Academic literature on the topic 'Kalanga (African people)'

The discipline of onomastics is still at its infancy yet it constitutes a very important aspect of the day to day survival of a people in the society. Naming is part of oral tradition in African societies, people were never used to write and record things but rather their names. This means that names are a historical record that would carry some aspects of a people's way of life which include their history, beliefs and customs among others. On the same note, Midlands Province constitute of people from different backgrounds mainly Shona and Ndebele. Of interest to this research is the presence of the Kalanga people through some toponyms that are found in the area. In light of this view, this study therefore seeks to identify and unlock the culture and history embedded in these names by looking at the significance of Kalanga place names in Midlands Province. The study argues that place names or toponyms of any people carry with them a history, meaning and significance to particular people that name the places, thus studying the place names in this community can be a valuable tool of unpacking the history surrounding the Kalanga people in Midlands Province in Zimbabwe. Guided by the Afrocentric paradigm, specifically nommoic creativity tenant, the study seeks to explore the cultural and historical significance of Kalanga toponyms in Midlands Province.

Taipei Grand Mosque looks like a mini global village. Every Friday, the prayer hall is always overcrowded with Muslims from diverse ethnic backgrounds, including local Chinese Muslims (Hui), Arabs, Turks, Africans, Malaysians and Indonesians. They meet each other and exchange ideas after the congregational prayer. However, in the 1970s, there was a different image of Islam in Taiwan. Only Chinese Muslims were included in the congregation. The first generation of Chinese Muslims (around 20 to 50 thousand people) arrived in Taiwan with the National Government in 1949 and early 1950s when the Communist Party took over China. These Chinese Muslims showed distinctive features of ‘Chinese Islam’ in Taiwan. The elites among these Chinese Muslims were those who played a leading role in the revival of Islam in China during the 1930s and 1940s. When they settled in Taiwan, they resumed work serving Islam as they did the same in China, such as constructing mosques, building Muslim cemeteries and dispatching Muslim students to Middle Eastern countries. However, with the passage of time, their work on the revival of Islam seems to have been unsuccessful. The population of Chinese Muslims stagnated and even declined. Instead, with the open policy for drawing in foreign workers and students by the government in Taiwan during the 1990s, foreign Muslims from various countries began to appear in Taiwan, thereby exhibiting another images of Islam to the public. Nowadays, Chinese Muslims seem to be an invisible community in Taiwan as they and their descendants have become outnumbered by foreign Muslims. This paper aims to describe and analyze the paradigm shift in images of Islam in Taiwan over a half century. Keywords: Images of Islam, Hui Muslim, Taiwan, Foreign Muslim. Abstrak Masjid Besar Taipei seolah-olah seperti sebuah kampung global mini dimana setiap hari Jumaat, dewan solat masjid tersebut akan dipenuhi oleh umat Islam dari pelbagai latar belakang etnik, termasuk orang Cina (Hui), Arab, Turki, Afrika, Malaysia dan Indonesia. Mereka bertemu antara satu sama lain dan bertukar-tukar pendapat usai solat berjemaah. Walau bagaimanapun, pada tahun 1970-an, gambaran imej Islam di Taiwan mengalami perubahan. Hanya orang Cina yang beragama Islam diiktiraf sebagai ahli solat jemaah. Generasi pertama umat Islam di China (sekitar 20 hingga 50 ribu orang) tiba di Taiwan semasa pemerintahan Kerajaan Negara pada tahun 1949 dan pada awal 1950-an ketika Parti Komunis mengambil alih pemerintahan negara China. Ciri-ciri umat Islam Cina yang berasal daripada negara China adalah berbeza dengan orang-orang Islam Cina di Taiwan. Para elit di kalangan umat Islam Cina ini adalah mereka yang memainkan peranan penting dalam pemulihan Islam di China pada tahun 1930-an dan 1940-an. Apabila mereka menetap di Taiwan, mereka meneruskan kerja-kerja untuk Islam sebagaimana yang mereka lakukan di China, seperti membina masjid, membuka tanah perkuburan Islam dan menghantar pelajar Islam ke negara-negara Timur Tengah. Walau bagaimanapun, dengan peredaran masa, usaha-usaha mereka membangunkan Islam tidak berjaya. Bilangan penduduk umat Islam China tidak berubah malah mengalami kemerosotan disebabkan oleh dasar terbuka Taiwan yang menggalakkan kemasukan pekerja dan pelajar asing pada tahun 1990-an, natijahnya, ramai umat Islam dari pelbagai bangsa dan negara mulai muncul di Taiwan yang telah memberi kesan kepada imej Islam yang sebelumnya kepada orang awam. Pada masa kini, kaum Cina Muslim seolah-olah menjadi komuniti yang tidak kelihatan di Taiwan kerana mereka dan keturunan mereka telah menjadi lebih ramai hasil pencampuran daripada umat Islam asing. Makalah ini bertujuan untuk menggambarkan dan menganalisa peralihan paradigma terhadap imej Islam di Taiwan setelah separuh abad. Kata Kunci: Imej Islam, Hui muslim, Taiwan, Muslim asing

