South African Journal of Cultural History

Reenen van Reenen’s (1884-1935) attempt to change the Afrikaner’s views of San rock art

2012-09-04T14:59:33+00:00

The aim of this article is twofold: first it is an attempt to show that cultural selecton of what is significant and what is not important, has a direct influence on the collection of historical data on cultural assets. It also attempts to undo some of the bias of the past and holds a warning to society in general to respect the culture and beliefs of others in society. Secondly it shows that Reenen van Reenen was seldom mentioned in rock art literature in spite of the fact that he had written an important early book on tracings in the San rock art sites in the Orange Free State.

Key words: Abbé Henri Breuil, Afrikaans short stories, Erich Mayer, Ficksburg
High School, George William Stow, Helen Tongue, Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Johannes Schumacher, rock art tracings, San rock art, Spinning and Weaving School of the Free State.

A class apart: symbolic capital, consumption and identity among the alcohol entrepreneurs of Cape Town, 1680-1795

2012-09-04T14:59:38+00:00

Under the rule of the Dutch East India Company (1652-1795) free trade in Cape Town was severely restricted. During its founding years, the free inhabitants all shared the same socio-economic background, yet three to four generations later a stratified society had developed with a clearly identifiable elite. Partly this was the result of some burghers amassing large capital resources through utilising the possibilities afforded by the lucrative alcohol trade. A large measure of this success was due to the exploitation of an intricate network of connections built up through kinship and social capital. This article concentrates on the cultural aspects of the lives of the most successful alcohol entrepreneurs, taking a multi-generational view. If they were the financial elite of Cape Town, were they also the social and cultural ones? How did they view themselves and how were they viewed by others? In order to answer these questions the article uses Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of ‘symbolic capital’, arguing that it operated in tandem with economic and social capital. Two broad aspects of the cultural lives of wealthy alcohol traders are addressed. Firstly, the article discusses their consumption patterns and the use of material culture in showcasing their wealth such as choice of address, the use of slaves and carriages, and the display of jewellery, paintings and curtains. Secondly, it investigates to what extent these people’s status was acknowledged by others – both in concrete terms by being elected to major civic functions (especially in the burgher militia) and in symbolic terms, notably their role in formal processions through the town.

Keywords: alcohol traders; Cape Town; consumption; Dutch East India Company (DEIC); elite formation; entrepreneurs; identity formation; material culture; status; symbolic capital

Venturing to “launch a woman’s opinion”: a feminist reading of selected letters of Lady Anne Barnard Jessica Murray

2012-09-04T14:59:38+00:00

This article offers a feminist reading of the letters that Lady Anne Barnard wrote to Sir Henry Dundas during her stay at the Cape Colony between 1797 and 1802. As a female citizen of a colonising nation residing in a foreign country, the particularities of her subject position offer rich analytical possibilities. These possibilities, together with the abundance of material that she left behind, make it rather surprising that more scholars have not paid closer attention to her texts. By offering a close reading of selected extracts from the letters through the theoretical lens of feminist literary criticism, this article seeks to fill some of the lacunae in the critical engagement with Lady Anne’s texts. The article will demonstrate the nuanced negotiations that were
performed by a woman who enjoyed the power of belonging to a colonising nation, while simultaneously suffering the disempowerment of belonging to a subordinate gender.

Keywords: Cape Colony; feminist literary criticism; gender; Lady Anne Barnard; power; subject position

Melrose-huis as Britse hoofkwartier tydens die Anglo-Boereoorlog

2012-09-04T14:59:38+00:00

Key words: Anglo-Boer War, George Heys, Lord Kitchener, Lord Milner, Lord Roberts, Melrose House, Peace of Vereeniging, Pretoria, telegraphy

The Philippi German Agricultural Association 125 years of organised agriculture on the Cape Flats

2012-09-04T14:59:38+00:00

The Philippi Agricultural Association, one of South Africa’s oldest agricultural associations, celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2010. This association of Philippi, the Western Cape’s “Vegetable Pantry”, was established in 1885 to improve the unfavourable conditions under which the German immigrants had to farm on the sandy and marshy Cape Flats. It acted as a lobby group to build roads to and within the area, and to promote the development of agricultural activities within the community. This article presents an historical overview of the establishment of the association and ends with an assessment of the future, as the survival of the area is threatened by urban encroachment, and, as in other rural areas, by high levels of crime. The role of organised agriculture to ensure a healthy, sustainable agricultural sector, locally and in a wider sense, is continuously emphasised.

