Although radio drama is a very popular form of the media, it is largely neglected in scholarship. As a result of this, it has been pushed into the periphery of research, thereby diminishing its value in society at large. The present study attempts to unearth the importance and value of the genre and its role in society, particularly during the apartheid era in South Africa. In this regard, the splendid work done by, among others, K. Tomaselli, R. Teer-Tomaselli, R. Fardon and G. Furniss, L. Gunner, D.A. Spitulnik, D. Sibiya, M. Maphumulo, N.E. Makhosana, N. Satyo and M. Jadezweni is acknowledged and commendable. In my view, its ‘omission’ in scholarship does not mean that the genre played a minimal role in educating and enlightening society. In the study I propose that radio drama was more constrained compared to other media genres, even though it was the most accessible. However, its accessibility had both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it informed and entertained audiences, while on the other it could be and was used for propaganda purposes. It is generally this paradox that the study will probe. My premise is that radio was primarily used by the apartheid government to disseminate propaganda. In order to ensure that the audiences were not exposed to what was happening ‘out there’, programmes were created to present a falsehood about the country, thereby depriving audiences of reliable information. It is not surprising, then, that there was some confrontation between the managers and playwrights at the Xhosa language radio station. While the managers tried to influence programmes to propagate government policy, playwrights used the same communicative space to educate as well as to entertain the audience. The audience actively extracted information they needed from the plays. In other words, they played an active role in meaning-making. Throughout the study I will claim that there was a rapport between playwrights and the audience. Among other things, that relationship illustrated the role that the audience played in constituting the plays. Themes such as ‘tradition’ and ‘romance’ were used to connect the plays with the audiences’ everyday lives. These themes were acceptable at the stations even though they could be manipulated to serve different purposes. Some of the plays that I will examine in the study are Buzani Kubawo (1981), Nakuba Intliziyo Ithatha Ibeka: Undoqo Sisibindi (1987), USomagqabi (1986), UHlohlesakhe (1979), UThuthula (1970) and Apho Sikhala Khona Isakhwatsha (1981). These plays will be examined to, among other things, establish the nature of the relationship between the managers and playwrights. The study will contend that there was a contestation between managers and playwrights. I will also claim that some of the plays were based on real political and social issues that plagued the period in question. In this regard plays such as Apho Sikhala Khona Isakhwatsha will be used to demonstrate that some playwrights dealt with political issues. I will also explore how women were represented in the plays. In this regard, I will argue that women were depicted as inferior to men. To illustrate this I will discuss plays such as USomagqabi, Lunjalo ke Uthando and others. I will also deal with the critical issue of the ‘voice’. As a blind medium, radio relies on the voice and as such playwrights had to work hard to make their plays not only relevant but also believable to the audiences. The connection between the voice on radio and the ancestral voice will be examined. Lastly, the study will suggest that radio plays are still relevant in the present dispensation even though they play a different role compared to the apartheid era. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Songs play a vital role in the everyday life of the AmaXhosa. Each and every occasion or gathering is accompanied by singing. Their anger or pain, sorrow or joy is reflected in their singing. Although these songs are composed for social purposes and entertainment, they are also educational. Songs may be composed and sung to comment on political affairs, complain against the abuse of power by the authorities, declare war, protest, praise a hero, encourage working together and ridicule the foolishness of someone. Vocabulary and diction used in the composition of these songs, relays the message in a clever and witty style. Since the AmaXhosa are intellectuals, irony and satire are used. The satirical or ironical songs hide the meaning and the listener must unravel the real meaning. AmaXhosa singing, chanting and dancing is accompanied by instruments. These instruments add more rhythm to the dance.The AmaXhosa use anything at their disposal when carving their instruments. Their songs may be accompanied by the beating of cow-hide drums, blowing of reed-pipe whistles, animal horns, beating of sticks and hand-clapping. The most important instrument the AmaXhosa use is the human voice. They are experts in humming, gruff singing and whistling. The songs of the AmaXhosa encourage togetherness. When one composes a song, one does not express one’s own feelings, but also the feelings of the community. The AmaXhosa songs are about participation so group singing and dancing is encouraged. Everyone participates either by singing, dancing or clapping. x Respect is the central core of the AmaXhosa songs. That is why the songs are composed according to age groups and sex. Instruments are also used according to ages and sex. Written texts are also a tool to educate the reader. The writers have decided to include songs in their writings to act as a form of entertainment and education. Although some songs lack the hallmarks of a traditional song, they communicate the idea or relay the message the writer wants to convey to the reader. Terms: Mock enconuim, the grotesque and the principle of beautiful deformity, anaphoric construction, diction and connotation, authorial comments, the mask-persona form, usurping of authority and reduction of traditional status.

