Thesis (EdD)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2009. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Priscilla Lund. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-146).

This study explores the following research problem: given that knowledge influences our behaviour, how do the belief systems of elderly Xhosa elderly people about HIV/Aids influence their behaviour? The goal of the study was to explore and describe the belief systems of Xhosa-speaking people about HIV/Aids, specifically focusing on elderly people. The goal was also to reach conclusions about how these belief systems influence their knowledge. The objectives were threefold: firstly to conduct interviews with respondents; secondly to do a literature study with the aim of doing a literature control; and, thirdly, to reach conclusions about the belief systems of elderly Xhosa-speaking people. The research employed a qualitative paradigm and a phenomenological qualitative design. The research setting was defined as a township area that is situated in the south-eastern part of Johannesburg or Gauteng area. The researcher chose ten respondents who were all Xhosa-speaking and elderly, and the interviews were conducted individually. Non-probability or judgemental sampling, which is also known as convenience sampling, was used. The interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim, and field notes were also used as another method of collecting data. The data was analysed according to the eight steps of Tesch (1990) in Cresswell (1995:155). The process of data verification was done according to Guba’s Model of Trustworthiness (in Krefting, 1991:215-222). The actions taken to ensure trustworthiness included prolonged and varied engagement, triangulation, peer examination of research methodology, interviewing techniques and skills such as probing, clarifying, reframing and establishing the researcher’s authority. Seven themes and eleven categories with their sub-categories were drawn from the data obtained during the interviews. The first theme was: how do people contract the HIV/Aids virus? Under this theme, there were eight categories: contraceptives, cancer, sexual intercourse, witchcraft, sexually transmitted disease, blood transmission, sores and respect for cultural norms. The second theme was prevention and treatment, which included the following categories: condoms, one partner and trust, traditional herbs, medicine and prayer. Theme three was: how did HIV/Aids develop? Theme four was: how can people avoid getting HIV/Aids? Theme five was: who gets HIV/Aids? Theme six was: who brought HIV/Aids? Theme seven was: do you know anyone who has HIV/Aids and how do you think the person was infected? Specific conclusions were drawn based on these findings. Firstly, it was concluded that people contract the virus in many ways, as mentioned above – such as through unsafe sexual intercourse (see paragraph 2 above). Secondly, people like immigrants and drug injectors are more susceptible to spreading the Aids virus. Thirdly, the issue of cultural dominance also increases the spreading of the virus due to the failure to practise safe sex. Fourthly, people lack knowledge about the virus. Fifthly, HIV/Aids cannot be cured by medicine, traditional means or even the church. Instead, it can be treated by using drugs, such as neviropine, zidovidine and other medicines which can stop the virus from multiplying its cells in the person’s system. However, further research is needed before we draw conclusions, especially on the issue of cultural beliefs towards the virus. The conclusions were complemented by specific recommendations. / Dr. E. Oliphant

Essential hypertension has a complex and multiple biological, psychological and social aetiology and remains one of the most serious physical disorders affecting the Black population of South Africa today. Pharmacological treatment has been the predominant approach to blood pressure reduction, but considering that the greater part of essential hypertension has its origin in biobehavioural and cognitive functioning a non-pharmacological treatment approach to essential hypertension is receiving extensive interest both in research and therapeutic practice. This study attempted to implement a specific cognitive-behavioural treatment "package' which was tailored to the emergent aetiology in an urban Xhosa woman suffering from Mild hypertension who was on antihypertensive medication and to evaluate the treatment using a single case-study methodology. A combination of relaxation training and cognitive-behavioural modification was provided over a fifteen week period and evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively. It was found that a combination of over-weight, occupational stress and anger could have contributed and/or caused the patient's hypertension. The results also show a significant reduction in blood pressure during the treatment phase as well as a reduction in weight, experienced anxiety and angry emotion, and by the end of the study the patient's blood pressure had been reduced to normal levels. Finally the feasibility of using such a treatment approach is discussed in relation to the South African context and the case study method is evaluated as a research tool in light of the findings.

M.A. / Family therapy came into being in the late 1950's, and was developed by a heterogenous group of investigators, working in distinctly different contexts and with different purposes. One of these intellectuals saw a family as a system, a cadet of ideas. Another one saw families as collections of individuals struggling to balance feelings, irrationalities and desires. (Nichols M.P. 1 Schwartz, R.C. 1995 :ix). From the mid 1970's onwards family therapy as a intervention strategy in social work succeeded and expanded, it was extended to encompass client populations from different cultural backgrounds, and special groups e.g. drug additions. These context suggest that family therapy needs to he practiced within the context of a particular culture. The purpose of this study is to explore the Xhosa families perceptions on family therapy and the role of culture in their life style.

The figure of Ntsikana, both as a man of history and as an historical symbol, is the focus of this study. I argue that change may come about by giving new meanings to old forms and images or by taking the new forms and content and filling them with the old, and that these two sets continue to exist side by side for a long time. Cumpsty's "Model of Religious Change in Socio-Cultural Disturbance" is used to identify the dynamics in the process and to explore the nature of the dialectic between innovation and assimilation of the new on the one hand, and continuity with the old on the other. The Ntsikana tradition is followed ever a period of two hundred years and well illustrates the need to see religious change as part of an ongoing process within a particular social and historical context.

