. In any part of the world, the number of the buildings, resembling each other so much, increases / and most of the time, they lack the values that support the quality of life. Within the scope of this thesis, first of all, Alexander&amp / #8217 / s definition of order, theories of wholeness and centers, concept of living structure are studied. Then, traditional Kastamonu houses are analyzed, both visually and spatially / and properties that make a living structure are examined. The relation between living structure and expression of self and the importance of belonging to own time and place are put forward. Then, how different centers are united together by the help of these features is seen. This study helps to understand, how to create more sensitive environments to live by studying and understanding traditional housing concepts before losing them totally. Moreover, it emphasizes the values of traditional Kastamonu houses, which support the quality of life.

This study aims to explore the contemporary mosque architecture in Turkey, through a survey of the selected cases, focusing mainly on the use of traditional elements of mosque architecture. The selected cases are outstanding examples of contemporary mosque architecture in Turkey. Their architects are innovative in their design decisions and displayed their own design approach and interpretation outside the main stream of contemporary mosque design Turkey. In this framework, six mosques for every decade beginning from 1960&rsquo / s are analyzed in terms of their general architectural features and the use of traditional elements of mosque architecture in their design. Throughout the selected cases, the modification of forms and functions are studied and compared with the pre- Modern ones as well as with each other. The changed forms of obsolete elements and the introduction of new elements to their design are also discussed. By this way, a general evaluation regarding the developments and progress in contemporary mosque architecture in Turkey is proposed with reference to comparative results. On this basis, this study demonstrates that the main elements, organization schemes and planning setups of Classical Ottoman Mosque are still preserved in the selected mosque examples. The novelty brought to their design is basically the usage of modern materials and techniques and a formal exploration of mosque architecture.