The aim of this oral history study is to explore the ways in which constructions of gender have brought women to the point where they now bear most of the burden of responsibility in their relationships with men and for the wellbeing of children. This study speaks into the gap of the undocumented history of women's lived experience as told by women themselves. It is a generational study which charts the transformations and coping strategies of women in Xhosa households since the 1940s. The study found that the familial burdens related to women's sexuality and fertility, raising of children and financial responsibilities in a time of HIV / AIDS have increased. Teenage pregnancies, the discipline of children, HIV / AIDS and the ever present aspects of poverty are major issues these women face. The stress of day to day demands on their lives precluded them the opportunity to reflect on the underlying causes and historical roots of their circumstances. Little understanding of the gendered order of their lives was expressed by the respondents. The use of feminist methodology authenticated the women's stories as they produced knowledge of their lived experience. The interview questions raised awareness of the gender bias underlying much of their struggles at home. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

This interpretive case study examines Grahamstown East Xhosa women's narratives on the nutritional value of traditional foods. It reviews reflexive learning interactions apparent in the co-engaged narratives of food preparation practices. The research design incorporates methods of reflective co-engagement through which a small team of women were approached as 'co-researchers' in order to work together on shared, local knowledge capital and nutrition concerns. It draws on findings generated using a combination of semi-structured interviews, cooking demonstrations, videography, photographs and field observations as methods of data collection. Data were member-checked and reviewed in a rural context before the emerging evidence was analyzed using Bassey's (1999) analytical statements. Contextual factors influencing the study are high poverty, unemployment and HIV/AIDS prevalence where nutrition levels have been found to be low. The women making up the study have spent the majority of their lives in the peri-urban area of Grahamstown and in some cases, are more than one generation removed from rural living and its associated knowledge. The accompanying shift to modernization was found to influence the interplay between their narratives and practice. Indigenous Knowledge is often characterized by being situated in practice with the knowledge-holders often not 'knowing that they know.' This study concludes that it is not possible to assume that knowledge can always be consciously expressed, especially when that knowledge is embedded in practice. Related to this, co-engagement and diversity among the group gave rise to greater disequilibrium as well as making the knowledge more explicit and hence, available for reflection. The study suggests that through the process of co-engagement and deliberation around indigenous ways of knowing, agency and cultural identity appears to be enabled and strengthened.

Bibliography: leaves 253-298 / This study examines the language, identity and intercultural communication dynamics in the Xhosa communities of Cape Town where some immigrant Shona speakers dwell. Language is a complex and nuanced repertoire of culture and the choice of language constitutes part of an individual’s identity construction. Owing to these identity dynamics, the Shona speakers resident among the Xhosa communities find themselves entangled in the politics of belonging and identity that define the Shona-Xhosa immigrant landscape in Cape Town. The Shona speakers engaging in intercultural communication in Xhosa communities are confronted with language and cultural hurdles. Orbe’s Co-cultural Theory among others was central to the unpacking of the intricacies of culture and the Xhosa hegemony. Results show that Shona people speak Xhosa for social acceptance and to secure economic benefits. Nevertheless, this seems not to offer them profound indulgence with the Xhosa culture. Even if they comprehend the culture, their Shona cultural identity hampers their full admission into the Xhosa culture. This lack of cultural acceptance leaves the Shona speakers alienated from both Xhosa and Shona cultures. In that regard, Shona speakers among Xhosa communities in Cape Town live a fluid life in which relentless cultural change is the only constant. This transitory life promotes intercultural concession in the personal layer of self, leading to the emergence of a hybrid multicultural self-concept. The study thus contributes towards scholarship by revealing that the differences in individual linguistic circumstances in the process of intercultural negotiation appear to produce different levels of acquisition of the Xhosa culture and Xhosa by the Shona speakers. This is corroborated by the fact that Shona speakers who could not speak English learnt Xhosa faster than those who could speak English. This study argues that the maintenance of the Shona language by its speakers in Xhosa communities is as much their duty, as it is their right. Ultimately, the study posits that ethnocentrism stifles the intercultural communication process and leads to tiffs in multicultural communities / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Phil. (Languages, Linguistics and Literature)

The research is about African women living with HIV and women grieving the death of loved ones as a result of AIDS. We discuss the women's preferred care for the ill person and for the family as well as for the bereaved family. We consider together the effects of HIV/AIDS in the community: the stigma attached to the disease and the fears of people that they may contract HIV. The women and I acknowledge the closely woven relationships between faith and culture in a predominantly Xhosa community. Participatory action research is used and contextual feminist theology within a postmodern social construction approach to narrative pastoral therapy. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology)

The research is about African women living with HIV and women grieving the death of loved ones as a result of AIDS. We discuss the women's preferred care for the ill person and for the family as well as for the bereaved family. We consider together the effects of HIV/AIDS in the community: the stigma attached to the disease and the fears of people that they may contract HIV. The women and I acknowledge the closely woven relationships between faith and culture in a predominantly Xhosa community. Participatory action research is used and contextual feminist theology within a postmodern social construction approach to narrative pastoral therapy. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology)