The perpetuation of myths: a case study on 'tribe' and 'chief' in South Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	The perpetuation of myths: a case study on 'tribe' and 'chief' in South Africa
Author:	Quinlan, Tim
Year:	1988
Periodical:	Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law
Issue:	27
Pages:	79-115
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Qwaqwa South Africa
Subjects:	political ideologies ethnicity traditional rulers
External link:	https://doi.org/10.1080/07329113.1988.10756406
Abstract:	For more than a century the ruling ideology has defined the social organization of the rural African population in South Africa in terms of the concepts 'tribe' and 'chief'. As ideological resources, these concepts are open to manipulation. It is this argument which is developed in this article with regard to the creation and development of South Africa's 'homelands'. It focuses both on the South African government's efforts to articulate its apartheid policies with regard to rural African communities and on the means by which coopted African leaders have manipulated government conceptualizations about those communities in order to secure positions of authority. The study examines how the concepts 'tribe' and 'chief' became central features of the political model in the homeland commonly known as Qwa Qwa, formerly the reserve Witsieshoek, situated at the juncture of Lesotho, Natal and the Orange Free State. Bibliogr., notes, ref.