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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | A Case of Ambiguous Indentity: Oral Tradition and the Ba ga Seleka of Lephalala |
Authors: | De Jongh, Michael De Beer, F.C. |
Year: | 1992 |
Periodical: | South African Journal of Ethnology |
Volume: | 15 |
Issue: | 4 |
Period: | December |
Pages: | 101-108 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | Seleka-Rolong ethnicity oral traditions Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Education and Oral Traditions |
Abstract: | The Ba ga Seleka live in the semiarid Lephalala valley between the mainly Northern Sotho and Northern Ndebele-speaking people in the northern Transvaal (South Africa) on the one hand and the Tswana-speaking people in Botswana on the other. Although they are often regarded as 'Tswana' in language and culture, there is still a consciousness of identity which pertains more to a Northern Ndebele origin than a Tswana way of life. During their migrations in southern Africa they incorporated various Sotho elements, but especially Tswana into their ranks so that the Ba ga Seleka nucleus forms but a small minority of the total tribal population. An analysis of their oral traditions shows that their totem ('phuthi'/duiker), which differs from the 'tlou' totem of the other Northern Ndebele, was adopted from the Phuthi during their sojourn in Lesotho in the late 17th or early 18th century. The study is based on intensive interviewing during a number of visits to the Lephalala valley from 1989 onwards. Bibliogr., sum. in Afrikaans and English. |