Perhaps the most controversial topic in the whole field of South African Bantu ethnography is that of the institution known variously as lobola (Zulu-Xhosa), bohadi, boxadi, bohali (Sotho) or mala (Venda). In its simplest form it can be defined as the handing over of some consideration, usually cattle, by the father of the bridegroom to the father of the bride on the occasion of a marriage between their children. No subject has been so widely discussed nor, unfortunately, given rise to so many misconceptions in missionary, administrative and lay circles, and it is imperative that some scientific investigation be made to ascertain, as accurately as possible, the exact nature of this institution and its significance in Bantu society. A glance at the literature shows that this topic has certainly not remained unnoticed by travellers, missionaries and others who have come into contact with our native peoples, either professionally or otherwise, but many of their observations are vitiated by prejudice and such subjective evaluations as: "The individual woman is less than a human being, she is merely a channel through which the children are delivered to the purchaser. It is truly not woman purchase, it is a wholesale transaction in child-life.", and the use of such terms as "sale" and "wife barter". Others say it plays an important stabilising part in native marriage. Thus in all contact situations, but particularly in the native Church and in the law courts, there is marked perplexity - and inconsistency - in dealing with the custom, all tending to increase the confusion and maladjustment of our native peoples - especially among native Christians. It is submitted, therefore, that the time is propitious for a detailed study of this institution, and this the following thesis attempts to do.

The main ambition of this study is to investigate and examine how informants between the age of 18-26 experience the suburbs. Furthermore, my study is based on three main questions which are 1. How does the informants describe growing up and live in the suburbs? 2. What experience does the informants have regarding the interaction with people who lives outside the suburbs? Does living in the suburbs affect the daily life of the informants, such as the workplace or education? The main motive to this study is my ambition to examine if the picture that often are described in the media are true according to the studies informants. Point to be noted is that my study is not about the representation of the suburbs by the media, rather it is about the informants’ subjective reflections about living in the suburbs. The empirical data have shown some similarities of the informants in terms of describing how it is to live and being raised in the suburbs. Furthermore, the empirical data have shown that some positive aspects regarding living in the suburbs. The positive aspects in this chase are for example belonging, acceptance and unity which the informants have described. On the other hand, some of the informants in the study describe some negative aspects regarding living in the suburbs. The difficulty in this case is about attitudes towards the suburbs and the people who are living there and exclusion for example in the labor market or in the workplace. The theoretical perspectives which I have used in my study are theories about stigma by Erving Goffman, discrimination, and marginalization.

AIDS and HIV infection rates are climbing amongst young people in South Africa in the last decades, despite various intervention initiatives by National Government and Non-governmental organisations alike. This dissertation explores the knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards condom use amongst young people in the Northern and Western Cape in an attempt at understanding some of the cultural factors that inform sexual behaviour. It aims to explore issues of knowledge and the institutional culture of the clinic that invariably impacts on the sexual practices of individuals being targeted by such policies. It also hoped to investigate and offer an insight into the persistence of high-risk sexual practices amongst young people despite their having access to barrier contraceptive methods, condoms. I illustrate my argument through the analysis of data acquired in fieldwork earned out in two government clinics through the use of multi-faceted methodologies. The research applied anthropological, qualitative and quantitative research methods including focus group discussions, participant observation and in-depth follow-up interviews through the use of a detailed questionnaire. The questionnaire lent itself to the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data, through its structured, semi structured and open-ended questions. The overall findings of this research show that firstly, young men chose to use condoms selectively and the type of relationship they find themselves in appears to impact directly on this selection process. Secondly, younger women in this study seem to use condoms more regularly than their older counterparts and there appears to be a general dis-use of condoms within 'stable' relationships. Thirdly, lack of empowerment amongst women has a direct impact on their ability to negotiate condom use within sexual relationships. This research has also shown that there are some real and perceived challenges and constraints facing intervention strategies in terms of condom procurement and overall access to reproductive health services. Lastly, the overall aims of this research attempts to highlight the important contributions applied anthropology can make to the understanding of the various beliefs, practices and culture of condom use so as to better inform existing policies in the field of AIDS and HIV.

