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91-634: The Pedi / p ɛ d i / or Bapedi / b æ ˈ p ɛ d i / - also known as the Northern Sotho, Basotho ba Lebowa, bakgatla ba dithebe, Transvaal Sotho, Marota, or Dikgoshi - are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group native to South Africa, Botswana, and Lesotho that speak Pedi or Sepedi, which is one of the 12 official languages in South Africa . They are primarily situated in Limpopo , Gauteng and northern Mpumalanga . The Pedi people are part of
182-567: A six-note scale . The same applies to variants of Mmino wa Setšo as practiced by Basotho ba Leboa (Northern Sotho) tribes in the Capricorn, Blouberg , Waterberg districts, as well as BaVhenda in the Vhembe district. Mmino wa Setšo (indigenous African music) can also be construed as African musicology, a concept that is often used to distinguish the study of indigenous African music from the dominant ethnomusicology discipline in academia. Ethnomusicology has
273-533: A sovereign state , states with limited recognition , constituent country, or a dependent territory . In geopolitics , a polity can manifest in different forms such as a state , an empire , an international organization , a political organization or another identifiable, resource-manipulating organizational structure. A polity like a state does not need to be a sovereign unit. The preeminent polities today are Westphalian states and nation-states , commonly referred to as countries. A polity may encapsulate
364-430: A capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people organized for governance, such as the board of a corporation, the government of a country, or the government of a country subdivision. A polity may have various forms, such as a republic administered by an elected representative , the realm of a hereditary monarch , and others. When referring to a specific polity, the term " country " may refer to
455-574: A considerable amount of Khoisan admixture. The Pedi polity under King Thulare (c. 1780–1820) was made up of land that stretched from present-day Rustenburg to the lowveld in the west and as far south as the Vaal River . Pedi power was undermined during the Mfecane by Ndwandwe invaders from the south-east. A period of dislocation followed, after which the polity was re-stabilized under Thulare's son, Sekwati. Sekwati succeeded Thulare as paramount chief of
546-649: A constituency in rural and urban seats. All three objectives were eventually finalised with South Africa to become a union which was the wish of both the Liberal British government and Jan Smuts. On the question of black enfranchisement, the British government was prepared to accept the final wishes of the National Convention. The colonies of the Transvaal, Orange River and Natal wanted no black enfranchisement while
637-451: A descending melody that mimics traditional vocal songs with richly harmonized qualities. Mapaya provides a detailed descriptive analysis of Dinaka/Kiba music and dance, from a Northern Sotho perspective. In the women's version, a development of earlier female genres that has recently been included within the definition of kiba, a group of women sing songs (koša ya dikhuru, loosely translated: knee-dance music). This translation has its roots in
728-488: A faction within a larger (usually state) entity or at different times as the entity itself. For example, Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan are parts of their own separate and distinct polity. However, they are also members of the sovereign state of Iraq which is itself a polity, albeit one which is much less specific and as a result much less cohesive. Therefore, it is possible for an individual to belong to more than one polity at
819-574: A fusion of various tribes, with the most significant group identifying as the "Bapedi" or "Baperi," meaning the "Family of the King." This tribe had settled along the Steelpoort River nearly two centuries prior, and Merensky found the name of their kingdom, 'Biri,' on antique Portuguese maps. The origin of the Bapedi name is uncertain, but it may have come from an ancestral figure or the land they inhabited. What
910-401: A large number of young women remain single and raise their children in small (and often very poor) female-headed households. But new forms of domestic cooperation have come into being, often between brothers and sisters, or matrilineally linked relatives. Previously, the oldest son of a household within a polygynous family would inherit the house-property of his mother, including its cattle, and
1001-441: A meeting place, cattle byre, graveyard, and ancestral shrine. Households' huts were ranked in order of seniority. Each wife of a polygynous marriage had her own round thatched hut, joined to other huts by a series of open-air enclosures (lapa) encircled by mud walls. Older boys and girls, respectively, would be housed in separate huts. Aspirations to live in a more modern style, along with practicality, have led most families to abandon
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#17330860716761092-430: A mother's brother's daughter, but this preference was most often realized in the case of ruling or chiefly families. Practiced by the ruling dynasty, during its period of dominance, it represented a system of political integration and control over the recycling of bridewealth (dikgomo di boela shakeng; returning of bride cattle). Cousin marriage meant that the two sets of prospective in-laws were closely connected even before
1183-495: A move to employment in the mines or domestic service, and later, especially in more recent times, to factories or industry. Female wage employment began more recently and is rarer and more sporadic. Some women work for short periods on farms; others have begun, since the 1960s, to work in domestic service in the towns of the Witwatersrand. But in recent years, there have been rising levels of education and expectations, combined with
1274-466: A multi-cultural perspective without success. Scholars of African Musicology such as Agawu, Mapaya, Nketia, and Nzewi emphasize the study of indigenous African music from the perspective, and language of the practitioners (baletši). These scholars argue for the study of African Musicology from an angle that elevates the practitioners, their actions, and their interactions. Mmino wa Setšo in Limpopo province has
1365-400: A multitude of organizations; many of these may form or are involved to the apparatus of contemporary states such as their subordinate civil and local government authorities. Polities do not need to be in control of any geographic areas, as not all political entities and governments have controlled the resources of one fixed geographic area. The historical Steppe Empires originating from
1456-565: A new policy for the two former Boer colonies, one of self-rule. Jan Smuts visited London and managed to persuade the new government to formulate a system that would favour the Boers and Het Volk in a new political assembly. More than a year later in February 1907 an election was held with Het Volk running on two issues; Chinese labour needing to be ended when new labour sources were found and reconciliation with Britain with which they hoped would attract
1547-439: A number of categories. Categories of Mmino wa Setšo are distinguished according to the function they serve in the community. The peak of Pedi (and northern Sotho) musical expression is arguably the kiba genre, which has transcended its rural roots to become a migrant style. In its men's version, it features an ensemble of players, each playing an aluminum end-blown pipe of a different pitch (naka, pl. dinaka) and together producing
1638-461: A process of burning incense, making an offering, and speaking to them (go phasa). If necessary, animal sacrifice may be done or beer presented to the children on both the mother's and father's sides. A key figure in the family ritual was the kgadi (who was usually the father's elder sister). The position of ngaka (diviner) was formerly inherited patrilineally but is now commonly inherited by a woman from her paternal grandfather or great-grandfather. This
1729-522: A rural seat while an urban seat would have fifteen percent more constituents. This system for the constituencies would ensure that the Afrikaner would dominate politics in years to come and would be one of the many reasons why Jan Smuts would lose the 1948 South African general election , sweeping D.F. Malan to power and the beginning of Apartheid . The results of the negotiations at the Convention became
1820-419: A sharp drop in employment rates. The pre-colonial system of communal or tribal tenure, which was broadly similar to that practiced throughout the southern African region, was crystallized but subtly altered, by the colonial administration. A man was granted land by the chief for each of his wives; unused land was reallocated by the chief rather than being inherited within families. Overpopulation resulting from
1911-411: A single six-note scale traditionally played on reeds, but currently it is played more on a jaw harp or autoharp. Migrants influenced by Kibala music play aluminum pipes of different heights to reproduce vocal harmonies. In traditional dances, women dance on their knees, usually accompanied by drums, backing vocals, and a lead singer. These dances involve vigorous topless shaking from the upper torso while
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#17330860716762002-567: A special place in the broader category of Mmino wa Setšo. Research shows that mmino wa bana can be examined for its musical elements, educational validity, and general social functions The present-day Pedi area, Sekhukhuneland , is situated between the Olifants River (Lepelle) and its tributary, the Steelpoort River (Tubatse); bordered on the east by the Drakensberg range, and crossed by
2093-583: A strong footprint in academia spanning several decades. Such a presence is evident in ethnomusicology journals that can be traced back to the 1950s. Ethnomusicologists who study indigenous African music have been criticized for studying the subject from a subjective Western point of view, especially given the dominance of the Western musical canon in South Africa. In South Africa, authors such as Mapaya indicate that for many years, African Musicology has been studied from