When conducting research with historically marginalised peoples, such as Zimbabwe’s autochthonous San, it is necessary to observe the most sensitive ethical and methodological practice. The San are a group of people living largely on the edges of the contemporary market economy in the whole of southern Africa, including Zimbabwe. The San of Zimbabwe often work as unskilled labourers for their Ndebele and Kalanga neighbours in rural areas of Matebeleland. Historically, the San’s identity and culture was denigrated in popular oral and media myths. This article presents a theoretical and methodological approach steeped in critical social sciences and cultural studies to restore the San image through making the San themselves the constructors of contemporary cultural texts about their way of life using modern film and video technologies. The San tell their stories after being trained in filming and editing techniques by researchers from Midlands State University. The negotiation of space and status for both the visiting researcher-trainers and host-student San youths makes a fascinating reflexive reading of researcher-researched power dynamics. What eventually emerges is a scholarship that is cognisant of both existential humanism and the need for respectful engagement by the researchers from university citadels with ordinary people who are often belittled and exploited. Nhamo A. Mhiripiri, Midlands State University. Email: mhiripirina@staff.msu.ac.zw Oswelled Ureke, University of Johannesburg & Midlands State University. Email: urekeo@staff.msu.ac.zw & Mercy M. Mubayiwa, Midlands State University. Email: mercymangwanam@gmail.com

AbstrakGagasan bahwa Yahudi dan Kristen merupakan agama “dalam sejarah” umumnya telah diterima oleh banyak kalangan. Oleh sebab itu para sarjanawan modern mencoba mendekati Islam seperti halnya kedua agama tersebut dikarenakan ketiga Agama ini memiliki kemiripan dalam segi ajaran Agama. Relevansi dari asumsi ini menggiring untuk bersikap sama terhadap sumber-sumber yang tersedia dalam kajian Islam pada masa awal, sebagaimana gambaran sikap terhadap keduanya. Dari sumber tersebut, akan didapatkan rekaman atau data-data yang mendukung untuk menganalisa apa yang sesungguhnya terjadi dalam sejarah. Hal ini penting untuk menemukan kebenaran ataupun kepalsuan dari agama tersebut. John Wansbrough merupakan pakar sejarah dari Amerika yang yang mengabdikan dirinya untuk mengajar di Universitas London. Ia dikenal sebagai sarjana Yahudi yang sangat antusias dalam kajian ketimuran dan Afrika di Universitas tempat ia mengajar.Kata kunci: Hakikat sumber, wacana metodologi Abstract The idea that Judaism and Christians is a religion "in history" has been generally accepted by many people. Therefore, modern scholars try to approach Islam as do the two religions because this religion has similarities in terms of religious teachings. The relevance of this assumption leads to be equal to the resources available in Islamic studies in the early days, as the description attitude towards both of them. From these sources, we will get a recording or data that support to analyze what actually happened in history. It is important to find the truth or falsity of the religion. John Wansbrough is an expert on the history of Americans who devoted himself to teaching at the University of London. He is known as a very enthusiastic Judaism scholar in Oriental and African studies at the university where he taught.Keywords: Nature of the source, discourse methodology

