Browsing by Author "Conradie, Ernst M"

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    The cultural and religious significance of indigenous vegetables: A case study of the Chionekano-ward of the Zvishavane-district in Zimbabwe
    (University of the Western Cape, 2018) Matenda, Job; Conradie, Ernst M
    This study is situated in the context of multidisciplinary discourse on the pervasive problem of food insecurity in the southern African context. More specifically, it is situated in the context of the Centre of Excellence in Food Security, located at the University of the Western Cape and its project on �Food Ethics and Values� (with Prof Ernst Conradie as principal investigator). It will contribute to discourse on food security from the perspective of the discipline of religious studies and more specifically African Traditional Religion (ATR) and the indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) associated with that. The consumption of food naturally plays a significant role in African Traditional Religion � as is evident from various taboos on food consumption, rituals with prescriptions on food, calendar-based festivities, but also from daily life in rural villages. In reflecting on food in such rural villages, the focus is often on the consumption of meat (chicken, goats, cattle, but also rodents and other wildlife) and of grains like maize. However, vegetables traditionally also formed part of a family�s daily diet. In pre-colonial times, such vegetables were not necessarily cultivated since some indigenous vegetables were harvested based on indigenous knowledge available amongst village elders and traditional healers. The Chionekano-ward includes some 42 villages with an estimated population of around 1020 persons. Through a process of snowball sampling, semi-structured interviews were conducted with village elders and traditional healers who have knowledge of such indigenous vegetables. Where appropriate interviews were followed up with focus groups discussions in particular villages.
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    What diagnosis? Which remedy? Critical reflections on the diagnostic overview of South Africa�s national planning commission
    (Stellenbosch University, 2019) Conradie, Ernst M
    This contribution offers some critical reflections on the Diagnostic Overview produced by the South African National Planning Commission. The argument is structured in the form of catena and commentary with main sections devoted to the assumption of the need for economic growth, factors inhibiting economic growth, the category of unemployability, and the impact of inequalities. It is suggested that Christian discourse on sin, understood as a form of social diagnostics, can contribute to an in-depth diagnosis by uncovering the root causes of the problem from an ultimate perspective.