2184-522: A time. Thomas Hobbes was a highly significant figure in the conceptualisation of polities, in particular of states. Hobbes considered notions of the state and the body politic in Leviathan , his most notable work. Polities do not necessarily need to be governments. A corporation, for instance, is capable of marshalling resources, has a governance structure, legal rights and exclusive jurisdiction over internal decision making. An ethnic community within
2275-559: A united country in the form of a National Convention. The objective of the convention was to find a solution to the political, racial and economic problems encountered by these colonies and find common ground between the Boers and the English. On 12 October 1908, the thirty delegates of the four colonies met in Durban under the Chairmanship of Sir Henry de Villiers . Twelve delegates came from
2366-407: A year. Families would receive a token grant irrespective of their ability to pay it back and additional material and equipment required were obtained via interest-free loans with small cash loans also attracting no interest, with larger loans attracting four percent interest by a mortgage. The loan scheme was never going to compensate a person for the actual loss experienced by the war. Damage and
2457-416: Is often manifested through illness and through violent possession by spirits (malopo) of the body, the only cure for which is to train as a diviner. There has been a proliferation of diviners in recent times, with many said to be motivated mainly by a desire for material gain. Transvaal Colony The Transvaal Colony ( Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈtransfɑːl] ) was the name used to refer to
2548-462: Is significant is that the tribe founded by Thobela and its various divisions revered the porcupine as their totem and identified as Bapedi. Proto-Sotho people are thought to have migrated south from eastern Africa (around the African Great Lakes ) in successive waves spanning five centuries. They made their way along with modern-day western Zimbabwe , with the last group of Sotho speakers,
2639-497: The Bantu ethnic group . Their common ancestors, along with the Sotho and Tswana , migrated from East Africa to South Africa no later than the 7th century CE. Over time, they emerged as a distinct people between the 15th and 18th centuries, with some settling in the northern region of the Transvaal. The Pedi maintained close ties with their relatives and neighboring tribes. Towards the end of
2730-594: The Boers and the British armies, was one of the strongest and largest in Southern Africa in the mid- to late 1800s under the warrior king Sekhukhune I, whose kingdom stretched from the Vaal River in the south to the Limpopo River in the north. The area under Pedi's control was severely limited when the polity was defeated by British troops in 1879. Reserves were created for this and for other Northern Sotho groups by
2821-510: The Cape Colony , eight from the Transvaal and five each from the Orange River and Natal Colonies representing a gathering of sixteen from an English background with the remaining fourteen of Boer origin. The main issues discussed were whether the four colonies would become a country made up of a union or a federation , who would be allowed to vote, and the number of voters who would make up
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2912-624: The Colonial Secretary in London. In 1903, three seats in the Transvaal Legislative council were offered to Louis Botha , Jan Smuts and Koos de la Rey , but they turned the British down. Due to a lack of a hearing given to the opinions of the Boer generals by the English administrators concerning Chinese mine labour, due to a belief that they did not represent the Boer population, and due to
3003-506: The Eurasian Steppe are the most prominent example of non- sedentary polities. These polities differ from states because of their lack of a fixed, defined territory. Empires also differ from states in that their territories are not statically defined or permanently fixed and consequently that their body politic was also dynamic and fluid. It is useful then to think of a polity as a political community. A polity can also be defined either as
3094-456: The Natal , Orange River and Transvaal colonies, but under British influence there was the need now to unite the country under one government. In May 1908, Jan Smuts, Transvaal Colonial Secretary proposed a gathering of representatives from all four colonies and decide on a customs and railways agreement and also included a proposal that the colonies appoint delegates to discuss a constitution for
3185-931: The Transvaal Province of the Union of South Africa. Both the Boer republics, the South African Republic (ZAR) and the Orange Free State were defeated in the Anglo-Boer War and surrendered to the UK. The peace treaty ( Treaty of Vereeniging ) contained the following terms: In 1902, with peace following the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging , the new Transvaal colony was faced with intertwined economic and political issues that needed to be resolved. The economic issues faced included
