article
'the past is far and the future is far': power and performance among Zulu migrant workers
American ethnologist • 19 (4) • Published In 1992 • Pages: 688-709
By: Erlmann, Veit.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The study of ISICATHAMIYA, a tradition of competitive song and dance among Zulu migrant workers in South Africa, shows that performance is not necessarily a coherent expressive system with an underlying unitary organizing principle. The rich symbolic overlay in this tradition constitutes a performative, empowering strategy. It mediates migrant workers' ambiguous experience of alienation and powerlessness by framing social interaction in spheres of virtual time, constructing protective spaces, and metaphorically remodeling a social order beyond the given and now. This article focuses on the temporal organization of ISICATHAMIY, the internal organization of performance groups, the complex symbolic representation 'home' in choir names, the construction of hierarchical social relationships and gender inequity in performance roles, the ritualization of regional opposition in competition, and the aesthetic expression of conflict in panegyrical song texts and sound patterns (p. 688).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Internal migration
- Urban and rural life
- Music
- Dance
- Names of animals and things
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Zulu
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2005
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southern Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 2004
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- ca. 1930s-1990s
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Glebe Hostel, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
- NotesAdditional notes
- Veit Erlmann
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 706-709)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 74644326
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Zulu (African people)