Narcissism, often linked to a sense of entitlement and inflated sense of self, is a complex condition that has been studied for approximately a century. It is typically associated with individualistic cultures, which place emphasis on the self. Although much is known about narcissism, there is far less knowledge on narcissism in collectivist cultures. The Xhosa culture is commonly seen as a collectivist culture. No research to date has been conducted on this construct with Xhosa-speaking South Africans. The aim of the study was to explore and describe therapist perceptions of narcissism in traditional cultural contexts. The objectives of the study included an investigation into how narcissism presents in the Xhosa culture, and an exploration of the narcissistic elements that manifest more prominently. A qualitative, exploratory descriptive research design was employed, and snowball sampling was used to identify psychologists from the Nelson Mandela Metropole for inclusion in the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data, and data was analysed by thematic analysis. The findings of the thematic analysis consisted of six themes, which are thoughts on the Xhosa culture, culture and personality, contemporary Western theory lacking, traits, parenting, and interpersonal and personal difficulties. These themes reflect the participants’ experience, thoughts, and opinions on narcissism in individuals from the Xhosa culture.

This thesis outlines the changing role of the Xhosa imbongi in contemporary South African society. The changing socio-economic and political scenario in South Africa, and the way in which the imbongi is adapting in order to accommodate new pressures created by these changes, form an integral part of this thesis. The effects of education and increasing literacy on the tradition are outlined. The interaction between oral and written forms is explored in chapter 2. The role of the imbongi within the religious sphere is included in chapter 3. Xhosa preachers within the independent churches often make use of the styles and techniques associated with oral poetry. Iimbongi who are not necessarily preachers also operate within this context. The relationship between the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the African National Congress and iimbongi has also been researched and forms part of chapters 4, 5, and the epilogue. The modern imbongi is drawn towards powerful organisations offering alternative leadership to many of the traditional chiefs. In the epilogue collected poetry is analysed in the context of Mandela's visit to Transkei in April 1990. Interviews have been conducted with chiefs, iimbongi attached to chiefs as well as those attached to different organisations. Poetry has been collected and analysed. In chapter 5, three case studies of modern iimbongi are included. The problems facing these iimbongi in their different contexts, as well as the power bases from which they draw, are outlined. Finally, an alternative definition of the imbongi is offered in the conclusion

Among the Xhosas, the healing sickness called intwaso is interptreted as a call by the ancestors to become a healer. Transpersonalists also see these initiatory illnesses as spiritual crises, while according to the widely accepted Western psychiatric view, illness is purely perceived in physical and psychological terms. A case study was conducted where a single participant who has undergone the process of ukuthwasa and is functioning as a traditional healer was interviewed. A series of interviews were done where information was gathered about significant experiences related to ukuthwasa process. Tapes were transcribed and a case narrative was written and interpreted using the traditional Xhosa beliefs, the western psychiatric and the transpersonal psychology perspectives. Strengths and weaknesses of each perspective were then examined.

This study was undertaken in an attempt to investigate the analogy between the Crisis Intervention Model and the Funeral Rites of the amaXhosa. The latter group includes both traditional as well as Western Christian elements. The study was confined to the geographical area of Ciskei and more specifically the villages in and around Peddie and Ndevana near Zwelitsha, as regards traditional people, and the Black townships of Zwelitsha and Whittlesea,as regards more Westernized people. It is, however, the contention of the study that experiences discussed here are common to Blacks in South Africa irrespective of ethnicity. The justification for this generalisation is based on anthropological commonalities as well as historical vicissitudes among Blacks in Southern Africa. For instance, ritual slaughter performed after death in propitiation with the ancestors is known among all Blacks in South Africa. Also the Politico-historical events as well as socio-economic developments in the country affect Blacks in a more or less similar manner. For example, the changing family structure among Blacks, because of changes from one type of economy to another, is a social process affecting all Blacks in Southern Africa - in particular the working class (Colin Murray, 1980). The Funeral rites under study are postulated as possessing elements of therapeutic and practical value which result in the alleviation of grief and the encouragement of full acceptable means of mourning. The study is chiefly descriptive and anthropological material has been used. Recordings were made from participant observation whenever there was a funeral in the area studied. Information about funerals is easily obtainable as these are announced over Radio Ciskei and Radio Xhosa every evening. Mourners and interveners were interviewed. The former to elicit the needs they had felt, the latter to elicit the needs they had perceived the former to have. The Crisis Intervention Model is fairly simple to understand and uses practical theory. Therefore, it is not surprising that there should be elements of similarity between this model and the funeral rites of the amaXhosa as both deal with people in need of support. These funeral rites are rooted in a culture which has as one of its crucial aspects intimate, face-to-face interaction of its members in constant exchange as regards both emotional support and services. These "credit networks" ensure that a person is never bereft of emotional support. Moreover, temporary services are always accorded to a person in crisis. An effort has been made to relate the Crisis Intervention Model to the South African context of Blacks (both traditional as well as Christian). By necessity this has meant looking at all cultural dimensions of Black society - historical, political, economic and cultural, in order to provide a clearer picture of the people under study. That is, human psychological experiences of grief and mourning are seen as processes related to and developing within the concrete everyday realities. Some of the experiences described have been personally witnessed by the researcher in her personal involvement with cultural practices. Funerals are, of necessity, sad occasions and this study, using participant observation methods sometimes brought on sad memories of the researcher's own losses of loved ones. In the discussion a comparison was made between the traditional methods of grief work, the Crisis Intervention theory and the mourner studied and it was found that these rites do indeed, contain therapeutic and practical elements of dealing with grief and mourning, comparable to the Crisis Intervention Model. Finally in the conclusior a proposal for further areas of study in this field was suggested.

In the Xhosa culture, Nguni cattle have always been valued due to cultural rituals purpose but were not viewed from a development perspective. In fact, traditionally, in Xhosa society, cattle were used not only as primary sources of food such as milk, meat and other related secondary products, but in the performance of rituals. From milk one can get sour milk (amasi) which is a staple diet for both young ones and adults. Furthermore, butter, which was traditionally used for cosmetics purposes, is also derived from milk. Thus, the focus of this study is on the paradigm shift, as well as the role played by cattle in Xhosa cultural rituals and agriculture.