M.A. (African Languages) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MAGISTER EDUCATIONIS in the Department of PhilosophY of Education in the University of Zululand, 1977. / In the study of man's struggle for existence, throughout the history of humanity and in all parts of the world, two distinct phenomena emer.ge, that of society and that of culture. In an investigation of life cf a people, it is necessary, therefore, to distinguish clearly between these two concepts. Herskovits (1, p. 29) while emphasizing the necessity for distinguishing the concept culture from its sister concept society, at the same time stresses their essential interrelated= ness. Not only is man a social being who essentially lives in groups but every distinguishable human group is an organized aggregate of individuals who follow a given way of life. / The Research Committee of the University of Zululand

A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for B.A. Honours degree in the Department of History at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1995. / AbaKwaMthethwa form a very important component of the Zulu nation as we know it today. They were in fact the vanguards in the implementation of the idea of a confederation of smaller states (clans) under one supreme ruler or a king who become their overlord. The history of abaKwaMthethwa is so wide that one would need volumes to do justice to it. This project is only going to deal with their movement from around uBombo mountains round about AD 1500 to 1818 when king Dingiswyo was assassinated by Zwide, inkosi of the Ndwandwe people. This project will furthermore concentrate on the life of Dingiswayo from the time he escaped death from his father. The project also seeks to examine the controversy surrounding Dingiswayo's formative journey. It is intended that Dingiswayo's influence and his contribution socially, politically, military and economically to the upliftment of the Mthethwa confederacy will be examined. Finally mention will be made of the royal imizi, some principal imizi not necessarily royal ones, as well as religious imizi that are to be found at KwaMthethwa.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Honours B. A. in the Department of Bantu Languages of the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1981. / The aim of this paper is to bring forth the educational value of folk tales as well as the relationship that existed between grandmothers and grandchildren. Education is an old phenomenon amongst Zulus. It existed long before the white man came with a formal type of school.

The Msinga magisterial district, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa is notable because it has for many years been regarded socially as a pariah region by residents of the Province. Over the decades it has been a 'dumping ground' for people and cultures, an infertile land where gun-running, the illegal cultivation of marijuana, and continuous stock theft has relieved some of the abject poverty, but has also exacerbated the local incidence of faction fighting. However, the people of the area have responded to this ongoing social submission by reacting with creativity and colour in their clothing, cultural goods and homesteads. The cultural material of the district is, in my opinion, unsurpassed anywhere else in the Province, from the traditional interpretation of the Msinga dolls to the exuberant architecture of the contemporary homestead. The layout and elevational resolution of any type of vernacular homestead, defined by Oliver in the first chapter, is a result of a broad number of factors, most importantly resources in terms of materials, economy, climate and culture. The response of the people of Msinga in the Tugela Valley embraces all of these factors to produce a surprising resolution that distills a fresh response to the architectural depiction of a social emergence from the peasantry. The internationally acknowledged prominent form of Zulu architecture, the beehive hut, has been adequately documented in the past. Biermann, Walton and Knuffel carried out different levels of work on this building type from the 1950s onwards. Nowadays, dwindling natural resources in KwaZulu-Natal have resulted in the creation of a new set of vernacular architectures, responding to the environment and resources available, and reflecting the specific needs of the builders, from the expression of social and economic values, to the pragmatic reality of protection from 'political strife. On the one hand, the buildings. in the Msinga Valley are changing rapidly with the natural life course of each building. However, on the other, the development of new architectural styles with the continual building of new units within homesteads demonstrates a dynamic architectural and decorative tradition. The co-existence of the material cultures of Msinga and their architectural expression has to be documented and an attempt made at analysis. The threat of indigenous vemacular traditions disappearing at the expense of development is visible on the horizon. Regional planning initiatives are pressured to deliver houses and services on a large scale, which would be severely detrimental to the continuance of a vernacular architectural tradition. The architectural culture, although currently dynamic, is at risk, and thus begs for documentation. I aim to present the unique decorative tradition of Msinga as an architecture within the contexts of place and extant material culture. Adopting anything but a broad socio-cultural perspective in this case is both short-sighted and ill-focussed. The architecture of rural areas is a material culture that is embedded in the history, social and political struggles, and economic strife. Yet, in contrast with these negative influences, it demonstrates an exuberance that is continued in the other material cultures in Msinga. I begin with an overview, pull out the thread of Msinga as an area, then distil the material culture and, ultimately, the architecture and the decoration. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

Aim: The practice of virginity testing was done from the early twentieth century in KwaZulu-Natal. Many regard virginity testing as the only way to revitalize what they view as lost cultural values. The aim of the study is to understand the reasons for undergoing virginity testing from the perspective of adolescent girls and boys. The study will explore the importance attached to virginity testing by adolescent girls and boys. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

This study investigates the trends. modifications and motivations of ukuhlolwa kwezilllombi (virginity testing) among the Zulu in KwaMashu district of Kwa Zulu Natal. The study reveals that:- • Ukuhlolwa kwezillfombi has been historically regarded as a vital social tool to bring pride to the virgin girl, the parents and the community as a whole. • The big motive was to receive the full lobola especially uikomo kamama (the eleventh cow). Urbanization, industrialization, acculturation, education and religious beliefs led ukuhlolwa kwezintombi to its near demise in twenty years ago. • In recent years its resurgence has been noticed in most areas of Kwa Zulu Natal and townships to fight against women abuses, teenage pregnancies and HIV/Aids . • It is met with a variety of views and emotions with others considering it as valuable while others consider it outdated and irrelevant. • Virginity testing is regarded as a custom of cultural value and the country is in the process of African Renaissance. • Regarding the mY/Aids catastrophe, one can count on 'True Love Waits ' and virginity testing as means of prevention. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 375-396). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2003. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 375-396).

Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Zululand, 2005. / This dissertation seeks to take up the challenge of contributing to such an understanding of chieftainship by looking at the chieftainship succession disputes in the Cele clan of Phungashe and AmaNgwane clan of Bergville in the Province of KwaZulu -Natal, South Africa. The incorporation of indigenous political structures within the wider South African state has a long history, starting from the movements of people from one area to the other, the formation of smaller chiefdoms and bigger chiefdoms and to the rise of the Zulu kingdom. The entire process of Zulu state formation has been through a series of succession disputes which exist among many clans even nowadays. Also, the role of successions runs from the arrangements of indirect rule at the latter part of the nineteen-century to the pivotal role played by traditional leaders in the homeland administration and after 1994, the recognition of the institution, status and role of traditional leadership in the country's first democratic constitution and the enactment of the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act. No. 41 of 2003 which makes provision for the establishment of the Chieftainship Dispute Resolution Commission.