3276-469: The Transvaal Republic 's Native Location Commission. Over the next hundred years or so, these reserves were then variously combined and separated by a succession of government planners. By 1972, this planning had culminated in the creation of an allegedly independent national unit, or homeland, named Lebowa . In terms of the government's plans to accommodate ethnic groups separated from each other, this
3367-853: The 18th century, the primary Pedi state was established, led by supreme leaders from the Maroteng clan. In the early 19th century, the Pedi state faced significant challenges from the Nguni , particularly the Northern Ndebele under Mzilikazi and the Swati . A pivotal figure in preserving the Pedi state was Sekwati I (1827–1861), the paramount leader who introduced reforms in the military and internal administration and welcomed Christian missionaries . After Sekwati I's passing, his son Sekhukhune took control but reversed some reforms, including Christianization. From 1876 to 1879,
3458-549: The British and mining appointed Transvaal Legislative Council it outlined extremely restrictive employment contracts for the Chinese workers and the idea had been sold via a fear campaign aimed at white miners about the need for this labour or face the possibility of loss of mining and their jobs. By 1906, the gold mines of the Witwatersrand were in full production and by 1907, South African gold mines represented thirty-two percent of
3549-421: The British followed a scorched earth policy in the Transvaal, Boer lands, stock and farms had been destroyed. At the conclusion of the war, it was necessary to reconstruct a "government" for the new colony and this was begun with the appointment of a Resident Magistrate in every district of the colony who became District Commissioners while an Assistant Magistrate carried out the legal and magisterial duties of
3640-466: The Cape Colony wished to keep what limited enfranchisement it had for all other races. A compromise was reached and all the colonies' wishes concerning their racial make-up for enfranchisement were accepted, though subject to a repeal by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament. As to the objective of rural and urban constituencies, it was decided to allow fifteen percent fewer constituents for
3731-623: The Colony and indeed all the South African dominion without offending the English. You have only to sacrifice ‘the nigger’ and the game is easy. Any attempt to secure fair play for them makes the Dutch fractious and almost unmanageable." Prior to the grant of responsible self-government on 6 December 1906, the Colony was administered by an Executive Council appointed by the Governor. The first elected Cabinet of
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3822-485: The English labourer vote as well as selling themselves as an alternative to the mining capitalistic Progressive Party . The election was held on 20 February 1907 and Het Volk won the election gathering 37 of 69 seats. It stood 43 candidates and won 34 seats outright, all the country seats were gained except Barberton , three seats in Pretoria and four on the Witwatersrand with three independents aligning themselves with
3913-512: The English-speaking population of the Transvaal and the other by teaching the Boer children in English with very little Dutch used, followed by self-rule. The Transvaal Boers' political objectives were the restoration of self-rule in the colony and the political environment to be dominated by the Boers. As the war ended the British were faced with a large proportion of Boer men as prisoners of war and their families in concentration camps. As
4004-513: The Hurutse, settling in the region west of Gauteng around the 16th century. The Pedi people originated from the Kgatla offshoot, a group of Tswana speakers . In about 1650, they settled in the area to the south of the Steelpoort River . Over several generations, linguistic and cultural homogeneity developed to a certain degree. Only in the last half of the 18th century did they broaden their influence over
4095-529: The Leolo mountains. But at the height of its power, the Pedi polity under Thulare (about 1780–1820) included an area stretching from the site of present-day Rustenburg in the west to the Lowveld in the east, and ranging as far south as the Vaal River . Reliable historians and sources also credit the Pedi kingdom as the first and dominant monarchy established in the region. The kingdom, which boasted numerous victories over
4186-528: The Pedi engaged in wars with the Boers and the British , resulting in defeat and the Pedi state falling under Boer influence. In 1882, Sekhukhune was assassinated by conspirators, leading to the dismantling of the monarchy and statehood. In 1885, the Transvaal government only allocated a small territory to the Pedi, with the majority of the people living outside of it. In the 1950s, the Sotho language committee recognized
4277-623: The Pedi in the northern Transvaal ( Limpopo ) and was frequently in conflict with the Matabele under Mzilikazi and plundered by the Zulu and the Swazi . Sekwati has also engaged in numerous negotiations and struggles for control over land and labor with the Afrikaans -speaking farmers (Boers) who have since settled in the region. These disputes over land occurred after the founding of Ohrigstad in 1845, but after