Keywords: agricultural association, agriculture, German immigrants, horticulture, organised agriculture, Philippi, sustainability.

Two unknown music fragments in the Grey Collection of the South African Library, Cape Town

2012-09-04T14:59:38+00:00

Among the Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the Grey Collection in the National Library in Cape Town there are two fragments with music notation, one large, one small. Although research has been done on most of the music manuscripts in the Collection, these fragments have not been studied before. Fragments of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts have been neglected in scholarly research, but recently serious studies have been made have been made in several overseas centres. Of the two fragments discussed in this article, the smaller one, consisting of only two folios, is the more interesting. It forms part of an earlier binding of MS Grey 3c16, a 15th century copy of Guido delle Collone’s Historia destructionis Troiae, and although no date or provenance is mentioned in the fragments, it has been possible to establish that it was a 12th century noted missal that had probably belonged to Dryburgh Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery on the Scottish border. Early noted missals in which chants, readings and prayers appear in the correct liturgical order, as in this fragment, are very rare. The larger fragment, MS 48b3, consists of 43 leaves and is very wellpreserved and attractive with many decorative initials in bright colours. It formed part of the sanctorale of a very large choir book and was possibly in use in the Bologna region of Italy in the 15th century. A more precise dating and provenance could not
be established, however.

Keywords: Cape Town, choir book, fragment, Grey Collection, manuscript, missal, music notation, National Library

Voices of visual artists from Greater Tshwane: a historiography and expectations of the future

2012-09-04T14:59:38+00:00

In preparation for an art exhibition of local artists in May 2010, a qualitative descriptive survey was conducted on the views of 24 visual artists residing in Greater Tshwane, on practicing their art over the past decades, as well as their perceptions of present realities and future challenges. The findings indicate that the artists continue to experience a lack of support from both government and the private sector in helping to market their work, to provide accessible skills development opportunities and to support community outreach initiatives undertaken by the artists. Concerns were raised by the participants about issues such as the effectiveness of art education in schools; the implementation of funding policies; and the defining role of academics, curators and gallery owners on selection panels and access opportunities in the art market. Attention was also paid to the participant artists’ views on sources of inspiration and the broad thematic content of their work. Since democratisation in 1994, their inspirations have transformed from a strong struggle content to expressions of peace, harmony, spirituality along with cultural homage. The interrelatedness of the human condition with the universe through the surrounding natural and cultural-physical world, is a notable recurring theme.

Key words: art inspirations, artists’ concerns, cultural history, Greater Tshwane artists, Tshwane artists, visual arts

Boekbesprekings/Book Review: "Dias, Da Gama en die Khoikhoin. Ontmoeting van kulture aan die suidpunt van Afrika"

2012-09-04T14:59:38+00:00

O.J.O. FERREIRA
Dias, Da Gama en die Khoikhoin. Ontmoeting van kulture aan die suidpunt van Afrika
Adamastor, Jeffreysbaai en Gordonsbaai
2010
101 pp., foto’s, illustrasies, bronnelys, register
ISBN 978-0-620-49073-3
R80.00 (verpakking en posgeld ingesluit). Navrae: 021 856 4527

Boekbesprekings/Book Review: "Riviereland; twee besoeke aan Nederland"

2012-09-04T14:59:38+00:00

KAREL SCHOEMAN
Riviereland; twee besoeke aan Nederland
Protea Boekhuis
2011
398 pp.
ISBN 9781869194970
R250