This research is about the life and material conditions of existence of Xhosa people living in three informal settlements of East London (now part of Buffalo City) in South Africa. Most observers see such unplanned settlements as a radical shift away from the groups' traditional rural homestead, some describing them as "neo-vernacular" since---like the vernacular dwelling---these are built from the materials coming from the surrounding environment. The research went beyond this perception and rather proposed that despite changes in the building forms, materials and techniques, the informal Xhosa urban settlements are still---consciously or not---governed by Xhosa traditional rules. / To demonstrate this hypothesis, the study attempted to understand the culture of the group through the review of the literature dealing with the Xhosa life and customs in the group's traditional rural setting. Then, it established the evolutionary process of the Xhosa architecture, which was also (re)integrated not only in the history of South African architecture but also in the whole architecture history's continuum. Next, followed the description of the elements that have been found in the three informal settlements as well as in the dwellings and plots that have been selected for the case study. Finally, from the comparison between the elements found in the three squatter settlements selected and the traditional Xhosa setting it is concluded that the traditional Xhosa culture has survived in the three informal settlements of East London. Its persistence has been confirmed in the rituals and everyday activities, the objects, spaces and buildings created, as well as in the way they are constructed, used or lived in.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.113807 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | D'Aragon, Jean. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (School of Architecture) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002710369, proquestno: AAINR50803, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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