Grounded in multi-sited fieldwork within an agro-pastoralist highland village in Southwest Angola and in ethnology museums in Europe, Angola and Namibia, my research interweaves an ethnographic and a historical approach to better understand the meanings and social relationships generated by what I call “elusive dolls”: dolls that are difficult to find and slippery when encountered. The study explores postcolonial significances of African dolls, made by agro-pastoralist people, which have been sparsely collected for display in museums since colonial times. Using multiple field methods such as participant observation, archival research, photo-elicitation, and filmmaking, I trace the social relationships involved in the making of dolls in Southwest Angola and in the housing of the same kind of dolls in ethnology museums, paying particular attention to the material and social networks established around the practices of making and collecting them. Following the logic of local languages (olunyaneka, oshikwanyama), I use the notion of “crafted ‘children’” to define handcrafted dolls made of different materials, and address the meanings these dolls embody for makers, collectors and museum curators. I take a historical perspective to examine the dimensions of storage, research and display and address contrasting curatorial approaches to dolls in museums. While most curators have tended to focus on dolls and their supposed functions, a few have engaged with dolls in relation to other domains of the lifeworlds of rural makers and their skilled practices. Examining the limits of historical ethnographic research about local doll-usage, I build upon these alternative approaches by curators and ethnographically explore the relational dimensions of these dolls in two worlds in which they have material and social lives: Southwest Angola and ethnology museums. Firstly, I examine the regional diversity of these dolls, as crafted “children”, in the rural context through a situated understanding of ethnic and ecological diversity and rural-urban relations. Secondly, I explore the twofold notion of labour – that is, the labour in crafting and the labour in making a living - in the regional domestic economy of agro-pastoralist populations, showing how a resilient rural lifestyle, local and urban resources, seasonal demands, and personal skills linked to age and sociality generate and shape the practices of doll-making. Finally, I examine drawing and photography in published and unpublished material about dolls and show how the visual connects the worlds of curators, field-collectors, makers and ethnographers. A large part of the literature on ethnology museum collections tends to focus on “repatriation”, discussing relations between museums and “source communities”. By contrast, an analytical framework connecting doll-making and collecting, the regional conditions of a crafting practice and its local immersion in rural everyday life, appears only marginally in the literature - this is where my research makes a significant contribution. My thesis contributes to critical museology research, Africanist studies, and visual anthropology and engages with debates on materiality and skill. The film that accompanies the thesis, Making a Living in the Dry Season, is grounded in a long-term stay in a village, and examines the twofold notion of labour mentioned above through the practice of doll-making. I recommend first reading the thesis up until Chapter three, followed by watching the film, and then turning to the remaining chapters.

History / D. Litt. et Phil. (History)

History / D. Litt. et Phil. (History)

The thesis examined the roles and contributions of Black women during the African ancient civilization by analyzing the lives, roles and contributions of Queen Hatshepsut and Nefertiti as case studies and interrogates how Black women positioned themselves as political, military and spiritual leaders during the age of antiquity. The argument is that African women were more involved as leaders in the affairs of their communities as compared to the contemporary times. By using African centered paradigms, Afrocentricity and juxtaposing robust anti-colonial and Black feminist thoughts, the thesis investigates and recreates systematic narratives of the past roles of African women at the very height of African civilization, discussed the changes in sex-gender roles and explained why contemporary women continue to experience difficulties in assessing position of leadership and resources. The study reproduces measured facts to confront the blurred roles and contributions of African women and situates it at the centre of education.

The thesis examined the roles and contributions of Black women during the African ancient civilization by analyzing the lives, roles and contributions of Queen Hatshepsut and Nefertiti as case studies and interrogates how Black women positioned themselves as political, military and spiritual leaders during the age of antiquity. The argument is that African women were more involved as leaders in the affairs of their communities as compared to the contemporary times. By using African centered paradigms, Afrocentricity and juxtaposing robust anti-colonial and Black feminist thoughts, the thesis investigates and recreates systematic narratives of the past roles of African women at the very height of African civilization, discussed the changes in sex-gender roles and explained why contemporary women continue to experience difficulties in assessing position of leadership and resources. The study reproduces measured facts to confront the blurred roles and contributions of African women and situates it at the centre of education.

This thesis provides a survey and an analysis of South Africa's relations with the British Commonwealth (Commonwealth of Nations) between the years 1945 and 1961. It outlines and explains the deterioration of this relationship in the context of the crisis in South Africa's foreign relations after World War II. Documentary evidence is produced to throw more light on the relationship with Britain and, to a lesser extent, other Commonwealth countries. This relationship is analysed in the context of political, economic and strategic imperatives which made it necessary for Britain to continue to seek South Africa's co-operation within the Commonwealth. This thesis also describes how the African and Asian influence began to be felt within the Commonwealth on racial issues. This influence was to become particularly important during the crucial period after the Sharpeville incident. The attitudes of Britain and other Commonwealth countries at the two crucial conferences of 1960 and 1961 are re-examined. The attitude of extra-parliamentary organisations in South Africa towards the Commonwealth connection is an important theme of this thesis in addition to the other themes mentioned above. It is demonstrated how Indian and African opinions became increasingly hostile towards what was seen as British and "white" Commonwealth "appeasement" of South Africa. These attitudes are surveyed in the context of an increasing radicalisation of black politics in South Africa. The movement by English and Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans toward a consensus on racial and foreign policy is also examined. Finally, the epilogue to this thesis discusses the return of South Africa to the Commonwealth in 1994. It includes a brief survey of developments in the Commonwealth attitude to South Africa since 1961. / History / D. Litt. et Phil. (History)

This thesis provides a survey and an analysis of South Africa's relations with the British Commonwealth (Commonwealth of Nations) between the years 1945 and 1961. It outlines and explains the deterioration of this relationship in the context of the crisis in South Africa's foreign relations after World War II. Documentary evidence is produced to throw more light on the relationship with Britain and, to a lesser extent, other Commonwealth countries. This relationship is analysed in the context of political, economic and strategic imperatives which made it necessary for Britain to continue to seek South Africa's co-operation within the Commonwealth. This thesis also describes how the African and Asian influence began to be felt within the Commonwealth on racial issues. This influence was to become particularly important during the crucial period after the Sharpeville incident. The attitudes of Britain and other Commonwealth countries at the two crucial conferences of 1960 and 1961 are re-examined. The attitude of extra-parliamentary organisations in South Africa towards the Commonwealth connection is an important theme of this thesis in addition to the other themes mentioned above. It is demonstrated how Indian and African opinions became increasingly hostile towards what was seen as British and "white" Commonwealth "appeasement" of South Africa. These attitudes are surveyed in the context of an increasing radicalisation of black politics in South Africa. The movement by English and Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans toward a consensus on racial and foreign policy is also examined. Finally, the epilogue to this thesis discusses the return of South Africa to the Commonwealth in 1994. It includes a brief survey of developments in the Commonwealth attitude to South Africa since 1961. / History / D. Litt. et Phil. (History)