This dissertation investigates the role of media in the identity construction of minority language speakers in Botswana, with a focus on the Bakalanga. The study is informed by debates around the degree to which the media can be seen to play a central role in the way the Bakalanga define their own identity. As part of this, it considers how such individuals understand their own sense of identity to be located within processes of nation-building, and in particular in relation to the construction of a national identity. It focuses, more particularly, on the extent to which the absence of particular languages within media can be said to impact on such processes of identity formation. The study responds, at the same time, to the argument that people’s more general lived experiences and their broader social environment have a bearing on how they make sense of the media. As such, it can be seen to critique the assumption that the media necessarily play a central and defining role within processes of socialisation. In order to explore the significance of these debates for a study of the Bakalanga, the dissertation includes a contextual discussion of language policy in Botswana, the impact of colonial history on such policy and the implications that this has had for the linguistic identity of the media. It also reviews theoretical debates that help to make sense of the role that the media plays within the processes through which minority language speakers construct their own identity. Finally, it includes an empirical case study, consisting of qualitative interviews with individuals who identify themselves as Bakalanga. It is argued that, because of the absence of their own language from the media, the respondents do not describe the media as central to their own processes of identity formation. At the same time, the respondents recognise the importance of the media within society, and are preoccupied with their own marginalisation from the media. The study explores the way the respondents make sense of such marginalisation, as demonstrated by their attempts to seek alternative media platforms in which they can find recognition of their own language and social experience. The study thus reaffirms the significance of media in society – even for people who feel that they are not recognised within such media.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History.
This thesis explores various ways in which Kalanga ethnic identity has been (re)constructed, negotiated, manipulated and transformed by different interest groups such as missionaries, colonists, Kalanga cultural entrepreneurs, chiefs and ordinary Kalanga people in Bulilimamangwe district. Using a collection of both primary and secondary sources, the thesis posits that among other markers of Kalanga identity, Kalanga language has been central in the Kalanga clamour for their official recognition by the state in colonial and post-colonial Zimbabwe. It challenges the conventional interpretations of African identities by arguing that pre-colonial Kalanga society was characterised by fluid and flexible identities which constantly shifted boundaries. The study demonstrates how the colonial government, through the appointment of Ndebele chiefs in Kalanga areas fuelled Kalanga ethnic consciousness which was deployed by Kalanga chiefs and their subordinates during the opposition to the implementation of the Native Land Husbandry Act in Bulilimamangwe district. The study further argues that the Kalanga Cultural Promotion Society (KCPS) played a significant role in contributing to the escalation of Kalanga ethnic consciousness especially in post-independent Zimbabwe where ethnicity became an important feature amongst the marginalised groups. As a result of being alienated from the independent state, there was a resurgence of Kalanga ethnic mobilisation which was led by the KCPS and the Kalanga Language and Cultural Development Association (KLCDA), the Associations that lobbied for the recognition of Kalanga language in the education system and in state/public radio broadcasting. The thesis therefore contributes to the scholarship on ethnic identities by elaborating how Kalanga experiences with various factors such as social, political and physical environment contributed to the shifts and fluidity of Kalanga ethnic identity from 1946 to 2005.