4368-458: The Pedi language as distinct from Sesotho. Throughout history, the Pedi actively participated in the struggle against colonization and apartheid in South Africa, joining the broader movement of African peoples fighting for their rights and freedom. Rev. Alexander Merensky , a German missionary, had an extensive understanding of the Bapedi tribe, surpassing that of any other European of his time. According to Merensky, Sekhukhune's people were
4459-537: The Pedi refer to a sequence of military operations undertaken by the Swazi in their endeavors to subjugate the Pedi people. Despite their persistent efforts, the Swazi forces faced significant challenges in conquering the Pedi's formidable mountain fortresses, which served as robust strongholds for the Pedi people. As a consequence of the Swazi's inability to completely overpower the Pedi, some Pedi fugitives successfully reassembled, allowing them to sustain their resistance against
4550-587: The Swazi forces. Sekhukhune I succeeded his father in 1861 and repelled an attack against the Swazi . At the time, there were also border disputes with the Transvaal , which led to the formation of Burgersfort , which was manned by volunteers from Lydenburg . By the 1870s, the Pedi were one of three alternative sources of regional authority, alongside the Swazi and the ZAR ( Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek ). Over time, tensions increased after Sekhukhune refused to pay taxes to
4641-608: The Transvaal Colony was formed on 4 March 1907. The Transvaal Colony lay between Vaal River in the south and the Limpopo River in the north, roughly between 22½ and 27½ S, and 25 and 32 E. To its south it bordered with the Orange Free State and Natal Colony , to its south-west were the Cape Colony , to the west was the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswana ), to its north was Rhodesia , and to its east were Portuguese East Africa and Swaziland . Except in
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#17330860716764732-504: The Transvaal government, and the Transvaal declared war in May 1876. It became known as the Sekhukhune War, the outcome of which was that the Transvaal commando's attack failed. After this, volunteers nevertheless continued to devastate Sekhukhune's land and provoke unrest, to the point where peace terms were met in 1877. Unrest continued, and this became a justification for the British annexing
4823-560: The Transvaal in April 1877 under Sir Theophilus Shepstone . Following the annexation, the British also declared war on Sekhukhune I under Sir Garnet Wolseley , and defeated him in 1879. Sekhukhune was then imprisoned in Pretoria , but later released after the first South African War , when the Transvaal regained independence. However, soon after his release, Sekhukhune was murdered by his half-brother Mampuru , and because his heir had been killed in
4914-515: The Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910. The borders of the Transvaal Colony were larger than the defeated South African Republic (which had existed from 1856 to 1902). In 1910 the entire territory became
5005-589: The Transvaal. English political movements included the Transvaal Responsible Government Association, the Transvaal Progressive Association and labour groups under an Industrial Labour Party. The Transvaal Responsible Government Association was formed in late 1904 by E.P Solomon and made up of a loose gathering of ex-colonial and ZAR officials and diamond mining magnates, labour and businessmen. They called for
5096-520: The Witwatersrand after contesting 14, but their leader Frederic Creswell failed to gain a seat. Louis Botha became Prime Minister of the Transvaal and Agriculture minister with Jan Smuts as its colonial secretary. Other new cabinet ministers included J de Villiers, Attorney-General and Mines, Henry Charles Hull , Treasurer, Johann Rissik, Land and Native Affairs, Harry Solomon held Public Works and Edward Rooth as whip . The Progressives in opposition would be led by George Farrar and Abe Bailey as
5187-819: The allowance of the colony to create its own policy and strive for self-government and for the party to be eventually renamed the Nationalists. The Transvaal Progressive Association, formed in November 1904 and active from February 1905, had a similar membership but was linked to the mining industry's opposed self-rule and preferred a legislature nominated by the High Commissioner with strong links to Britain. They were led by George Farrar and Percy Fitzpatrick . The pro-Boer Liberal Party in Britain came to power in January 1906 with
5278-512: The area. Roman-Dutch law was translated into English so the law courts could continue, with some old acts repealed and a considerable amount of new law promulgated by the authorities in Johannesburg. The Resident Magistrate then submitted the names of three members of the district to the Governor for district commission under the magistrate. They would consist of one British subject, and two Boers, one from those who had surrendered early on in
