1. South Africa: Culture of the People
Lesson III
Samuel T. Livingston, PhD
Sinead N. Younge, PhD
Project LEAD South Africa Study Abroad
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2. Overview What is Culture? South Africa’s People
A Short Cultural History
Modern Movements in Azanian Culture
Why Culture Matters
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3. What is Culture?
Definition: a group of people’s total way of life as it develops over time. It is a collective concept as groups form the primary unit of analysis.
Explanation: Culture is an organic whole composed of three levels of meaning:
deep structural meaning,
intermediate structures of meaning,
surface level structure of meaning.
Examples
Relation to South African Culture
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4. South Africa’s People
There are about 48 million South Africans according to 2007 estimates
Africans - 38 million (79.6%)
Europeans million (9.2%)
Coloureds million (8.9%)
Asians million (2.5%)
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5. South African People
South Africans began interacting interracially in the 17th century
Azanians
KhoiSan - pastoralists and hunter-gatherers were attacked by the Dutch, many were killed, enslaved or forced off of their lands
other larger more established ethnic groups could not be as easily subdued:
Ngoni (Zulu & Xhosa)
Sotho
Shangaan-Tsonga
Venda
Europeans
Dutch British
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6. Religion & Culture
Azanian religious culture - the traditional belief systems of African peoples who inhabited the land for the past 200 millennia
European culture - the Christian religious culture of the Dutch and English people who settled after the late 17th century
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7. Ubuntu Philosophy
A way of understanding life that views all existence as a form of Ntu — spirit, energy or force; “-ntu” is a part of many nouns in Bantu languages.
Ubuntu is composed of the following areas of existence:
Muntu – all intelligent beings, spirit-beings
Hantu – time and space as a unified force
Kuntu - modes of existence - moods, feelings, thoughts, ideas, theories, philosophies, ideologies
Kintu - existence without voice - rocks, trees, animals, earth
Ubuntu – exists when there is balanced, free and open flow of energy
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8. Ubuntu: Everything is connected
Kuntu
Muntu
NTU
Kintu
Hantu
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9. Language
Most of the people in South Africa speak a mix of Bantu, Dutch and English languages
iziZulu
iziKhosa
Afrikaans
English
Sotho
Shangaan-Tsonga
Venda
These languages are all officially recognized
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10. Struggles over Language
Summer of 1976, young Black people protest in the streets of Jo’burg’s SouthWest Township (Soweto) over
Immediate Causes
Pass Laws & humiliations by the Police State
Being forced to learn their lessons in Afrikaans
Deep-rooted Causes
Land exploitation, low-wages, poverty
Over 28 uprisings from June to August
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11. Music as Resistance
Azanian music has always been a source of inspiration and a way of expressing frustration
Traditional Cultural songs
Christian Spirituals
Popular Music influenced by West
Skokian Jazz
Kwaito Hip Hop
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12. Traditional Cultural songs
Find examples of traditional songs from
Ngoni
Zulu
Xhosa
KhoiSan
Tsonga
Venda
European cultures
Boer
English
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13. Spirituals
What Spirituals are common in the South African churches, mosques and temples?
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14. Popular Music
Identify and describe various forms of South African popular music. Provide rich detail (names of songs, artists, etc.)
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15. Summarize main themes from this lesson Reiterate key ideas
Summary
Summarize main themes from this lesson
Reiterate key ideas
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16. Relating to Azanian culture
What aspects of Azanian culture are similar to your own?
What is different?
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17. Goals for the Study Abroad
While being as respectful as possible try to be a cultural scientist while you are in South Africa.
What can you observe and learn about culture from being in South Africa as opposed to solely reading about it?
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