Thesis (M.A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / The mini-dissertation investigated the role played by an aunt in African Culture with special reference to Tshivenḓa. The study has discovered that an aunt played an important role in a family. Nowadays, other people are involved in the role played by makhadzi. This seems as if the community is confused about the role of makhadzi

Thesis (MA(Science of Religion and Missiology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 150-158).

From the available sources, it is now evident that by the end of the thirteenth century, the Vhavenda has already established themselves in Venda and that the Vhasenzi and Vhalemba subjugated them towards the turn of the seventeenth century and that after the disappearance of Thohoyandou, they spread throughout the country. The arrival of the Voortrekkers under Louis Tregardt coincided with civil strife following the death of a chief. The Boers were cordially received but after ramabulana's death, Makhado who had been assisted by them to gain control of the nation, turned against them and compelled them to evacuate Schoemansdal in 1867. The involvement of the Boers in matters of succession became habitual. The weaker aspirants as a rule fled to the Boers for military assistance, and ultimately they found themselves confronted by the legitimate heir, Mphephu. Mphephu's stubborn resistance and refusal to pay taxation was viewed as calculated defiance of the authority of the Republic. The protection offered to Maemu and Sinthumule created the impression that the Boers were furthering their cause. This period of history which led to minunderstanding and friction between the opposing parties has, in my opinion not been adequately handled by earlier writers who maintained that refusal to pay taxation, to allow a census to be taken and to receive the Local Commision, were the major causes of conflict. I have tried to show that these secondary factors brought to light by earlier writers were only contributory to the main cause - the problem of succession which in itself created an atmosphere of discontent which ultimately led to hostilities. The Boer expedition of 1898 appeared to Vhavenda to be an escalation of the civil war for supremacy between Mphephu and Sinthumule. Against this background, they felt compelled to defy General P.J. Joubert and to take up arms against him. The Boer forces, with their military skill and their Black allies, drove Mphephu from Luatame with little resistance. His fligh to Mirondoni where he hoped to be assisted by the gods and the expected arrival of the British South African Police led to further loss of life. Had he crossed the Vhembe immediately after the burning of Luatame on 16 November 1898, many people would have survived and few would have been taken prisoner. The failure of the British South African Police to arrive compelled Mphephu to cross into Rhodesia on 21 December 1898, where he was given a location at Vhuxwa and he stayed there until the end of the Anglo-Boer War in 1902. The attempts by the Boers to have Sinthumule proclaimed as Chief in the place of Mphephu, failed to materialize, as the people would not acknowledge him. After the war the town of Louis Trichard was established and Venda was opened to White settlement. Mphephu returned and he as well as Kutama and Sinthumule were given locations. Thus, this study deals with he origin, the course and results of the Mphephu War. / History / M.A. (History)

Thesis (M. A. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / Several studies have shown that alternative health care practitioners play an important role in addressing the mental health care needs of individuals by offering culturally appropriate treatment. In South Africa, it has been suggested that indigenous healers are frequently consulted for mental illness when compared to their Western trained counterparts. The aim of the present study was to explore the conceptualization of mental illness by VhaVenda indigenous healers. Specifically, the study sought to achieve the following objectives: a). Establish what VhaVenda indigenous healers understand about mental illness; b). Determine the types of mental illness identified by VhaVenda indigenous healers; and, c). To determine what indigenous healers in this community perceive as the signs and symptoms of mental illness. A qualitative approach, and in particular, the case study method was used in the present study. Ten indigenous healers (male = 8: female = 2), aged between 35 and 60 were selected through snowball sampling and requested to participate in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using the content analysis method. The following psychological themes emerged from the study: a). participants understanding of mental illness; b). causes of mental illness; c). types of mental illness; d). signs and symptoms of mental illness; e). diagnoses of mental illness and f). Treatment of mental illness. The findings revealed that there are multiple causalities of mental illness and were accounted for by African indigenous beliefs. The findings of the present study further suggested that the participants do not have an elaborate nosological system that distinguishes between the different types of mental illness. Instead of giving names to the illnesses, the participants tended to describe the illness based on what is perceived as the cause which emanate from cultural ideologies. Furthermore, the results revealed that indigenous healers use the following treatment modalities to treat mental illness: namely, the use of herbs and indigenous practices. The study is concluded by making a few recommendations, that among others include consideration been given to some form of collaboration between indigenous healers and western trained health care practitioners.

M.Ed. (Environmental Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (M. A.) -- University of the North, 1999 / Refer to the document

Thesis (Ph.D. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2005 / This study investigates the expression of women abuse through female songs. Groups of singers from twenty-two communities were listened to during the study. A qualitative analysis was undertaken. Songs obtained from secondary sources, were compared and analysed in the same way in which those obtained from the singers themselves were analysed. In particular, the usefulness of these singing groups was examined. It was found that most of the women who are experiencing abuse of some kind, derive perceived social support from fellow singers. All the women in the different singing groups declared that they were not singing for the sake of singing but that they were sending messages to the perpetrators of abuse in the expectation that a change will be realized. Singing groups were found to be effectively providing assistance in dealing with emotional abuse. The study thus illuminates the subjective use of referential expressions in expressing abuse. This emphasizes the challenge for singers to check whether or not the manner in which they present their pleas is appropriate.