5369-491: The army transport requirement to maintain a garrison and civilian requirements to repair the colony. All feed for transport animals had to be brought to the depots as the process started in the winter of 1902. Refugees from the concentration camps and prisoners of war were returned to their districts in a system of drafts. At the depots, they would receive farm equipment, tents and rations to start again and transport to their destinations. Food rations were provided for almost
5460-531: The boys. Initiation is still practiced, and provides a considerable income to the chiefs who license it for a fee or, in recent years, to private entrepreneurs who have established initiation schools beyond the chiefs' jurisdiction. Important crafts included metalsmithing, beadwork , pottery , house building and painting, and woodworking (especially the making of drums). The arts of the Pedi are known for metal forging, beading, pottery, woodworking, much more in drum making, and also painting. Pedi music consists of
5551-469: The company of peers and older youths. Circumcision and initiation at koma (initiation school), held about once every five years, socialized youths into groups of cohorts or regiments (mephato) bearing the leader's name, whose members then maintained lifelong loyalty to each other, and often traveled together to find work on the farms or in the mines. Girls attended their own koma and were initiated into their own regiments (ditswa-bothuku), usually two years after
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#17330860716765642-444: The creation of voters' rolls with the registration process explained in English and Dutch. The British administrators set out to place most Boer farmers back on their land by March 1903 with nineteen million pounds spent on war damages, grants and loans. The administrators reformed the state agricultural departments to modernise farming in the colony which resulted in a maize and beef surplus by 1908. They also attempted to solve
5733-518: The draft South Africa Act which was released for viewing on 9 February 1909. By 19 August 1909, the South Africa Act passed through the British Parliament and into law. As to the question of black enfranchisement, Milner saw this is a serious issue when it came to a peace treaty: "If I did not have some conscience about the treatment of blacks I personally could win over the Dutch in
5824-464: The event of a marriage, and went along with an ideology of sibling-linkage, through which the Magadi (bridewealth) procured for a daughter's marriage would, in turn, be used to get a bride for her brother, and he would repay his sister by offering a daughter to her son in marriage. Cousin marriage is still practiced, but less frequently. Polygyny too is now rare, many marriages end in divorce or separation, and
5915-546: The government's relocation policies resulted in this system being modified; a household's fields, together with its residential plot, are now inherited, ideally by the youngest married son. Christian Pedi communities that owned freehold farms were removed to the reserve without compensation, but since 1994, many have now reoccupied their land or are preparing to do so, under restitution legislation. Ancestors are viewed as intermediaries between humans and The Creator or God (Modimo/Mmopi) and are communicated to by calling on them using
6006-425: The lack of self-rule, Louis Botha and others met in 1904 at a Volkskongres . The result of this people congress was the unification of the Boer political movement in the Transvaal into a new party called Het Volk in January 1905 by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts. This new party's objective was to seek reconciliation with Britain, which would be favoured by the British opposition Liberal Party , and Boer self-rule for
6097-433: The mining magnates and the British administrators, there was a need to restart the industry but labour was required. Just prior to the war, white miners wages were high and magnates weren't keen to increase the wages and since black miners wages had been reduced before the war and not increased, so black labourers weren't interested in working the mines. Unskilled white labour was ruled out as their wages would be too high for
6188-470: The opposition whip. They all assembled for the first time in March 1907. After the 1907 election, the issue of Chinese mining labour was revisited with Het Volk believing there was enough labour in the form of black and white miners. Taking into account the economic interests of the Transvaal, Botha ensured a gradual policy of repatriation of Chinese labour. By 1908, the Boers had won control, in elections, of
6279-408: The other Sotho-Tswana groups, the Bapedi people use totems to identify sister clans and kinship. The most widely used totems in Sepedi are as follows: In pre-conquest times, people settled on elevated sites in relatively large villages, divided into kgoro (pl. dikgoro, groups centered on agnatic family clusters). Each consisted of a group of households in huts built around a central area that served as
