Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'African studies; Folklore'

Anthropology
Ph.D.
An ethnography based on research carried out between 2009 and 2010 in the vicinity of Bor Town, the capital of Jonglei State, in what was then Southern Sudan, this dissertation is primarily concerned with people's reflections on making agreements with one another during a period when the nature of belonging was being publically discussed and redefined. It examines historical narratives and discussions about how people ought to relate to the past and to each other in the changed circumstances following the formal cessation of hostilities between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Army in 2005. This dissertation departs from much of the literature on Southern Sudan by focusing on the common place, the nature of promises and ordinary talk, as opposed to state failure and armed conflict. After 21 years of multiple and overlapping conflicts in Sudan, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in January of 2005. The agreement stipulated national elections during a six-year Interim Period, at the end of which, the people of Southern Sudan were to hold a referendum on self-determination to decide whether to remain united with Sudan or to secede. This dissertation examines questions where were on many people's minds during Sudan's national elections and the run-up to the referendum, a time when questions of history, belonging, and place were very salient. The dissertation begins with a discussion of jokes and other narratives in order to sketch out some popular attitudes toward speech, responsibility and commitments. Most of the body of the dissertation is concerned with everyday talk about the past and with sketching out the background necessary to understand the stakes at play in discussions about citizenship and the definition of a South Sudanese citizen: Did it depend upon one's genealogy or one's place of birth, or one's commitments to a particular place, or their having simply suffered there with others?
Temple University--Theses

Zara Neale Purston has re-emerged as an author of promise due to the re-appraisal of her works led by Alice Walker and Robert Hemenway. In both literary and folklore academic circles, Hurston's work has been reclaimed by African-American female scholars and writers, but still a significant study has yet to be done about her ethnographic contributions to folklore and her farsightedness in fieldwork methodology. This thesis seeks to validate her work as a folklorist, thereby dismissing the charges of popularization and amateurishness by re-examining her work. Mules and Men and Jonah's Gourd Vine are Hurston's two most influential folklore texts and will be evaluated for their approach and contribution to the study of ethnography.

Thesis (MA) -- Stellenbosch University, 1990.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The two well-known South African agricultural journals The Farmers Weekly and the Landbouweekblad are important sources for the cultural historian. In this thesis attention is paid to a few selected aspects of post-war culture in South Africa. The period covered stretches from 1945 to 1961. In Section A an introductory background is given, concerning the cultural historian's use of agricultural journals, as well as the epoch as frame within which the information should be interpreted. Chapter 1 concentrates on journalistic sources as primary written sources, and in particular on the contemporary journal. Chapter 2 places agriculture and the agricultural journal in the correct cultural historic perspective. A criptic background is given as to the origin and development of the two journals concerned, as well as an outline of the approach necessary for the use of the different sections in the journals. lt appeared that mechanisation and urbanisation became the two transforming powers with regard to the general cultural climate in South Africa after the Second World War. Chapter 3 focusses hereupon. The theme of Section B is non-material culture. Here attention is paid to folk tales, rhymes and riddles (Chapter 4), folk science (Chapter 5), the most important times in the life cycle of people (Chapter 6) and folk festivals (Chapter 7). The folk tales dealt with are, apart from topics of discussion, true experiences, sagas, legends and jokes. A background discussion will be found, followed by the categorised examples. Folk science is divided into three main sections: folk meteorology, water-witching and folk medicine. Animal as well as human illnesses have been categorised under the latter. Customs and beliefs which evolved around the birth and christaining if a child, courtship and weddings and death and funerals belong under Chapter 6. Regarding folk festivals, a discussion of a few festivals is given with, secondly, a description of a few games, evidently played at such festivals. Material culture is the theme of Section C. Here the following aspects were selected: folk crafts and home industries (Chapter 8), architecture and house interiors and farm and werf layout (Chapter 9), food (Chapter 1 O) and clothing (Chapter 11 ). Home and farm industries are discussed in Chapter 8. Chapter 9 is concerned with the modern home - in the city as well as on the farm - and with the layout of the modern farm and farm yard (werf). A few aspects of the post-war food culture earned themselves further discussion. The rest of Chapter 1 0 is devoted to traditional South African cookery - in the form of recipes, accompanied by a discussion. In the chapter dealing with clothing, the natural phases in fashion between the years 1945 and !,.. 1961 were identified. The discussion of the doting focus'es mainly on women's fashion.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die twee bekende Suid-Afrikaanse landboutydskrifte, die Farmer's Weekly en Die Landbouweekblad is belangrike bronne van kultuurhistoriese inligting. In hierdie tesis word op 'n aantal geselekteerde aspekte van die naoorlogse kultuur in Suid-Afrika gekonsentreer. Die tydperk wat gedek word, is 1945 tot 1961. In Afdeling A word daar inleidend 'n agtergrond gegee van die benutting van landboutydskrifte deur die kultuurhistorikus en van die tydvak waarbinne die stof vertolk moet word. In Hoofstuk 1 word daar op joernalistieke bronne as primere geskrewe bronne gekonsentreer en in die besonder op die tydgenootlike tydskrif. Hoofstuk 2 plaas die landbou en landboutydskrif kultuurhistories in perspektief. 'n Kort agtergrond oor die ontstaan ~n groei van die betrokke twee tydskrifte word gegee, en daar word oorsigtelik gewys op die spesifieke benaderings wat die onderskeie afdeli'ngs in die tydskrifte vereis. Uit die landboutydskrifte het geblyk dat meganisasie en verstedeliking nit die Tweede Wereldoorlog die twee omvormende kragte ten opsigte van die bree kultuurklimaat in SuidAfrika geword het. In Hoofstuk 3 word daar hierop gefokus. Afdeling B het die geestelike kultuar as tema. Aspekte wat daariri aandag kry, is: Volkswoordskeppinge (Hoofstuk 4), Volkswetenskap (Hoofstuk 5), Lotstye (Hoofstuk 6) en Volksfeeste (Hoofstuk 7). Onder Volkswoordskeppinge word gespreksonderwerpe, belewenisvertellings, sages, legendes, grappe, rympies en raaisels behandel. 'n Agtergrondbespreking word gegee, waarna die gekategoriseerde voorbeelde wat opgespoor is, volg. Volkswetenskap word hier in drie hoofdele ingedeel: volksweerkunde, waterwys en volksgeneeskunde. By laasgenoemde word aandag aan siektes by diere sowel as die mens gegee en voorbeelde wat gevind is, gekategoriseerd aangebied. Gebruike en gelowe rondom geboorte en doop, hofmaak en die huwelik en derdens die dood en begrafnis word ender lotstye gedek. Die hoofstuk oor volksfeeste bestaan uit 'n bespreking van 'n aantal volksfeeste met as tweede ! deel die beskrywing van enkele speletjies wat klaarblyklik by feesgeleenthede gespeel is. Afdeling C handel oor die stoflike kultuur, waarvan die volgende aspekte geselekteer is: Volksbedrywe (Hoofstuk 8), Huisbou en -inrigting en plaas- en werfuitleg (Hoofstuk 9), Voedselkultuur (Hooptstuk 1 O) en Kleremodes (Hoofstuk 11 ). Volksbedrywe word in twee hoofdele behandel, naamlik huis- en plaasbedrywe. Ten opsigte van huisboujinrigting word daar op die moderne huis gekonsentreer - die stedelike sowel as die plaashuis. Die uitleg van die moderne plaas en werf word volledig bespreek. Slegs 'n aantal naoorlogse aspekte van die voedselkultuur word belig, waarop verder ruimte afgestaan word aan die tradisionele Suid-Afrikaanse kookkuns - in die vorm van resepte, vergesel van 'n bespreking. Kleremodes word aan die hand van die natuurlike fases wat daar in die betrokke tydvak onderskei kan word, behandel. Die klem val hier op vrouemodes

