Magister Artium - MA (Anthropology/Sociology)

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Acceptability of medical male circumcision among men in Engela district of the Ohangwena region, Namibia
(University of the Western Cape, 2013) Nepaya, Magdalena Ndapewa; Mfecane, Sakhumzi
This study focused on acceptability of medical male circumcision (MMC) in Ohangwena region, Namibia. Since the scaling up of this program in public hospitals, no study was done with a specific focus on men who are the target population for this intervention. This study aimed at exploring the role of masculinities in MMC acceptance and specifically focused on circumcised men. To understand this context, I initially focused on general constructions of masculinity as well as the historical background of ritual circumcision which used to be practiced in this region. I spent three months at Engela District Hospital working with the male circumcision (MC) regional coordinator who is also the MC Nurse at the same hospital. Data collection process utilised an ethnographic study design involving qualitative research methods namely participant observation, formal and informal interviews and the use of field notes. Participants included men who visited the hospital for circumcision procedure, health workers and community elders. Findings indicate that, circumcision that is now offered in hospital settings is not a recognised marker of masculinity in Ohangwena. There is also paucity of information regarding traditional circumcision. Since its abolishment in the eighteenth century, little is known about the history of this practice. Contemporary means of being a man in this setting are situated in everyday circumstances and include work, being strong, independent and ability to fulfil family responsibilities. Thus, in this context notions of masculinity do not determine men?s responses to MMC. Instead, men are motivated by health benefits in accepting MMC. MMC?s proven ability to reduce HIV transmission by 60% is the primary reason why most men are willing to be circumcised. Other reasons include genital hygiene and correction of medical conditions related to the foreskin such as ulcers and lacerations. Men?s knowledge and understanding of the relationship between MC and HIV prevention also plays a role in MMC acceptance. Some concerns that were raised by men in relation to this intervention are pain and discomfort, fear of complications, decreased penile sensitivity, transfer of untruthful information and gender of circumciser. I regard these concerns as barriers to MMC acceptance. This thesis also argues that, the manner in which MMC is performed out in public health facilities in not gender sensitive since it is mostly done by women. This act in my view is likely to make men feel emasculated and thus discourage other men from taking up this voluntary service. This study therefore recommends similar research in other contexts to challenge speculations made about the likely impact of MMC on masculinity, because, in my research, uptake of MMC has nothing to do with constructions of manhood. I further recommend provision of standardised equipments and resources including human resources for efficient provision of this program countrywide.
Amagqirha nemicimbi: The art of healing
(University of Western Cape, 2021) Kokoma, Zikhona; Forte, Jung
Amagqirha have been understood solely through the framework of health and illness. Their image is tainted and they are misrepresented as clad bone throwers and mystical scammers. There are very few studies that focus on their involvement outside the context of healing. This study seeks to fill this gap revealing the artistic side of amagqirha. I contend that by focusing on the ritual space which includes song, dance, fashion, poetry and story telling, allows us to reveal the aesthetics of ubugqirha, reconstructing the meanings of traditional healers in contemporary South Africa. Where does knowledge about ritual practice come from? What role do intergenerational narratives play in the meanings of amagqirha? In what ways do the rituals of amagqirha are grounded in a disctinctive aesthetics? With the use informal conversations, close interviews and participating in the rituals of amagqirha in the townships of Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Langa, this thesis argues that traditional healing is a complex form of being in the world which draws heavily from intergenerational knowledges. Furthermore it is artistic in its nature as it includes dance, songs, fashion and poetry.
An analysis of the contact patterns perpetuating the transmission of tuberculosis in two high incidence communities in the Cape Town Metropolitan area
(University of the Western Cape, 1997) Classen, Collette Natasha; Ellis, J.H.P
Biomedicine positively maintains that tuberculosis transmission occurs due to close contact with a diseased individual (Coovadia and Benatar, 1991). Consequently, this refers to a direct mode of transmission where individuals are at direct risk of becoming infected. It is often taken for granted that when one speaks of contact within the context of tuberculosis, one is necessarily referring to contact or interactions among tuberculosis patients and people in the community with whom they have contact of any nature. It is then assumed that tuberculosis is transmitted in this manner. However, there are also indirect modes of transmission which are often neglected to be explored, but have an equally serious effect on transmission in high incidence areas. This paper also addresses other contact patterns that are also role-players in the tuberculosis epidemic.