The study explores the theme of protest as encoded in selected Kalanga music. In particular, the study focuses on the analysis of songs sung by Kalanga musicians such as Chase Skuza, Ndux Junior and Batshele Brothers, Ndolwane Super Sounds and Tornado Heroes within the period 2000-2013.The selected period is generally considered to be a crisis period in Zimbabwe. Further, the study also relies on views from key respondents obtained through semi structured interviews and questionnaires. The research adopts the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework and the hegemony theory to help identify the discourses as encoded in the theme of protest in Kalanga music. The two frameworks are engaged because they challenge critical thinkers to move away from seeing language as immaterial to acknowledging and believing that words are meaningful in specific political, social and historical contexts. The study establishes that Kalanga music is protest art that speaks on behalf of the people by pointing out the injustices and malpractices that take place in society. The selected music demonstrates the battles that are ongoing that the musicians are protesting against. The study notes that protest music raises the consciousness of the citizens on the wayward behaviour of individuals and institutions. The protest themes identified include; corruption, poor governance and poor leadership, unfulfilled promises, lack of unity, repressive and oppressive laws, a skewed representation of the nation’s history, deployment of Shona teachers in Matabeleland, decrying moral decadence, protest against jealousy and envy and protest against xenophobia. Findings of the study also demonstrate that music goes beyond simply reflecting and describing situations but it also becomes an avenue through which discursive spaces are opened. The study also shows that Kalanga music provides alternative platforms for the articulation of matters generally considered taboo within Zimbabwean spaces, Kalanga music has a potential to contribute to national cohesion and national growth using its constructive criticism of the political, social and economic state of Zimbabwe. The study has clearly enunciated that protest music assists in the interrogation of a society’s moral compass and in turn question some convictions. Kalanga songs are not merely frivolous components of various sects of Zimbabwean culture, or passing sources of insignificant entertainment. Instead, they and their singers are critical contributors to the shaping of those eras, playing irreplaceable roles as they spur collective mindsets of protest across many social aggregates through their appeal to the desires, the morals, the lamentations, the angers and the passions of the Kalanga people.
Linguistics and Modern Languages
Ph. D. (Languages, Linguistics and Literature)

The Kalanga occupy the south-western parts of Zimbabwe, their larger concentration is in modern-day Bulilimamangwe district although some clusters of Kalanga people are distributed throughout Kezi, Gwanda and Tsholotsho districts, among other areas, west of Zimbabwe. The chapter acknowledges that Kalanga identities in pre-colonial Zimbabwean society were multiple, however, it mainly focusses on Kalanga religion (the Mwali/Ngwali Cult) and Kalanga language and demonstrates how these pre-colonial Kalanga forms of identities were later politicised and (re) interpreted and manipulated by colonialists, missionaries and Africans in an endeavour to construct Kalanga ethnic identity. The main purpose of the chapter is to present and reflect on selected Kalanga precolonial forms of identities and show how these were used to (re) construct the Kalanga ethnic identity in colonial Zimbabwe. The chapter further argues that identities are not fixed primordial phenomenon but are constructed and reconstructed over the longee durree using precolonial forms of identities such as language and religion.

The Kalanga occupy the south-western parts of Zimbabwe, their larger concentration is in modern-day Bulilimamangwe district although some clusters of Kalanga people are distributed throughout Kezi, Gwanda and Tsholotsho districts, among other areas, west of Zimbabwe. The chapter acknowledges that Kalanga identities in pre-colonial Zimbabwean society were multiple, however, it mainly focusses on Kalanga religion (the Mwali/Ngwali Cult) and Kalanga language and demonstrates how these pre-colonial Kalanga forms of identities were later politicised and (re) interpreted and manipulated by colonialists, missionaries and Africans in an endeavour to construct Kalanga ethnic identity. The main purpose of the chapter is to present and reflect on selected Kalanga precolonial forms of identities and show how these were used to (re) construct the Kalanga ethnic identity in colonial Zimbabwe. The chapter further argues that identities are not fixed primordial phenomenon but are constructed and reconstructed over the longee durree using precolonial forms of identities such as language and religion.