6370-434: The party. The Progressive Party stood 34 candidates and won 21 seats, twenty on the Witwatersrand and one in Pretoria with five Randlords winning seats. Other parties included the Nationalists (old Transvaal Responsible Government Association) that won 6 seats, four on the Witwatersrand and two in Pretoria but their leader Richard Solomon failed to win his seat. The Transvaal Independent Labour Party won three seats in
6461-470: The poor white problem by settling them as tenant farmers on state land, but the lack of capital and labour caused the scheme to fail. An attempt was made to place English settlers on farmland so as to anglicise the Transvaal and increase the English-speaking population but this failed, too, as the policy attracted too few settlers. By the end of 1901, gold mining finally resumed on the Rand around Johannesburg , having virtually stopped since 1899. Backed by
6552-994: The population of the Lebowa homeland increased rapidly after the mid-1950s, due to the forced relocations from rural areas and cities in common South Africa undertaken by apartheid's planners, and to voluntary relocations by which former labor tenants sought independence from the restrictive and deprived conditions under which they had lived on the white farms. The pre-conquest economy combined cattle-keeping with hoe cultivation. The principal crops were sorghum, pumpkins, and legumes, which were grown by women on fields allocated to them when they married. Women hoed and weeded, did pottery, built and decorated huts with mud; made sleeping mats and baskets, ground grain, cooked, brewed, and collected water and wood. Men did some work in fields at peak times; they hunted and herded; they did woodwork, prepared hides, and were metal workers and smiths. Most major tasks were done communally by matsema (work parties). The chief
6643-488: The reconstruction required varied from district to district. In the larger towns, municipal or health boards were "appointed" to manage them under the Resident Magistrate. They had limited functions and the only rates they levied were for sanitary functions. Within fifteen months of the end of the war, the municipal government was introduced with preparations made for fair elections based on property valuation and
6734-407: The region, establishing the Pedi paramountcy by bringing smaller neighboring chiefdoms under their control. During migrations in and around this area, groups of people from diverse origins began to concentrate around dikgoro, or ruling nuclear groups. They identified themselves through symbolic allegiances to totemic animals such as tau (lion), kolobe (pig), and kwena (crocodile). The Pedi people show
6825-525: The reserve and land degradation made it impossible to subsist from cultivation alone. Despite increasingly long absences, male migrants nonetheless remained committed to the maintenance of their fields; plowing had now to be carried out during periods of leave or entrusted to professional plowmen or tractor owners. Women were left to manage and carry out all other agricultural tasks. Men, although subjected to increased controls in their lives as wage-laborers, fiercely resisted all direct attempts to interfere with
6916-421: The restoration of the mining industry to pre-war levels, then growing it further with the need for extra labour, the restoration of the Boers to their lands and increasing the agricultural output of those farms. The political issue faced depended on what side of politics one stood on. The existing British administrators under Alfred Milner wished to anglicise the population through two main means. One by increasing
7007-449: The round hut style for rectangular, flat-tin-roofed houses. Processes of forced and semi-voluntary relocation and an apartheid government planning scheme implemented in the name of "betterment", have meant that many newer settlements and the outskirts of many older ones consist of houses built in grid formation, occupied by individual families unrelated to their neighbors. Kgoshi – a loose collection of kinsmen with related males at its core,
7098-593: The south-west, these borders were mostly well defined by natural features. Within the Transvaal lies the Waterberg Massif , a prominent ancient geological feature of the South African landscape. Divisions: Cities in the Transvaal Colony: Population statistics from the 1904 Census. Polity A polity is a group of people with a collective identity , who are organized by some form of political institutionalized social relations , and have
7189-435: The spheres of cattle-keeping and agriculture. Their resistance erupted in open rebellion, ultimately subdued, during the 1950s. In later decades, some families have continued to practice cultivation and keep stock. In the early 1960s, about 48% of the male population was absent as wage-earners at any given time. Between the 1930s and the 1960s, most Pedi men would spend a short period working on nearby white farms, followed by
7280-613: The town was incorporated into the Transvaal Republic in 1857 and the Republic of Lydenburg was formed, an agreement was reached that the Steelpoort River was the border between the Pedi and the Republic. The Pedi were well equipped to defend themselves, though, as Sekwati and his heir, Sekhukhune I were able to procure firearms, mostly through migrant labor to the Kimberley diamond fields and as far as Port Elizabeth . The Pedi paramountcy's power
