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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:'What would we be without our land and cattle?' Migrations, land and labour tenants in Mpumalanga, 1940-1950
Author:Schirmer, StefanISNI
Year:1996
Periodical:African Studies
Volume:55
Issue:1
Pages:111-138
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:rural-urban relations
squatters
rural-urban migration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
Urbanization and Migration
Health and Nutrition
History and Exploration
External link:https://doi.org/10.1080/00020189608707842
Abstract:This paper is about the impact of migration on labour tenants' attitudes to land. The quote in the title suggests a close identification with land and cattle; an attitude that reflected labour tenants' strong ties to a particular life-style on white farms. By focusing on the Mpumalanga district of Lydenburg (Eastern Transvaal, South Africa) in the 1940s, the paper shows how migration, which only became significant during that decade, affected the attachment to rural resources. Through migration, education and access to urban jobs became important goals. Consequently, the bond to the land was loosened. The paper shows how these transformations were influenced by external as well as internal factors such as conflict within labour tenant families. The article is based on interviews conducted in 1992-1993. Notes, ref., sum.
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