A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
for the Degree of Master of Arts. / This dissertation is a study of the iconology of paraphernalia
produced by women, among the Ntwane. It represents the
culmination of primary field research into the matelial
culture of this group, as well as supplementary research
conducted at the Africana Museum in Johannesburg, the South
African Museum in Cape Town, the National Museumin B1u~!mfontein
and the Duggan-Cronin Museumin Kimberley.
My investigative methods consisted of unstructured interviews
with both married and unmarried members of the Ntwane
community at :Kwarrielaagte. Although the focus of my
research was primarily on paraphernaIia produced and worn by
women, I also interviewed Ntwane men in order to obtain a
variety of interpretations and opinions as to the 'meanings'
of the objects and traditions under analysis.
In addition to the above mentioned field work and gallery
research, I consulted a wide range of literature on critical
theories, auch as marxism, structuralism end paststructuralism,
141 order to supplement my methodological approach
to the iconology of women's art among the Ntwane. It
also referred to literature on a number of traditional South.
African groups, such as the Pedi and Ndebele. in order to
identify the cross-cultural influ8nces between these groups
and the Ntwane. The literature on these closely related
However, this definition constitutes a gross oversimplification of the
concept, for it doe) not allow for a shift in aesthetic criteria from
culture to culture. It establishes the concept 'aesthetic' as an absolute,
whereas in actuality, it is a value-laden term, whose problems
of definition are exacerbated '.men attempting cross cultural research.
It is therefore necessary at the outset of this dissertation to formulate
a working definition of 'aesthetics' within the context of the
Ntwane. It is suggeuted that the aesthetic componsnts of Ntwane objects
include style. technique and medium, but extend beyond their formal
qualities into activities such as ritual and custom. The socio-cultural
activities performed by the Ntwane may be regarded as intrinsically significant
to the formal characteristics of their paraphernalia. It may
therefore be argued that their objects are the concrete. tangible
manifestations of a set of underlying constructs. expressed in adherence
to particular conventions of representation; furthermore, that the
reduction of the aesthetic component of Ntwane objects to merely an ase
ssment; of their formal criteria, would constitute an impoverishment
of their levels of meaning. A formalist approach to the art of Ntwane
women also fails to consider issues of change in the form and function
of their paraphernalia and the effects of broader social transformations
on the material culture of the Ntwane.
Chapter One of my dissertation will comprise a brief survey of the
literature on the Ntwane. In addition to identifying the existing information,
methodological gaps in the literature will be mentioned. It is
the partial aim of this dissertation to "fill in" some of the gaps by
groups helped to shed light on signitficant aspects of Ntwane
material culture, which in turn, provided me with greater
insight into the iconology of their paraphernalia. / Andrew Chakane 2018
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/24708 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Friedman, Hazel Deborah |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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