The black township of Daveyton, on the East Rand, was established in 1955. Like residents of other townships on the Rand, its residents found themselves faced with social, economic and political problems, even after the liberation in 1994. The emergence, acceptance and spread of Rastafarianism as a way of life was in direct reaction to these problems. Rastafarianism originated in the Caribbean island of Jamaica as a direct reaction to slavery. Its emergence in Africa was in reaction to colonialism, while in South Africa it was due to colonialism and apartheid. In Daveyton, the organisation came into being in 1997 and was formalised in 2002. The reason for the formalisation of the Movement after 1994 was to present a united force against the government and society who seemed reluctant to recognise the Rastafarian freedom of worship. Accordingly, Rastafarianism is millennial in nature given the reasons for its emergence. Instead of choosing to suppress their experience of oppression and suffering, Rastafarians have chosen to incorporate these experiences and make them part of their worldview. These memories of oppression become evident in the way they have chosen to express them namely by forging their group identity. This is reflected in the nature of their organisation, belief systems and practice that differ from other organisations. This unique identity makes Rastafarianism unpopular with the government, some religious movements and some members of the community. However, in spite of this unpopularity, the Movement is becoming more acceptable owing to its dynamic nature and concern with contemporary problems facing society. This is shown by a change in the way the Movement is perceived by some members of society. In addition, more people have accepted their lifestyle. Therefore, Rastafarians have managed to shape a separate identity and a culture based on past and present experiences. The research methodology followed in gathering information for this study is the integration of secondary sources and written primary sources with oral history and participant observation. However, the bulk of information was gathered through participant observation.

Magister Artium - MA / This thesis explores the precarious nature of authenticity as it manifested itself in the activities of H.I.M. Society, the Rastafarian student organization at the University of the Western Cape. Ethnographic research was conducted, to explore the above mentioned issue, which involved observation of various activities and in depth interviews. I also inquired about outsiders' perspectives on Rastafarianism and H.I.M. Society in particular. Authenticity, as it is conceived in this thesis, is about what a group of people deem culturally important. Three important ideas follow from this. The first is that not everyone in a group agrees on what is important. Put differently authenticating processes tend to be characterized by legitimizing crises. Therefore, secondly, social actors need to invest cultural ideas, objects and practices with authenticity. Lastly the authenticating processes are predicated on boundaries not necessarily as a means of exclusion but as fundamental to determining the core of cultural being and belonging

In this dissertation I argue that individuals' definitions of social justice, and their strategies for pursuing it, are structured by material and discursive conditions produced by specific state practices. In this study, based on multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in the United States and Trinidad and Tobago, I explore this argument by examining the process by which the members of the National United Freedom Fighters (NUFF) resorted to violent political tactics and later abandoned them to adopt a state-sanctioned, self-funded development approach to their ongoing pursuit of social justice. The two different phases of the NUFF's social movement were led by the same actors, in the same impoverished region, with the same material development goals. Through comparative analysis of these two phases, and the material and discursive conditions characteristic of the two different historical moments in which they emerged, this study teases out the specific contextual variables that provoked the NUFF's initial commitment to and subsequent renunciation of violent political action. I argue that the transformation of the NUFF from a guerrilla force inspired by the promise of Marxist revolution into an NGO founded on principles of neoliberal subjectivity- self-help, participation in civil society, community-based volunteerism, market-oriented social reform, and spirituality (Rastafari)- was largely a consequence of material and discursive shifts produced by specific neoliberal governing practices instituted during and after the Structural Adjustment Program mandated by the International Monetary Fund in the mid-1980s. This investigation seeks to produce insights into the future of grassroots political action in the developing world by advancing anthropological understandings of the connections between culture, state practices, material conditions, and marginalized citizens' strategies for social change. / Anthropology