Thesis (M.A.) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Ngudo iyi i khou sedzulusa ṱhuṱhuwedzo ya lutendo lwa vhuloi kha vhushaka vhukati ha vhathu kha Tshivenḓa. Luambo lu kwamaho matshilisano na vhupfiwa zwi ḓo dzhielwa nzhele. Hu ḓo sedziwa na maipfi a elanaho na zwa vhuloi. Izwi zwi ḓo itwa ho katelwa vhuḓipfi, u vhaisala, kudzhielwe kwa zwithu, mbeu na maambele musi hu na lutendo lwa zwa vhuloi. Ndi zwa ndeme u ḓivha uri dziṅanga dzi na luambo lu ne dza lu shumisa u sumbedzisa vhuloi ngeno vho vhafunzi vha zwa vhurereli vha na maitele na maambele a vho.

Thesis (MA. (African Languages)) --Univesity of Limpopo, 2014

Venereal diseases (VDs) are infections that are mainly transmitted through sexual intercourse and amongst these are gonorrhoea, syphilis, chlamydia and trichomoniasis. Gonorrhoea is the most commonly known VD and the widest spread contagious infection in the world. Out of 448 million cases of curable venereal infections, gonorrhoea represents 88 million cases and the rest are syphilis, chlamydia and trichomoniasis. Gonorrhoea has recently been rated as in the emergent multidrug resistance phase. Venereal diseases are amongst the major diseases ravaging many rural communities. People infected with these diseases are considered a disgrace in the community. Indigenous populations, for example the Vha-Venda people tend to use medicinal plants to treat these infectious diseases rather than using western medicines. Vha-Venda people have depended on medicinal plants for their health and survival for millenia. In order to validate and give scientific credence to the use of medicinal plants by the Vha-Venda people for venereal diseases, several pharmacological assays were carried out. The study was aimed at evaluating the; antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory activities, HIV-type 1 reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibition properties and to determine phenolic contents as well as evaluating the mutagenic properties of, 12 medicinal plants used by the Vha-Venda people against venereal and related diseases. An attempt was also made toward isolating and identification of the most active compounds from some extracts that were active against Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Twelve medicinal plants and various plant parts, Adansonia digitata (bark), Acacia karroo (bark), Aloe chabaudii (roots), Bolusanthus speciosus (leaves, bark and stem), Ekebergia capensis (leaves and bark), Elephantorrhiza burkei (roots), Grewia occidentalis (roots), Osyris lanceolata (roots), Pappea capensis (leaves), Peltophorum africanum (bark), Pterocarpus angolensis (leaves and bark) and Ximenia caffra (leaves and roots) were evaluated for their antimicrobial properties against two Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus), three Gram-negative (Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia) bacteria and the fungus Candida albicans. The plant materials were extracted with petroleum ether (PE), dichloromethane (DCM), 80% ethanol (EtOH) and water. Methanol was used for extracting materials for phenolic contents and HIV-1RT assays. The Disc diffusion method was used to determine gonococcal percentage inhibition and a microdilution assay was used to determine minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFC). Bolusanthus speciosus and X. caffra extracts exhibited the best antigonococcal, antifungal and antibacterial activities whilst A. digitata and A. chabaudii showed poor activities. The medicinal plants were also evaluated for cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and -2) and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibition activity. The DCM and PE extracts of A. digitata bark, B. speciosus bark, P. angolensis bark and P. capensis leaves showed good anti-inflammatory activity against both COX-1 and COX-2. Methanol and water extracts of B. speciosus stems, P. africanum bark, P. angolensis leaves and P. capensis leaves exhibited good anti-HIV-1 RT activity. A. chabaudii roots, E. capensis bark and O. lanceolata roots showed low HIV-1 RT percentage inhibition. Phytochemical analysis using spectrophotometric methods revealed the presence of a variety of phenolic compounds in all the plant extracts including total phenolics, flavonoids, gallotannins and condensed tannins. High levels of total phenolics, flavonoids, gallotannins and condensed tannins were detected in X. caffra. Low amounts of flavonoids, gallotannins and condensed tannins were detected in B. speciosus. The Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium tester strain TA98 with and without S9 metabolic activation revealed that all plant extracts were non-mutagenic toward S. typhimurium strains TA98 without metabolic activation. However, E. burkei roots and E. capensis bark showed mutagenic effects toward TA98 after metabolic activation. Therefore, these two plants need to be used with caution, however more studies are required to confirm this result. Good antimicrobial activity observed in X. caffra leaves prompted an attempt to isolate active compounds. A pure compound from X. caffra leaves exhibited moderate activity (63%) against N. gonorrhoeae. However, the structure of the compound has as yet to be ratified. Pharmacological activity of the twelve medicinal plants used by Vha-Venda people against venereal and related diseases were validated in this study. The results obtained in this study give credence to the use of some of these plants. This study has further confirmed the need for screening these medicinal plants for more pharmacological activities. These plants may offer a new source of chemicals for the effective treatment of venereal and related diseases. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.