Gendered ruptures and continuities in the Venda traditional leadership from C. 1990 to 2020

This article approaches traditional leadership disputes amongst and within Venda royal houses over the past three decades (from the end of grand apartheid to the presidency of Mr Cyril Ramaphosa) while investigating the reasons for the importance of such traditional leadership positions in modern South Africa. In the light of the most recent disputes around the right of women to ascend to the highest Venda authority, historical precedents around practices of female leadership amongst the Vhavenda are considered. Amongst the continuities observed, are the inevitable limitations to traditional authority: a need to be legitimated from “within” and sanctioned from “above”, by whoever controls the greater nation-state. The discontinuities can be observed in the nature of the arguments on both sides. The historical account pays attention to popular protests, government-appointed commissions, court cases and appeals to the principles of equality in the South African constitution

Historicising the politics of vhuhosivhuhulu : the Venda polity and state formation in South Africa, c.1800s-2020

This thesis offers a critical narrative of the history of the conflicts around the vhuhosivhuhulu (“kingship”) of the Venda polity over the last three centuries, with a stronger emphasis on events as from the second half of the twentieth century, and specifically the way history had been employed in the political arena. The point of departure was to critique and revise the views of scholars who had previously focused solely on the Venda history in their attempt to ascertain what the motives of the disputing parties were. My argument had been that academic research on a discourse as complex as the Venda history ought also to consider the role of external forces in the making of the vhuhosivhuhulu of the Venda polity. The first chapter introduces the most prominent scholars in the making of historical narratives about the Venda polity. The second chapter frames the study within a broader discourse on rulership disputes in postcolonial Africa. The next three chapters provide a long view of external interferences in Venda succession disputes as extracted from major historical narratives. The last section of the study investigates power struggles amongst the Venda ruling houses within the context of the shaping of the modern South African state, through apartheid and into the post-1994 democratic dispensation. It illustrates how the fate of traditional leadership was treated in the investigations and findings of three successive commissions, popularly referred to as the Mushasha, Ralushai and Nhlapo Commissions, respectively. A chapter is then dedicated to perspectives on the issue of vhuhosivhuhulu as expressed by vhothovhele and magota of the Venda polity in interviews. The outspoken frankness of the interlocutors revealed a lot about the significance of vhuhosivhuhulu in current South African politics, and the contending parties’ knowledge of, selection from, interpretation and employment of popular as well as scholarly historical narratives within this context. The study is concluded at a time when two contenders within the Mphephu Ramabulana family (one of them, for the first time in history, a woman) are unleashing the full potential of the South African legal system (Councils of Traditional Leaders, Supreme Court of Appeal, Constitutional Court) to assert their right to the vhuhosivhuhulu of the Venda polity.Thesis (DPhil (History))--University of Pretoria, 2020.Historical and Heritage StudiesDPhil (History)Unrestricte

Linking with the past and cultural regeneration: a case study of Schoemansdal Museum in the Soutpansberg region, Limpopo Province.

ABSTRACT This research report is a critique of the existing Schoemansdal Museum, asking how far it may be characterized as an ‘Afrikaner’ representation. A survey of a sample of people who see themselves as speaking on behalf of various groups was conducted and a tentative conclusion about public sentiments towards the museum is drawn

Gendered raptures and continuities in the Venda traditional leadership from C.1990 to 2020

This article approaches traditional leadership disputes amongst and within Venda royal houses over the past three decades (from the end of grand apartheid to the presidency of Mr Cyril Ramaphosa) while investigating the reasons for the importance of such traditional leadership positions in modern South Africa. In the light of the most recent disputes around the right of women to ascend to the highest Venda authority, historical precedents around practices of female leadership amongst the Vhavenda are considered. Amongst the continuities observed, are the inevitable limitations to traditional authority: a need to be legitimated from “within” and sanctioned from “above”, by whoever controls the greater nation-state. The discontinuities can be observed in the nature of the arguments on both sides. The historical account pays attention to popular protests, government-appointed commissions, court cases and appeals to the principles of equality in the South African constitution.https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/jch/indexdm2022Historical and Heritage StudiesVisual Art

The provision of health education regarding HIV/AIDS prevention among boys who undergo male circumcision at hospitals in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Male circumcision has been practised traditionally as one of the initiation rites that prepare boys for manhood. The Primary focus for this initiation rite was sexuality education. However, concern exists regarding the safety and hygiene of traditional male circumcision. This concern has resulted in boys seeking medical assistance in large numbers at hospitals for medical male circumcision. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended male circumcision as an HIV/AIDS prevention strategy. This study aimed to determine the extent of health education pertaining to HIV/AIDS prevention provided to boys undergoing male circumcision in a hospital setting. A descriptive quantitative survey was used. The study applied convenience sampling for selecting 50 males, aged between 12 and 21 years from the Vhavenda ethnic group, who were undergoing male circumcision in hospitals A, B, and C in the Vhembe district. Data were collected through a self-designed standardised questionnaire administered through face-to-face interviews. The results of the study showed that the participants had a basic knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention and that provision of health education in hospitals was limited, as healthcare practitioners concentrated on the procedure namely male circumcision only. Re-orientation and sensitisation of healthcare providers on the importance of health education for providing more in-depth knowledge about HIV/AIDS and the role of male circumcision in HIV/AIDS prevention were also recommended.http://www.ajol.info/journal_index.php?jid=153&ab=ajpherd2017-10-31hb201

Traits of Leadership and Management in Teaching and Learning, Research and Innovation and Community Engagement in Universities of South Africa

ABSTRACT Since 1994, there has been a paradigm shift in South African education landscape. The Department of Education was divided into two departments in 2009. This division evolved into the Department of Basic Education and Department of Higher Education. Before 2009, there was a process of merging public institutions of higher education (universities), and this process was completed in 2005 and resulted into South Africa having twenty three public institutions of higher education. The public institutions of higher education have several structures of leadership as per Higher Education Act No. 101 of 1997. Public institutions of higher education in South Africa, like any other country in the world, obviously seem to be involved in teaching and learning, research and innovation, and community engagement. In most cases, teaching and learning becomes the main priority as compared to research and innovation and community engagement by some leaders of universities. However, leadership and management are definitely sought after elements on how to manage and lead the personnel that are involved in teaching and learning, research and innovation, and community engagement as an add-on component to teaching. This conceptual paper aims to explore and discuss gaps on leadership and management traits on teaching and learning, research and innovation, and community engagement as pillars of public institutions of higher education or universities and come out with fruitful significant recommendations