Text in English Summary in English, Tshivenda and Setswana / Rastafari (this term is preferred to Rastafarianism) is known as a movement which originated in Jamaica and has since spread throughout the world. The movement has attracted much attention from the public and media worldwide because of reggae music. This study set out to investigate the lived experiences of Rastafari women of Tshwane. The purpose of the study was to describe their experiences regarding their roles, duties and responsibilities. It paid particular attention to the behavioural patterns of women within what is often regarded as a patriarchal order. The study was qualitative in nature and made use of various data gathering techniques such as life histories, focus groups, semi-structured and unstructured in-depth interviews, observations and field notes. My findings are, firstly, that Rastafari pays very scant attention to women. Secondly, in contemporary times some practices enforced by their holy books feel oppressive. Lastly, the lived experience reveal that Rastafari as a culture changes with time and women influence the movement. / Rasiṱafari tshi ḓivhea sa tshigwada tshine vhubvo hatsho ha vha ngei Jamaica zwino tsho phaḓalala na ḽifhasi ḽoṱhe. Tshigwada tsho kunga vhunzhi ha zwitshavha na nyanḓadzamafhungo ḽifhasini ḽoṱhe nga nṱhani ha muzika wa rigei. Ngudo iyi yo dzudzanyelwa u ṱoḓisisa nga ha vhutshilo ha tshigwada tsho tsikeledzwaho tsha vhafumakadzi vha Rasiṱafari vho no wanala Tshwane. Ndivho ya ngudo iyi ndi u ṱalusa tshenzhemo yavho zwi tshi ya kha mishumo na vhuḓifhinduleli havho. Yo sedzesa kha kutshilele kwa vhafumakadzi kha sisiṱeme ya matshilisano hune vhanna vha dzhiwa sa vhone vhalanguli. Ngudo yo lavhelesa nga maanḓa kha u ṱanḓavhudza vhuvha ha tshithu ho shumiswa thekhiniki dzo fhambanaho dza u kuvhanganya data u fana na ḓivhazwakale dza vhutshilo, zwigwada zwo sedzeswaho khazwo, na inthaviyu dzine mbudziso dza vha dzo thoma dza dzudzanywa na inthaviyu ine mbudziso dza vha dzi songo dzudzanywa, kuvhonele na mafhungo e a kuvhanganywa kha vhupo. Mawanwa anga ndi, zwa u thoma, Rasiṱafari i sedzesa zwiṱuku kha vhafumakadzi. Zwa vhuvhili, zwazwino maitele ane a tevhedzwa nga maṅwalo makhethwa a pfala a tshi tsikeledza. Zwa u fhedzisela, vhutshilo ha tshigwada tsho tsikeledzwaho vhu dzumbulula uri mvelele ya Rasiṱafari ine vhadzulapo vha Afrika vha shela mulenzhe khayo I khou shushedzwa nga mvelele ya mashango a vhukovhela, i ne ya kunga na u ṱanganedzwa nga vhafumakadzi. Zwenezwo, Rasiṱafari sa tshigwada tsha mvusuludzo a yo ngo ima fhethu huthihi fhedzi i khou shanduka na tshifhinga. / Rastafari e itsege jaaka mokgatlho o o tlholegileng kwa Jamaica, mme go tloga foo wa anamela mo lefatsheng lotlhe. Mokgatlho o o nnile le kgogedi e kgolo mo bathong le bobegakgang lefatshe ka bophara ka ntlha ya mmino wa reggae. Patlisiso eno e ikaeletse go sekaseka maitemogelo a a tshedilweng ke basadi ba kwa Tshwane ba Rastafari. Maikemisetso a patlisiso ke go tlhalosa maitemogelo a bona mabapi le seabe, ditiro le maikarabelo a bona. E etse tlhoko thata mekgwa ya maitsholo ya basadi mo go se gantsi se kaiwang e le thulaganyo e e bayang banna kwa godimo. Patlisiso e ne e le e e lebeletseng go tlhaloganya mabaka le megopolo (qualitative) mme e dirisitse mekgwa e e farologaneng ya go kokoanya tshedimosetso go tshwana le hisetori ya botshelo, ditlhopha tsa puisano (focus groups), dipotsolotso tse di rulaganeng fela di sa tsepama (semi-structured interviews) le dipotsolotso tse di sa rulaganang tse di tsenelelang ko botennye jwa kgang, go ela tlhoko mmogo le dintlha tse di kwadilweng mo tsamaong ya patlisiso. Diphitlhelelo tsa me ke gore, sa ntlha, Rastafari e tsaya basadi tsia go se kae fela. Sa bobedi, mo dinakong tsa ga jaana, ditiro dingwe tse di laelwang ke dibuka tsa bona tse di boitshepo di utlwala di gatelela. Sa bofelo, maitemogelo a senola gore setso sa Rastafari se mo go sona Bantsho ba nang le seabe, se tshosediwa ke setso sa bophirima se se nang le kgogedi, mme se amogelwa ke basadi. Ka jalo, Rastafari jaaka mokgatlho wa tsosoloso, ga e a tsepama, mme e fetoga le dinako. / Anthropology and Archaeology / M.A. (Anthropology)