An Analysis of a Readiness Assessment for establishing a Monitoring and Evaluation System in Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programmes: a case study of Ikamva Labantu Centre, Khayelitsha
(University of the Western Cape, 2012) Fonkem, Nguika Judith; Coning, Christo de
Over the years major changes have occurred in the focus, approach and application of monitoring and evaluation systems as a result of increased levels of emphasis towards achieving results (outcomes) as opposed to activities and outputs. As the focus of management changes from activities to results, so too has the focal point of M&E shifted from the traditional M&E system of progress monitoring that only deals with assessing inputs and implementation processes, to a results-based M&E system that emphasizes the need to assess the contributions of intervention to development outcomes. Nowadays funders, stakeholders and donor agencies want to see the difference that development initiatives make in the livelihood of project beneficiaries.Results-based M&E systems are essential components of most organisational structures responsible for development services and this is very fundamental as it provides vital information and empowers policy makers to take better informed decisions. The foundation of an M&E system is the very first step which is in essence called a ?readiness assessment?. Such an assessment must be conducted before the actual establishment of an M&E system. Just as a building must begin with a foundation, constructing an M&E system must also begin with the establishment of a readiness assessment. Without this assessment and an understanding of the preparedness and commitment of the organisation, establishing an M&E system may be fraught with difficulties and failure.The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme of Ikamva Labantu has always been in the form of a reporting-type check list. The Centre is in a process of establishing an effective M&E system. The problem being investigated in this study is whether Ikamva Labantu has achieved a sufficient level of readiness to establish a results-based monitoring and evaluation system. However, the study shall also highlight crucial aspect of PM&E and RBM&E that will have to be taken into consideration with the establishment of the actual M&E system.With the use of the qualitative research method, the aim of this study is to analyse and assess the readiness assessment phase for establishing a monitoring and evaluation system in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programmes of Ikamva Labantu Centre, Khayelitsha.
Animals at work: a multispecies ethnographic study of entanglements of cart-horse labour in Freedom Farm informal settlement, Cape Town.
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Vigeland, Lynné Hazel; Spicer, Sharyn
Human life experiences are closely intertwined with our relationships with other animals and the environment. From the late 19th century to the late 20th century, Cart-horses served as an informal travel market for the community of District Six of Cape Town. However, because of forced migration, the role of horses in the city of Cape Town changed as people`s living experiences changed. Cape Town City Council may have animal laws regulating the ethical treatment of working horses concerning people's living and working conditions. Informal communities like Freedom Farm rely on carthorses, however, this is not necessarily regulated for the benefit of horses. Non-human animals in urban environments offer perspectives for rethinking urban society. Actor-network theory (ANT) is an empirical, research-based interdisciplinary perspective that focuses on the process of translation and the role of non-human actors in various observations and experiences.
?Anything about us, without us, is against us?: An ethnography of the genocide reparations and decolonial movements in Namibia
(University of the Western Cape, 2022) Van Wyk, Bayron; Becker, Heike
This thesis explores decolonial memory activism and queer activism in Namibia. It demonstrates how activists have mobilized in intersectional struggles (Becker 2020; 2022) against the structural remnants of colonialism. The activists have pointed to how racist-, patriarchal- and heteronormative hierarchies that were imposed through German and South African colonialisms have remained and are taken even further in the postcolony. In this sense, activists have targeted colonial monuments, colonial laws and the colonization of human remains in their decolonial campaigns. I specifically focus on the #ACurtFarewell petition against the Curt von Fran?ois statue, the formation of the Namibia Equal Rights Movement calling for the recognition of same-sex relationships, and the campaigns by the Namibia Genocide Association (NGA) and other activists for the recognition of the graves of Prisoner-of-War graves to show respect to those who died during Germany?s colonial genocide (1904-1908) in Namibia.
The changing faces of the klopse: performing the rainbow nation during the Cape Town carnival
(University of the Western Cape, 2013) Oliphant, Chanell; Becker, Heike
This thesis explores the embodied aesthetics of performance in the making of belonging in post-apartheid South Africa, through an investigation of the klopse, also known as Cape Minstrel and the ?Coons?, which are part of the annual New Year?s carnival in Cape Town. For this thesis I use the word klopse to refer to the carnival troupes. I map how from its inception the carnival aesthetics changed and came to represent something new and different as the participants engaged with the changing South African and Cape Town society. These changes are explored in connection with both coloured identity politics in the context of the ?rainbow nation? discourse and the efforts to represent carnival in Cape Town as a colourful event in a global city to international and national visitors. I argue that at the core of it is the issue of belonging which is embodied through the aesthetics.
