In order to understand black women's socio-political role in the construction of, and participation in resistance culture, it is essential to look at the historic developments as a whole. To define women's social and political role in resistance as inherently separate would infact marginalize women from the broader overview, and therefore discredit their contribution to resistance politics. Women should be seen as part of public society. If to be separate is, inherently, to be unequal, then it is only by integrating the study of women into the study of society that "women's studies", by ceasing to exist, will, paradoxically, have had the impact on academic fields that it deserves. l Information collected for this thesis, was based on information given by and taped at . African National Congress (ANC), United Democratic Front (UDF) and Pan African Congress (PAC) resistance rallies, meetings and conferences. The women and men I interviewed were affiliated to one of the above mentioned political organizations. I do not wish to speak on behalf of these or any black women, nor do I claim to understand what they had to endure during the eighties. My aim, however, is to document the toyi-toyi as it pertained to black women, and the history surrounding its creation, and the symbolic meaning inherent in its performance, as accurately as possible. I believe the toyi-toyi spoke and still speaks about important political and social issues. Ignoring this voice, and letting it go unnoticed would be an intellectual crime and socially irresponsible. History speaks through the actions of people. A very powerful performance and vehicle of communication will be lost if the toyi-toyi is left undocumented. We as researchers must not only document the words of leaders, we must let the voices of the people be heard. I know many white South Africans are afraid of the toyi-toyi performance. They associate it with unruliness, violence and crime. The SABC news media has done a good job of documenting it as such. News flashes of the toyi-toyi was and is still shown in relation to burning tyres, stone throwing and the "violent, chanting black crowd." The aim of my research and the reason behind writing this thesis, is to let the voices of black people, but especially black women be heard - let the toyi-toyi speak to those who hide from its performance. Endnotes. M.Z. Rosaldo Women, Culture and Society, (Stanford 1874), 128. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The censorship of popular music in South Africa during the 1980s severely affected South African musicians. The apartheid government was directly involved in centralized state censorship by means of the Directorate of Publications, while the South African Broadcasting Corporation exercised government censorship at the level of airplay. Others who assisted state censorship included religious and cultural interest groups. State censorship in turn put pressure on record companies, musicians and others to practice self-censorship. Many musicians who overtly sang about taboo topics or who used controversial language subsequently experienced censorship in different forms, including police harassment. Musicians were also subject to anti-apartheid forms of censorship,such as the United Nations endorsed cultural boycott. Not all instances of censorship were overtly political, but they were always framed by, and took place within, a repressive legal-political system. This thesis found that despite the state's attempt to maintain its hegemony, musicians sought ways of overcoming censorship practices. It is argued that the ensuing struggle cannot be conceived of in simple binary terms. The works of Antonio Gramsci, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu, in particular, are applied to the South African context in exploring the localized nuances of the cultural struggle over music censorship. It is argued that fragmented resistance to censorship arose out of the very censorship structures that attempted to silence musicians. Textual analysis brought to light that resistance took various forms including songs with provocative lyrics and titles, and more subtle means of bypassing censorship, including the use of symbolism, camouflaged lyrics, satire and crossover performance. Musicians were faced with the challenge of bypassing censors yet nevertheless conveying their message to an audience. The most successful cases negotiated censorial practices while getting an apparent message across to a wide audience. Broader forms of resistance were also explored, including opposition through live performance, counter-hegemonic information on record covers, resistance from exile, alignment with political organizations and legal challenges to state censorship. In addition, some record companies developed strategies of resistance to censorship. The many innovative practices outlined in this thesis demonstrate that even in the context of constraint, resistance is possible. Despite censorship, South African musicians were able to express themselves through approaching their music in an innovative way.

Proceeding from the premise that the meaning of performances flows from contextual, textual, and nonverbal elements, this dissertation explores layers of meaning arising from performances of selected South African struggle songs, poems and plays. In particular, it focuses on performances of the Mayibuye Cultural Group which functioned as an adaptive mechanism in the changing sociopolitical landscape of the 1980s and early 1990s, and on contemporary performances. The analysis of the songs, poems and play underscores the importance of nonverbal elements for the interpretation of performances, and proposes that performances functioned as debate and as a discursive presence in the public sphere. In particular, the performances glorified a masculine conception of the struggle and of South African society which highlighted the fragile gender politics in South Africa, and functioned as a vibrant mechanism for the expression of sanctioned criticism especially for the marginalised and for those at the fringes of power. / Anthropology / M.A. (Anthropology)

Proceeding from the premise that the meaning of performances flows from contextual, textual, and nonverbal elements, this dissertation explores layers of meaning arising from performances of selected South African struggle songs, poems and plays. In particular, it focuses on performances of the Mayibuye Cultural Group which functioned as an adaptive mechanism in the changing sociopolitical landscape of the 1980s and early 1990s, and on contemporary performances. The analysis of the songs, poems and play underscores the importance of nonverbal elements for the interpretation of performances, and proposes that performances functioned as debate and as a discursive presence in the public sphere. In particular, the performances glorified a masculine conception of the struggle and of South African society which highlighted the fragile gender politics in South Africa, and functioned as a vibrant mechanism for the expression of sanctioned criticism especially for the marginalised and for those at the fringes of power. / Anthropology / M.A. (Anthropology)