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WORLD ANTHROPOLOGICAL UNION

CONGRESS 2024​

Paper

Land, Culture and Development: The Marginal Identity and Struggle of Khoisan People in South Africa——Based on Fieldwork of Amazon Event in Cape Town

presenters

    Zhu Pengfei

    Nationality: China

    Residence: China

    Institute of Global and Area Studies, Capital Normal University

    Presence:Online

Khoisan People as the First Nation in South Africa have the same situation of Indigenous People around the world like Australia, Canada, and America. Their identities and living conditions have been marginalized in the long course of history. According to the global historical experiences, Land expansion, cultural policies, and unfair economic development are the main reasons for the continuous marginalization of Indigenous Peoples in colonial era. This paper focuses on the Khoisan People in South Africa. Through a briefly review on the process of their continuous loss of land and culture during the colonial history and the Apartheid period, and in the light of the Amazon event that have erupted in Cape Town in recent years, presents the identity dilemma and rights struggle of Khoisan People in post-colonial period. In methodology, this paper takes an event as fieldwork. Based on my participate observations and in-depth interviews of Amazon event from March 2022 to December 2023, it found that the economic and cultural factors behind the land conflict between Khoisan and developers were extremely complex. In the case of Amazon event, I will discuss the related issues such as environment and development, digital technology and traditional culture, globalization and indigenization; and have a theoretical reflection on how Neoliberalism and Post-colonialism affect the current living condition and identity of Indigenous People.

Keywords:

South Africa; Khoisan People; Amazon Event; Land Conflict; Post-colonialism