Checking the Kulcha: Local discourse of culture in the Kavango region of Namibia
(University of Westen Cape, 2006) Akuupa, Michael Uusiku; Boonzaier, Emile
This thesis makes an ethnographic contribution to the anthropological debates about the contested nature of ?culture? as a central term in the discipline. It examines discourses as tools that create, recreate, modify and transmit culture. The research was done in the town of Rundu in Kavango region, northeastern Namibia. In attempting to understand the local notions of culture this study focused on two main events: the Independence Day celebration on 21 March 2006 and a funeral that was held earlier in the month of January. During the study two particular media through which cultural ideas are negotiated, language and clothing were observed.
The church and single parenting: perceptions and social support
(University of the Western Cape, 2020) Van Staden, Lucrechia Ziana; Spicer, Sharyn
The goal of this study was to investigate how single parenting is perceived within the context of the churches in Kuils River and to establish if any support structures are in place to assist single parents. This research was confined to the Kuils River community and was conducted in three churches of different denominations. A qualitative approach in the form of an exploratory study was used to conduct this research. Participants were recruited from the three churches in Kuils River. Purposive sampling allowed the researcher to recruit suitable participants, comprising single mothers and fathers (20 years old and above) who attended church as well as the respective church leaders. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with these single parents and church leaders. Data was manually transcribed and analysed by means of thematic analysis. Ethical approval was sought from the University?s Ethics Committee and permission was granted by the respective church leaders. Participants were informed and assured of confidentiality, anonymity and that their participation in the study was completely voluntary. Informed consent was obtained and participants were informed of their rights to withdraw from the study. The findings indicated that single parents with immediate family obtained support through their informal support networks, while those without immediate family relied on the church for support. The findings also indicated that while the church provided support to a certain extent, the type of support offered did not fulfil the needs of single-parent families, and that the church should be doing more to support and accommodate single parents. While the church and the church leaders prided themselves on embracing and displaying non-discriminatory attitudes towards single parents, stigma, shame, feelings of inadequacy and failure to acknowledge single parents in the congregation has caused single parents to feel excluded, morally inferior and alienated within the church.
Class, land and poverty: a study of the class dynamics of land dispossession and land restitution in Dysselsdorp
(University of the Western Cape, 2014) Stuurman, Clive; Thaver, Lionel
This study aimed to contribute towards understanding how the dynamics of class formation and differentiation impact on and are in turn impacted upon by land restitution processes. It was conducted against the backdrop of both land reform and restitution programmes of the democratic government being viewed by communities, scholars, commentators, civil society and opposition parties as generally a failure.The objectives of the study were twofold: firstly to develop a view of the class structure before and after land restitution in Dysselsdorp and, secondly, to consider the different ways in which classes were differentiated, combined and reconstituted to different effect in relation to the three restitution models.
Colonisers to Colonialists: European Jews and the workings of race as a political identity in the settler colony of South Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2020) Hunter, Mitchel Joffe; Pillay, Surendren
This thesis explores the shifting racial identification and politics of the emerging Jewish community in Southern Africa between the Anglo-Boer War in 1902 and the Union of South Africa in 1910. Through an investigation of their actions and thoughts on the cultural, economic, linguistic and political aspects of their lives, I show how the emerging Jewish community formed itself through the political subjectivity of White settlers. Understanding how racial categories were being amalgamated and partitioned in that period of state formation, I argue that the mainstream Jewish community colluded with the colonial state to join into the ?unity of the White races?. I use Memmi?s (1967 [1957], pp. 19,45) analytic distinction between ?coloniser? ? a European on African land - and ?colonialist? ? a coloniser who supports colonialism and believes in its legitimacy - to examine how the process of subject formation is articulated through the political economy of racial capitalism and settler colonialism. When Jews from Eastern Europe (Yidn) began arriving in South Africa in the 1880s, they faced a settler population which simultaneously treated them as members of an undifferentiated European settler population, as candidates for assimilation into colonial Whiteness, and as dirty subjects under threat of colonial state violence. Though there were other possible responses to the colonial relationship that Yidn could have taken, such as linking the fight against antisemitism with other anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles, the community went through a process of colonialist refashioning. To understand this transformation, I focus on four aspects of life. Culturally, Yidn were classed as dirty subjects and Jewish communal institutions worked with the state to ?clean?, i.e. ?Whiten? them up. Economically, Jews of all class positions learnt the exploitative practices of settlers in racial capitalism. Linguistically, Yiddish became classified as a European language by utilising racial hierarchies. And politically, Yidn became citizens by embracing the ideology of a White-only franchise. Focussing in on these processes of assimilation into power, I argue that the primary Jewish communal institutions embraced and internally enforced a colonialist political subjectivity. This thesis is based on archival research conducted in three archives in Cape Town carried out between February and May 2019, and extensive reading of previous historical studies to write a new narrative from previously known sources.
