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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:'Hiding Cattle on the White Man's Farm': Cattle Loans and Commercial Farms in Natal, 1930-50
Author:McClendon, Thomas V.ISNI
Year:1997
Periodical:African Economic History
Volume:25
Pages:43-58
Language:English
Geographic term:South Africa
Subjects:lawsuits
animal husbandry
Economics and Trade
History and Exploration
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
Development and Technology
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3601878
Abstract:This article argues that the transformation of rural land into white-owned property in the form of commercial farms in Natal (South Africa) in the first half of the 20th century brought about a parallel transformation of cattle loaning ('ukusisa'). New reasons for and means of cattle loaning led to new types of disputes, while the colonial State's customary law regime offered new forums for settling them. At the same time, the continued practices of precolonial institutions such as cattle loaning and the hidden ownership of cattle challenged white claims to domination and control. The article looks at a few court cases concerning 'ukusisa' that arose in the Native Commissioner courts of Natal in the 1930s and 1940s. These cases suggest that restrictions on grazing and the movement of cattle in the first half of the century transformed the nature of cattle loaning, but they also demonstrate a continuity of precolonial systems of meaning in the face of new social and economic relations. Disputes over 'ukusisa' often arose in litigation over bridewealth, relations between fathers and sons, and inheritance, suggesting that the reasons for 'ukusisa' expanded, and that its operation became more contentious. Notes, ref.
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