This research project focuses on the application of a structured inclusive approach to the use of ethnography for the interpretation of rock art. The geographical research location is the Upington area north of the Orange/Gariep River. Both tangible and intangible heritage are explored using a multiple intelligence theoretical framework including auto ethnographic, ecosystemic methodology. The study is embedded in constructivist educational theory, which builds on the researcher and others' previous knowledge and research. The intangible heritage is made up of oral narratives about a Water Snake told by a group of women of a mixture of cultural backgrounds. The tangible rock art, made up of various rock engraving styles is situated at Biesje Poort. Contemporary indigenous as well as various academic interpretations of the site are included in the research. Secondary sources relating to theory and methodology on myth and ethno archaeology, specifically on rock art, are used in the first section of the research in order to convey the research context. The second section of the research concentrates on the application of various dominant intelligences in regard to the analysis of primary sources. Experiential, intrapersonal and interpersonal encounters with the subjects are included. Synthesis of the primary and secondary sources plus new and prior research is included in the presentation through written text and visual representation and imagery. The research is conducted in order to include and expand on present museum practices which emphasize inclusion and ownership of heritage research and representation. As such this research process emphasizes the ethical implications of participatory research and aims to maintain an empowering partnership with the research informants.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

This dissertation is a study of the Afro-American oral tradition with special reference to the formal aspects of the poetry of spirituals. In the introduction. an attempt has been made to take a look at the value of oral tradition; the interplay between oral and written tradition; the use made of orality in a society that was denied conventional literacy; the concept and the definition of the term, “spiritual". The organization of the rest of the essay is as follows: The sections are divided into four chapters. The first chapter concerns the origins of Afro-American spirituals and the anthropological foundations of the Afro-American oral style (anthropology of gesture). In addition, an attempt has been made to place the Afro-American oral tradition vis-a-vis the African oral tradition. The second chapter deals with key characteristics in the expressive phase of the Afro-American slave community with special reference to the dynamics of language usage. In the third chapter, there is consideration in some detail on the Afro-American oral composer and the transmission of the spirituals in an oral style milieu. The fourth chapter investigates stylized expression and is devoted to analyses of mnemotechnical devices within the spirituals. In the concluding chapter, an attempt has been made to take an overall look at Afro-American sacred poetic achievement. I must point out that it is not my intention to embark on any technical analysis of the music form and configuration of the spirituals - that is beyond the scope of this essay. In including "representative" samples of spirituals (and portions of spirituals), I do not intend them to be seen as "islands unto themselves" but rather, each spiritual must be seen as part of the whole corpus of Afro-American sacred oral composition. The question may arise: "Why a study of the Afro-American spirituals when there is so much to be studied on the oral traditions of Southern Africa? My response would be that the spirituals fascinate me for I see in them their widespread influence on the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements in South Africa. The Gospel song, so beloved of Pentecostal congregations, is an heir to the Spiritual. An enquiry on the sacred music and performance styles (improvisation, extemporization, dance, handclapping, shouts, etc.) of Pentecostalism will reveal that much of the Afro-American oral style still exists within the fellowship of Black and, venture to say, all Pentecostal churches in South Africa with obvious nuances that vary from denomination to denomination. But, the spirited and lively sacred music is encouraged and preserved.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1991.