Commissioned women soldiers and politics in Zimbabwe
(University of the Western Cape, 2020) Ziyambi, Gabriel; Gibson, Diana
The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the ruling party, the Zimbabwe African Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), are strongly interlinked in politics since independence, that is, the Army largely functions as the military wing of the party (ZANU-PF) and the state. The ZNA is also deeply involved in civilian politics. This study examines the experiences of commissioned women soldiers, as well as their understandings of power and politics in the ZNA. While many male soldiers are in positions of power and authority in the military, party, state, and civilian politics, commissioned women soldiers are marginalised in all of these areas. The role and position of women soldiers in this regard nevertheless remain under-researched. In this thesis I interrogate the complex processes and relations of power which discipline women soldiers and exclude them from processes of power and politics in the ZNA. I argue that there are various practice and discourses which affect women soldiers? roles in the military. To do so, I draw on Foucault?s (1977) work on power/ knowledge, particularly the concepts of practices, relations, power and panopticism to examine how woman soldiers? aspirations regarding power and politics are monitored and restricted in the military. I also draw on Enloe?s (2000) work on power politics and Sasson-Levy?s (2003) work on military gendered practices as interpretive and critical paradigmatic approaches to analyse how women experience hegemonic military masculinities in- and outside the army. The study employed ethnographic methods such as life histories, in-depth interviews and informal conversations with ten commissioned women soldiers in the ZNA. These methods were triangulated to corroborate responses from research participants and the data was thematically analysed
Community safety and social solidarity: the role of neighbourhood watch organisations in effecting social integration and cohesion in Cravenby, Ravensmead and Parow West
(University of the Western Cape, 2014) Mweyeleka, Tshipama; Thaver, Lionel
The study explored and examined new forms of social relations at the interpersonal, community and institutional levels that have emerged in the social organisation of Neighbourhood Watch Organisations in Parow West, Parow East, Ravensmead and Cravenby, in the Western Cape. The objective of the research was to understand how social solidarities generated through participation in neighbourhood watch organisations, institutional partnerships and working principles influenced and fostered the development of social solidarity, social integration and social cohesion of local communities and a new sense of nationhood. Towards the above end the study made use of a Functionalist perspective based on Durkheim?s concepts of mechanical and organic social solidarity. These functionalist concepts were used to identify and to examine the new forms of social cooperation and associations that emerged in the context of local neighbourhoods, and formally in neighbourhood watch organisations and partnerships engaged in residential property crime preventive measures. The study design which was employed to probe social solidarities in neighbourhoods and local communities made use of qualitative research methodologies. The empirical data was collected from in-depth, semi-structured interviews, as well as focus group discussions with all respondents belonging either to the neighbourhood watch organisations. Alternatively respondents were also drawn from related institutions involved in residential property crime prevention, such as the SAPS. And finally, the data was interpreted within a Durkheimean framework of social solidarity in order to reflect on the extent to which Neighbourhood Watch Organisations have played a significant role in building social solidarity, integration and cohesion in Parow West, Parow East, Ravensmead and Cravenby. This was ultimately done in order to establish an empirical basis to consider the extent to which South African society has moved from apartheid to liberal democratic values and practices from the ground up in Neighbourhood Watch Organisations.
