AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY AND THOUGHTS ABOUT LIFE
3.4. THEORIES OF AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
3.4.4. Psychoanalysis theory – a man's ego or man's personality, by Freud (1973;
89 is by and large recognised as a mode of knowing (Gyekye, cited in Mosley, 1995, p.347).
The above presented discussion will help in the analysis of data and with the understanding of the findings of this study. This is because the practice of ukuthwala has much to do with diviners, traditional healers, the use of umuthi (natural herbs), ancestor beliefs, the use of proverbs, and indigenous knowledge handed down from generation to generation, which are all discussed above. The Zulu philosophy of life will also give an understanding of the nature of ukuthwala.
90 within an age group or district, and to do so within the legitimising framework of dominant social norms and cultural practices. Stick-fights provided an arena for playing out male youth hierarchies (Mager, 1999, cited in Alegi, 2004, p.9). Alegi argues that these skills underpinned the later development of ways of playing football. The men's skills and tactics for stick-fighting, hunting, competitive dancing, foot races, and cattle racing developed physical strength and masculinities and boosted men's egos and power. In some communities the masculinities and men’s egos are showed off during the practice of ukuthwala. Ukwelusa (cattle herding) reinforced the development of men's characters. Alegi (2004, p.8) states that:
It was then, in the struggle for dominance within herding groups, that the fighting skills, the physical toughness and the aggression which one needs to deal successfully with the world were developed.
The above quotation indicates that men have been socialised to seek dominance; in the current dispensation that promotes gender equality, they feel emasculated.
Discussing the Akan psychology, Gyekye (1987) argues that there are some similarities between the functions and activities of the sunsum (spirit) of Akan psychology and the ego of Freud:
An essential task of the ego is to engage in intercourse with the external world.
Like the sunsum, it directs the business of everyday living; it is the executive of the personality and the representative of the id in the external world.
Self-esteem is very important among Zulu men, as it relates directly to manhood.
Manhood is a dominant category in the hierarchical, patriarchal structure of the Zulu community. Alegi (2004) states that during the pre-colonial era stick-fighting inculcated Zulu boys' personal pride. A Zulu boy was honoured as a hero once he had defeated his age-mates during stick-fighting. As teenagers they engaged in hunting animals. The more successful a man is during hunting, the more power and authority he gains over his age-mates, consequently becoming a hero and being accorded status and recognition. These activities boosted men's egos.
91 Alegi (2004) argues that during the colonisation era all that boosted men's egos, as indicated above, disappeared. Men had to engage in migrant labour to provide for their families in terms of cash, not as hunters anymore. Manhood was then measured against these colonial standards. Alegi claims that during colonisation men diverted their interest to football/soccer, and thus through football a man was able to gain status and recognition as an excellent or good player, which in turn, somehow, boosted a man's ego. This relates to my study, as in post-1994 South Africa there was a call for an African Renaissance and cultural revival (of which ukuthwala is one practice), by the then State President, Thabo Mbeki. The more successful a man is in ukuthwala, the more power and authority he gains over his age-mates, consequently becoming a hero and being accorded the status of manhood and recognition. This boosts a man’s self- esteem. The above discussion will help to analyse the gendered implications of ukuthwala as a cultural practice.
Moore (1994a) argues that men are closer to culture and women are closer to nature.
For example, African people (Zulus) believe that it is a man who is entitled to communicate with the ancestral spirits through the burning of incense when certain customs are performed, such as the rite of passage. Only old women can also have such a privilege.
In some cultures women are viewed as dirty. Hence Moore (1994b) argues that since women menstruate and give birth and undergo a period of seclusion from the public, they are regarded as dirty. She further claims that they are closer to nature, because all of these circumstances are natural phenomena. In addition, women are viewed as witches, and it is therefore seen as not proper for them to come closer when certain rituals are performed. The belief is that they will contaminate the spirit of the amadlozi (ancestors). Women are also considered evil and untrustworthy, and hence are to be excluded (Nkosi, 2005, pp.61-62).
92 Zulus’ philosophy of life promotes male power over women. However, women have domestic power over men, and women have a voice to express their grievances (see, for example, Magwaza, 1999, 2001). This form of cultural exclusion of women by men, which I view as evidence of discrimination, is also referred to in the work of Moore (1994) who claims that in the celebration of culture women are often discriminated against. If men in Zulu society are in control of culture, and culture is supreme – whereby cultural traditions like communication with ancestors maintain the status quo – then women are rendered subordinate to culture. This notion that the superiority and dominance of men is sanctioned through culture is echoed by Ngcongo (1993). She further argues persuasively that this subordination of women to men istransmitted from generation to generation through the spoken language, which in this study is isiZulu.