TRADITIONAL TERRAIN: LAND, GENDER, AND CULTURAL BIODIVERSITY PRESERVATION IN ...

271 Pages·2017·10.31 MB·English

TRADITIONAL TERRAIN: LAND, GENDER, AND CULTURAL BIODIVERSITY
PRESERVATION IN VENDA, SOUTH AFRICA

By

Kimberly Bernita Ross

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

African American and African Studies—Doctor of Philosophy

2017
ABSTRACT
TRADITIONAL TERRAIN: LAND, GENDER, AND CULTURAL BIODIVERSITY
PRESERVATION IN VENDA, SOUTH AFRICA
By
Kimberly Bernita Ross
This study examines the colonial and apartheid frameworks manifest in South Africa’s land act
legacies and the specific impact on land administration, gender, and the environment in the
former apartheid homeland of Venda, South Africa. These historical forces shape present-day
neocolonialism and globalization in the region which challenge the rights and citizenship of
Black South African women within traditional leadership structures—concurrent with the
country’s democracy. In Venda, politicians, traditional leaders, and multinational corporations
reinforce colonial and apartheid gender ideologies which undermine Vhomakhadzi roles and eco-
cultural knowledge practices. Vhomakhadzi are women who have historically played a central
role in their clans by advising Vhamusanda (chiefs) on community affairs and presiding over
customs that connect with environmental sustainability. Yet today, leaders and politicians ignore
Vhomakhadzi warnings that development projects threaten biodiversity and food and water
security in the region— instead commencing with deals to establish foreign coal mines,
commercial farms, casinos, and tourist resorts.
This empirical study in particular investigates the environmental and community activism
and cultural biodiversity preservation strategies of Vhomakhadzi of the community-based
organization Dzomo La Mupo. Through ethnographic-style interviews, participant observation,
and archival research, this scholarship analyzes the historical and present-day gender politics that
have diminished cultural biodiversity. The study reveals that colonial social formations
historically confronted the role of makhadzi and continues to undermine her authority today in a
globalized, post-apartheid era.
Copyright by
KIMBERLY BERNITA ROSS
2017
To my mother and father who always stressed the importance of education and made many
sacrifices over the years for me to achieve my goals. Also to my sister Tracey whose unwavering
encouragement gave me energy and confidence. It was the love and support of my family and the
spirit of my ancestors that carried me across the finish line.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the following people for supporting me through my dissertation research
and writing. First, I am especially indebted to Dr. Denise Troutman, my guidance committee
chair who like a lighthouse guided me through the fog and safely to my scholarly shore. She
consistently supported this research by providing practical tools and an analytical eye to help me
shape my work into a cogent and solid intellectual product. I am also incredibly appreciative for
the encouragement and reassurance of my remaining committee members, Dr. Galen Sibanda,
Dr. Stephanie Nawyn and Dr. Terrion Williamson. Each of them contributed to this
interdisciplinary project in invaluable ways.
I am equally grateful to those who were not on my committee but significantly
contributed to this research endeavor. I must extend a special thank you to Dr. John Metzler of
the African Studies Center who thoroughly combed through chapter drafts and was exceedingly
generous with his time and expertise. Likewise, I want to acknowledge Akil Cornelius in the
History Department whose advice bolstered the historical contextualization of this research. I
also want to thank Dr. Sekepe Matjila at The University of South Africa for assisting me with the
various paperwork and supporting documents to conduct fieldwork and the necessary in-country
research. Additionally, I must recognize Dr. Thambatshira Rabothata in Venda who welcomed
me into her home and with her protégé shared fundamental aspects of Vhavenda culture.
Finally, this research would never have been completed without the critical advice and
perspectives of Mphatheleni Makaulule and Mr. Mashudu Rubson Dima, whose lived
experiences, indigenous knowledge skills and expertise, and unremitting passion for their
community and culture invigorated this project. I thank them especially for allowing me to live
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in their home with their family. Their worldview deeply changed my understanding of research,
as well as the natural and spiritual world. Thank you also to Vhomakhadzi of the community
based organization Dzomo La Mupo. Not a single day passed that I did not revel in the rich
cultural heritage and wisdom that they shared with me. It was a privilege to learn from them.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi
KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................... xiii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................1
1.1 Background ........................................................................................................1
1.2 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................3
1.3 Purpose of the Study ..........................................................................................4
1.4 Need and Significance of the Study ...................................................................5
1.5 Research Questions ..........................................................................................10
1.6 Definition of Terms..........................................................................................10
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................13
2.1 South African Land Politics .............................................................................14
2.2 Environmental Degradation .............................................................................23
2.3 Cultural Biodiversity and Conservation...........................................................31
2.4 Ecological Feminism and Environmentalism ..................................................41
CHAPTER THREE: SOCIO-HISTORICAL CONTEXTUALIZATIONS ..............53
3.1 Historical Debates ............................................................................................53
3.2 Venda Geography ............................................................................................57
3.3 Gender and Power ............................................................................................62
3.4 Colonialism and Apartheid ..............................................................................69
CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................75
4.1 Feminist Qualitative Research .........................................................................75
4.2 Black and African Feminism(s) .......................................................................79
4.3 Grounded Theory .............................................................................................86
4.4 Data Analysis and Procedures .........................................................................88
4.5 Data Collection ................................................................................................90
4.6 Participants .......................................................................................................94
4.7 Participant Observation ....................................................................................96
4.8 Archival Data ...................................................................................................98
CHAPTER FIVE: DATA ANALYSIS I ......................................................................101
5.1 Makhadzi Participants ....................................................................................102
5.2 Disenfranchisement of Vhomakhadzi: Land and Culture ..............................105
5.3 The Politics of Cultural Biodiversity .............................................................114
5.4 The Phiphidi Waterfall Court Case ................................................................119
5.5 Engagement with The South African Heritage Resources Agency ...............130
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5.6 Colonialism and Traditional Leadership ........................................................137
5.7 Exogenous Influences on Gender ..................................................................146

CHAPTER SIX: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS II ..........................................156
6.1 Vhomakhadzi Observations: Coal Mining.....................................................156
6.2 Vhomakhadzi Observations: Wetlands and Deforestation ............................169
6.3 Vhomakhadzi Observations: Seed Security and Food Sovereignty ..............174

CHAPTER SEVEN: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS III ..................................183
7.1 Dzomo La Mupo Community Outreach ........................................................183
7.2 Empowering Vhangona Clans .......................................................................190
7.3 Community Mapping .....................................................................................195
7.4 Final Synthesis ...............................................................................................209
7.5 Globalization and Gender-Based Discrimination ..........................................209
7.6 Western Patriarchal Claims to Nature ............................................................213
7.7 Vhomakhadzi Environmental Epistemologies ...............................................217
7.8 Makhadzi Political Praxis ..............................................................................219

CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSION ..........................................................................224
8.1 Review of Findings .......................................................................................224
8.2 Gendered Implications ..................................................................................228
8.4 Recommendations .........................................................................................232

APPENDICES ................................................................................................................236
Appendix A Community Organization Profile ..................................................237
Appendix B Select DLM Staff Interviewed .......................................................239

BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................241

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Interviews by Pseudonym, Clan, and Research Site ..........................................104
Table 2: Summary of Land Acts, their provisions, and their impact ...............................107

Table 3: DLM’s legal correspondence excerpts with traditional leaders
preceding Phiphidi Waterfall court case ............................................................127

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