7371-482: The traditional kneeling dance that involves salacious shaking movements of the breasts accompanied by chants. These dances are still very common among Tswana, Sotho, and Nguni women. This genre comprises sets of traditional songs steered by a lead singer accompanied by a chorus and an ensemble of drums (meropa), previously wooden but now made of oil drums and milk urns. These are generally sung at drinking parties and/or during celebrations such as weddings. Children occupy
7462-489: The war and his grandson, Sekhukhune II was too young to rule, one of his other half-brothers, Kgoloko, assumed power as regent. In 1885, an area of 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) was set aside for the Pedi, known as Geluk Location created by the Transvaal Republic's Native Location Commission. Later, according to apartheid segregation policy , the Pedi would be assigned the homeland of Lebowa . Like
7553-539: The war and one who had fought until the end. The commission would have two functions, one to provide assistance and issuing of rations, equipment, transport and plough animals to those affected by the war, and the second to investigate claims for compensation for actual damages sustained during the war. Repatriation depots were established in the districts and they were stocked with food, seed, agricultural equipment, transport, plough animals, stone and building material. The rail transport network struggled to compete with
7644-551: The women kneel on the floor. Songs are also part of Pedi culture. While working, the Pedi sang together to finish the job faster. They had A song about killing a Lion to become a man; it was a bit peculiar. The act of killing a Lion is very unusual and is no longer practiced. In fact, it was so unusual that if a boy was successful, he would get high status and the ultimate prize - marrying the chief's daughter. The Bapedi also have different types of cultural music: Pedi music (mmino wa setso: traditional music, lit. music of origin) has
7735-509: The work done, so the mining magnates and their Chamber of Mines in 1903 sought alternative labour in the form of cheap Chinese workers. The legislation to import Chinese labour was introduced to the Transvaal Legislative Council on 28 December 1903 by George Farrar and was debated for 30 hours and successfully voted on after its three readings on 30 December 1903, coming into law in February 1904. Having been rubber-stamped by
7826-484: The worlds gold output. By 1910, Chinese labour ended on the Witwatersrand and the restrictive job reservation laws preventing Chinese miners doing certain jobs was replicated for Black miners. From the end of the war in 1902, the political administration of the Transvaal colony was controlled by members of a legislative and executive council, all appointed by the British Administrators under Alfred Milner and
7917-399: Was also cemented by the fact that chiefs of subordinate villages, or kgoro, took their principal wives from the ruling house. This system of cousin marriage resulted in the perpetuation of marriage links between the ruling house and the subordinate groups and involved the payment of an inflated magadi, or brideprice mostly in the form of cattle, to the Maroteng house. The Campaigns against
8008-438: Was as much a jural unit as a kinship one, since membership was defined by acceptance of the kgoro-head's authority rather than primarily by descent. Royal or chiefly kgoros sometimes underwent rapid subdivision as sons contended for positions of authority. Marriage was patrilocal. Polygamy was practiced mostly by people of higher, especially chiefly, status. Marriage was preferred with a close or classificatory cousin, especially
8099-466: Was depended upon to perform rainmaking for his subjects. The introduction of the animal-drawn plow, and of maize, later transformed the labor division significantly, especially when combined with the effects of labor migration. Men's leaving home to work for wages was initially undertaken by regimental groups of youths to satisfy the paramount's firepower requirements but later became increasingly necessary to individual households as population increase within
8190-451: Was designed to act as a place of residence for all Northern Sotho speakers. But many Pedi had never resided here: since the polity's defeat, they had become involved in a series of labor-tenancy or sharecropping arrangements with white farmers, lived as tenants on crown land, purchased farms communally as freeholders, or moved to live in the townships adjoining Pretoria and Johannesburg on a permanent or semi-permanent basis. In total, however,
8281-461: Was supposed to act as custodian of these goods for the benefit of the household's other children. With the decline of cattle-keeping and the sharp increase in land shortages, this has switched to a system of last-born inheritance, primarily of land. The life cycle for both sexes was differentiated by important rituals. Both girls and boys underwent initiation . Boys (bašemane, later mašoboro) spent their youth looking after cattle at remote outposts in
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