Coping with violence: institutional and student responses at the University of the Western Cape
(University of the Western Cape, 2005) Sass, Bridgett Virginia; Gibson, Diana; Faculty of Arts
This thesis is based on research conducted at the University of the Western Cape, a previously ?coloured? university with its beginnings rooted in the political tensions in South Africa. The university is geographically disadvantaged since it is situated on the Cape Flats, which is viewed as a potentially violent area with high crime rates. The study focuses on students who stay in in- and off-campus residences since they are exposed to potential violence when they move inside as well as outside the campus and residence vicinity. In addition to semi-structured interviews conducted with students from the university, I draw on my own experiences as a student having lived in on- and off-campus residences at the university. In this thesis I investigate the tactics students use to stay safe in the face of potential violence in student residences and also in the vicinity of the university. I refer to violence in the same way as Scheper-Hughes and Bourgois (2004) do - as falling on a continuum along with other forms of violence which include structural violence, torture, genocide, political violence, state violence, symbolic violence, sexual violence and colonial violence. When students move outside of campus and residences they fear being robbed, murdered or sexually violated. Students also felt that if this should happen to them, others present will not step in to help them. The tactics students use to stay safe outside and on campus include moving in numbers, staying away from deserted or specific places at certain times, walking fast with a serious facial expression, and greeting oncomers. In residences women particularly feared going to ablution areas at certain times of the day because of stories they heard about sexual violence taking place in showers. The tactics they used to stay safe from that involved taking showers during ?peak? hours. However, a lack of trust which students have in residential administrators impedes the safety students experience in residences. I questioned how students can feel safe outside residences when residential organisation leaves their safety precarious. Overall I found that awareness of potentially dangerous spaces, through stories, the news media or witness, informed students? tactics of safety. Furthermore, this thesis explores the relevance of formal campus services in response to violence in the everyday lives of students who live in in- and off-campus residences. I discuss the changes that have taken place in terms of campus security, and how the meanings of safety, play an important role in the ways the university as an institution responds to violence. The meanings of safety and security also translate into specific safety interventions, which I found to focus more on perpetrators of violence from ?outside?, that on perpetrators of violence on the ?inside?. In the institution?s dealings with sexual violence I also explore how perceptions of sexual violence and relationship dynamics influence the infection of HIV/AIDS, and the university?s approach to dealing with this threat to students? safety.
A critical analysis of the effects of tourism on cultural representation: a case study from Leboeng
(University of the Western Cape, 2004) Mamadi, Masete; Becker, Heike; Faculty of Arts
Cultural tourism is a vehicle for economic growth. Cultural representations are made in order to make the cultural tourism sector a more vibrant one. Given this argument, research in cultural tourism should take a critical stance in the analysis of cultural representations. An understanding of the meaning of culture is necessary to analyse the comparison of daily life with cultural representations. Observing the daily lives of host communities creates a conductive environment for realising and understanding the gaps between tourists experiences and the daily realities of the host communities. This research analysed how people represent their culture to tourists through the sale of crafts and dance performances. The research was carried out in Leboeng village, on the border between Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, near the small town of Ohrigstad.
Cultural and Social Factors Impacting on the Programme to Prevent-Mother-To-Child-Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV in Namibia: a Case Study of the Kavango Region
(University of the Western Cape, 2010) Shirungu, Michael M.J.; Gibson, Diana; NULL; Faculty of Community and Health Sciences
This study focuses on socio-cultural issues, which affect Kavango women's decision to participate in the PMTCT programme. It investigates the treatment methods used by HIV-positive pregnant women for themselves and their unborn babies, neonatally, during pregnancy and after delivery, particularly in relation to the prevention of transmission of HIV. The thesis further investigates whether women choose alternative services such as traditional healers for medical attention during pregnancy, birth and post-natally. The research aims to establish and describe the role of local notions and practices concerning anti-retrovirals on the aforementioned programme. Ethnographic and thus qualitative research methods were used to gather and analyze data. I spent three months working as a nurse in two health facilities that offer PMTCT in Rundu, Kavango. I also held semi-structured and open-ended interviews, formal and informal discussions, formal and informal focus groups with nurses, community counselors, pregnant women, women who had recently given birth in the health care facility and traditional health care practitioners. In the case of the latter, I utilized narratives of healing to understand their perception of HIV/AIDS, their beliefs and practices as well as their healing methods. Furthermore, I employed other informal conversations outside the formal research participants. The study shows that there is a paucity of partner involvement and in some cases women have to first seek permission from their partner before enrolling into the programme. My research findings further indicate that women utilized various traditional herbal medicines for themselves and their babies as part of their cultural beliefs and practices. It was evident that some of these, such as Likuki, affect women's participation in and adherence to the protocols of the PMTCT programme.