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Thesis (DPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 1970. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: no abstract available / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: geen opsomming

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This thesis is an examination of the process of learning to mother as experienced by women in Scotland between 1945 and 2004. The research involved interviews with mothers and their adult daughters – the latter also being mothers – as well as consulting archival sources and contemporary, professional advisory material available either to the mothers or to professionals who interacted with mothers.

<p>This essay deals with the individual collecting of four individuals with different backgrounds and lives. The essay investigates what, how and why people collect. It provides a stepping-stone in moving closer to understanding one, in human nature, deeply rooted phenomenon - collecting.</p><p>The essay is based on a list of questions made by the Nordic Museum in Stockholm. It also includes in-depth examinations of four person’s passion of collecting, in which four individuals were interviewed: a pig collector, a collector of Mickey Mouse items, a multi-collector of objects from other cultures and one collector of items related to the artist Madonna. All of the collectors were driven by different factors, of which some were rooted far back in their childhood, and for some the urge to collect had increased because of difficulties in adult life.</p><p>The investigation is based on the thesis that the market and the personal emotional feelings are the two main driving factors when it comes to collecting. This study and the people who participated in it, makes it clear that no market is strong enough to overcome the human mind and its will to decide what and how to collect. Although the market to some extent affect, for example by creating the availability or not, it is ultimately the emotional sense that decides how the collection would look like.</p><p>This essay is meant to fill a gap of knowledge in the area of the individual collecting, and provide a better understanding of the driving forces that are deeply embedded in the soul of a collector.</p>

This thesis examines the concept of sustainable development with a primary focus on its advancement and implementation at a local level. The local level is identified as the site where significant potential exists for people to engage directly in the practice of sustainable development. Community is analysed as the social network where meaningful associations between people and place are established. The cultural transformation of values and ideologies that frame development trajectories is examined as an important means for achieving lasting change towards sustainable development. This work is based on original ethnographic research that was conducted on the Isle of Gigha, Scotland following the community buy-out of the island that occurred in 2002. While working with the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust and the development process for the island, research was carried out, employing the methods of participatory action research and co-operative inquiry, over a year and a half. This research concentrated on analysing the social processes that were enacted on the Isle of Gigha to increase the community’s ability to better plan and manage a programme of sustainable development. The idea of sustainable development for Gigha that recognises the natural heritage and cultural heritage as its primary assets is a strongly supported ideal among the members of the community. However, to formulate social processes that allowed for the active participation of the island’s population in development planning proved difficult, requiring regular scrutiny and revision. Community development engenders sustainability because the important criteria for individual support of sustainable development—which includes active participation and citizenship, care for the environment, and human well-being—are learned at a local level through a strong and supportive community. Three social processes are identified from the Gigha case study as significant for the ability of people at a local level to participate in sustainable development: forms of decision making, planning sustainable development, and the professional facilitation of community-led development. These social processes establish the three main themes of this work. Though this work focuses extensively at a local level, it also acknowledges that a thorough examination of sustainable development requires a critical analysis of global development trends and the ideologies that frame and define meanings of development and social progress. Thus, each of the three social processes is approached through three distinct analytical lenses: a critical analysis of socio-cultural development trends, a local analysis based on the Gigha case study, and a discussion of how these processes can be strengthened to establish social systems/infrastructures that encourage sustainable practices and behaviours. The majority of works discussing sustainable development describe the scientific and technological pathways for its increase. It is argued in this work that significant improvements for sustainable development require social change and direct transformation of values/ideologies that frame our understanding of the world and humanity’s development within it. This work examines how the identified social processes can be structured to support experiential learning and critical praxis at a local level thus creating a stronger understanding of the sustainable development imperative. An analysis of the agency and capacity of communities to produce their own programmes of sustainable development is presented in order to demonstrate how individual values of ownership, responsibility and accountability are engendered to create a stronger awareness and commitment towards transformative social change. This analysis also addresses how professionals/practitioners can facilitate this type of lasting change towards sustainability.