Seeing the wood for the trees: the role of woody resources for the construction of gender specific household cultural artefacts in non-traditional communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
Tóm tắt
There is a growing wealth of data capturing the direct-use values of the environment and recognition of forests and wild resources as representing “the poor manȁ9s overcoat”. This focus has however resulted in an emphasis on the utilitarian values of wild resources for rural livelihoods and has for the most part overlooked their cultural values. In tangent to these developments within the field of anthropology there has been increased attention directed towards the relationship between biodiversity and human diversity over the past decade. This has resulted in the recognition of what the Declaration of Belem calls an ȁ8inextricable linkȁ9 between biological and cultural diversity. The term bio-cultural diversity has been introduced as a concept denoting this link. Consequently there is a need for more elaborate assessments of the various ways in which different groups of people find value in biodiversity. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the cultural significance of wild harvested plant resources for the maintenance of two gender specific cultural artefacts for amaXhosa people in South Africa, to assess the persistence of these practices in rapidly modernizing communities. We demonstrate the endurance of these ancient cultural artefacts in present-day peri-urban communities and suggest that they point to the need for improved understanding of the significance of bio-cultural diversity. The findings of the study should not be interpreted as illustrating stagnation in the traditional past, but rather as pointing at the need for improved understanding of the significance of bio-cultural diversity in a dynamic sense.
Tài liệu tham khảo
Appaduria, A. (Ed.) (1988). The social life of things. Commodities in cultural perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bank, L. (2002). Beyond red and school: Gender, tradition and identity in the rural eastern cape. Journal of South African Studies, 28(3), 631–649.
Berglund, A. I. (1975). Zulu Thought—Patterns and Symbolism. London: C. Hurst & Company.
Broster, J. A., & Bourn, H. C. (1981). Amagqirha–religion, magic and medicine in transkei. Goodwood: Via Afrika Ltd.
Cocks, M. L., & Møller, V. (2002). Use of indigenous and indigenised medicines to enhance personal well-being: A South African case study. Social Science Medicine, 54, 387–397.
Cocks, M. L., & Wiersum, K. F. (2003). The significance of biodiversity to rural households in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 13, 39–58.
Cocks, M. L., & Dold, A. P. (2004). A new broom sweeps clean. The economic and cultural value of grass brooms in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africaȁ9, Forests. Trees and Livelihoods, 14(1), 33–42.
Cook, P. A. W. (1931). Social organization and ceremonial institutions of the Bomvana. Cape Town and Johannesburg: Juta.
De Wet, C., & Whisson, M. (1997). From Reserve to Region. Apartheid and Social Change in the Keiskammahoek District of (former) Ciskei: 1950–1990. Occasional Paper No. 35. Rhodes University, South Africa, Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER).
Douglas, M., & Isherwood, B. (1997). The world of goods: Towards an anthropology of consumption (2nd edn.). London and New York: Routledge.
Dovie, B. D. K., & Witkowski, E. T. F. (2000). Reviewing participatory approaches in data collection for studying forest and woodland resource utilization, valuation and livelihoods. In A. H. W. Seydack, W. J. Vermeulen, & C. Vermeulen (Eds.), Towards sustainable management based on scientific understanding of natural forests and woodlands (pp. 219–224). Knysna: Symposium Proceedings, DWAF.
Ferguson, J. (1988). Cultural exchange: New developments in the anthropology of commodities. Cultural Anthropology, 4, 488–511.
Howard, P. (2003). Women and plants: Gender relations in biodiversity management and conservation. London and New York: ZED and St. Martinȁ9s Press.
Kropf, D. D. (1915). A Kafir—English Dictionary (2nd edn). Lovedale: Lovedale Press.
Lawes, M. J., Eeley, H. A. C., Shackleton, C. M., & Geach, B. G. S. (2004). South African forests and woodlands, recurring themes in integrating policy, people and practice. In M. J. Lawes, H. A. C. Eeley, C. M. Shackleton, & B. G. S. Geach (Eds.), Indigenous forests and woodlands in South Africa; policy, people and practice (pp. 815–831). Scottsville, South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.
Lee, D. N., & Woodhouse, H. C. (1970). Art on the rocks of Southern Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Purnell.
Mahlasela, B. E. N. (1982). Some Xhosa idioms and expressions. Occasional paper 22, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), pp. 49.
Palmer, R. (1997). Rural adaptations in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Working paper 11, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), pp. 373.
Palmer, R., Timmermans, H., & Fay, D. (2000). From conflict to negotiation. Nature based development on South Africaȁ9s wild coast. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council, pp. 321.
Pearce, D., & Moran, D. (1995), The economic value of biodiversity. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Poland, M., Hammond-Tooke, D., & Voigt, L. (2003). The abundant herds: A celebration of the Nguni cattle of the Zulu people. Vlaeberg: Fernwood Press.
Posey, D. A. (1999). Cultural and spiritual values of biodiversity. A complementary contribution to the global biodiversity assessment. In D. A. Posey (Ed.), Cultural and spiritual values of biodiversity (pp. 1–19). London, United Kingdom: UNEP and Intermediate Technology Publications.
Strang, V. (1997). Uncommon ground: Cultural landscapes and environmental values. Oxford and New York: Routledge.
Shackleton, C. M., & Shackleton, S. E. (2004). Use of woodland resources for direct household provisioning. In M. J. Lawes, H. A. C. Eeley, C. M. Shackleton, & B. G. S. Geach (Eds.), Indigenous forests and woodlands in South Africa; policy, people and practice (pp. 195–225). Scottsville, South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press .
Shaw, E. M., & van Warmelo, N. J. (1972). The material culture of the Cape Nguni. Annuals of South African Museums, 58, 1–101.
Venables, W. N., & Ripley, B. D. (1999). Modern applied statistics with S-PLUS. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Wiersum, K. F., Singhal, R., & Benneker, C. (2004). Common property and collaborative forest management; rural dynamics and evolution in community forestry regimes. Forest, Trees and Livelihoods, 14, 281–293.
Wilson, M., Kaplan, S., & Maki, T. (1952). Keiskammahoek rural survey volume 3: Social structure. Pietermaritzburg: Shooter and Shooter.
Wunder, S. (2001). Poverty alleviation and tropical forests—What scope for synergies? World Development, 29(11), 1817–1833.