Cultural production and the struggle for authenticity : a Study of the Rastafarian student organization at the University of the Western Cape
(University of the Western Cape, 2012) Riddles, Alton; Boonzaier, Emile
This thesis explores the precarious nature of authenticity as it manifested itself in the activities of H.I.M. Society, the Rastafarian student organization at the University of the Western Cape. Ethnographic research was conducted, to explore the above mentioned issue, which involved observation of various activities and in depth interviews. I also inquired about outsiders' perspectives on Rastafarianism and H.I.M. Society in particular. Authenticity, as it is conceived in this thesis, is about what a group of people deem culturally important. Three important ideas follow from this. The first is that not everyone in a group agrees on what is important. Put differently authenticating processes tend to be characterized by legitimizing crises. Therefore, secondly, social actors need to invest cultural ideas, objects and practices with authenticity. Lastly the authenticating processes are predicated on boundaries not necessarily as a means of exclusion but as fundamental to determining the core of cultural being and belonging
Death ?awayfrom home.? A case study of Cameroonian immigrants living in Cape Town South Africa.
(University of Western Cape, 2019) Fru, Terence Fontoh; Spicer, Sharyn
Death is an everyday occurrence for many urban Africans living in South Africa, and it is expressed through the everyday management of financial and social networks. The purpose of this study is to investigate what happens to African migrants, particularly the Ngemba people of Cameroon living in Cape Town when they die ?away from home?. In this study, I will be exploring the steps followed, the rites that are performed, perceptions regarding death and funerals, as well as the social implications that death has for the group members concerned, and the various challenges faced when someone dies ?away from home?. In other to achieve all this, I used a qualitative research design in which in-depth interviews and participant observation were administered to sixteen (16) participants.
Die stam van die gemeenskap: An exploration of hypertension and herbal treatment amongst the elderly in Nuwerus
(University of the Western Cape, 2016) Pasquallie, Michell e Sheila; Gibson, Diana
Hypertension is estimated to a ect 20 million people in South Africa, with lifestyle factors predisposing certain individuals to this condition disease (Hughes et al., 2013). The prevalence rate of hypertension is higher in areas with low socio-economic status, with women more at risk of developing it than men. Current research suggests that 60-80% of people in South Africa use 'traditional'- most often plant based - medicines at some point for their primary healthcare needs (WHO, 2008; Hughes et al., 2013). In rural and underprivileged areas, such as the community of Nuwerus in the Western Cape Province, the use of herbal medicines and its practices are maintained in an ageing population. This study looks at the ways in which the elderly and the home based care workers of Nuwerus understand hypertension. I focus on the transition from hypertension to high blood pressure and how the two concepts overlap in Nuwerus. I highlight the way the elderly maintain their sense of vitality. I also look at concepts of resilience and vitality to unpack the personal, religious and social dimensions of old age. I focus on the various activities the elderly participate in to unpack the subtle ways with which they push the boundaries of old age consequently challenging conventional notions of health and wellness amongst the aged. The vigour with which the elderly go about their everyday life is what ultimately makes them the pillars and knowledge holders of the community.
'Doing' diabetes: a focus on local experience, medical knowledge systems and herbal management of Type 2 Diabetes among individuals in Genadendal, Western Cape
(University of the Western Cape, 2015) Parker, Hameedah; Gibson, Diana
In South Africa 3.5 million people (estimated 6% of the total population) are diagnosed and living with diabetes. The majority of the diagnosed group suffer from Type 2 diabetes respectively. Described as a metabolic disorder, diabetes is also understood as an illness and disease and is usually handled through the intervention of biomedical perspectives, especially in the manner in which it is treated and managed. However, few ethnographies have interrogated how individuals living with diabetes in South Africa in negotiate between various medical/healing knowledge systems- both ?alternative? and biomedical. The study explores the area of Genadendal as a case study, using an ethnographic approach and a material semiotic approach (Mol, 2002) in relation to medical sense-making and treatments. I investigate the partial connections as discussed by Strathern (2004), between medical/healing knowledge systems, i.e. biomedical and herbal management through plant medicines, which inform diabetic realities. Ultimately, this study considers the various notions and understandings of diabetes, local knowledge, experiences of individuals with diabetes and the interfaces of different ways of knowing with each other.

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