Rhodes University: Hosted Journals
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Swordfish, marlins and sailfish in South and East Africa
Get PDFChiefly arising from their sporting potentialities in big game angling, the large "Bill-fishes", or Marlin, and Sword-fishes have attracted considerable attention in recent times. Commercial fishermen of Japan and anglers of the United States have been most ardent in the pursuit of these peculiar creatures. While a good deal has been learnt about them, there still remains much to discover. In the case of the Marlins, for example, hardly anything is known of their reproduction, of the larval or postlarval early forms, and even those who have studied these fishes from ample material over a wide area are as yet uncertain of the absolute identity of the species, and are often unable to identify with any certainty the rare occasional reasonably small specimens that are encountered. In South Africa shore angling is so good throughout virtually the entire year that there has been little incentive to explore the possibilities further out, especially as quiet seas are a rare condition. Quite recently, however, big game angling at sea has developed almost explosively and increasingly large fishes are being captured. During our extensive travels in the tropical Western Indian Ocean it became obvious that great numbers of the larger angling fishes were present, including those treated here. Although that area is windy and storm-lashed for much of the year, remote from facilities, and barren, its potentialities are relatively unexplored, but are clearly so great that it will not be long before it becomes recognised as one of the chief big game angling areas of the world. These fishes are at present placed in the families Xiphiidae and Istiophoridae. The latter embraces the Sailfishes, the Marlins and the Spearfishes, usually granted distinction by only generic rank. In my opinion, however, they merit at least sub-family rank
South-south networks catalysing social responsibility in higher education
Get PDFThis article interrogates epistemic injustice in global development discourse, challenging dominant narratives that define progress through a singular lens. Drawing inspiration from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s (2009) caution against “the danger of a single story,” we explore how universities—often positioned as knowledge authorities—(re)perpetuate these injustices by privileging Western epistemologies in defining development. We argue for the recognition of diverse aspirations and culturally embedded understandings of the good life, as articulated by scholars such as Catherine Odora Hoppers, who critiques the systemic marginalisation of Indigenous and non-Western knowledge systems.
Anchored in the Knowledge for Change (K4C) Global Consortium, a Global South-led initiative in Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), this article presents a conceptual and practical framework for decolonising research through the creation of regional CBPR training centres in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Using narrative inquiry, we reflect on our lived experiences as coordinators of these centres, analysing personal stories to uncover themes of cultural negotiation, institutional challenges, and transformative potential.
We aim to demonstrate how these centres can serve as hubs for epistemic justice, fostering methodologies rooted in collaboration, equity, and contextual relevance. By embedding CBPR within higher education institutions in its training and research capacities, we envision a shift toward research led and sustained by the Global South, reframing development through cognitively diverse and participatory knowledge-making processes. Ultimately, we advocate for a pluralistic approach to development—one that honours multiple stories, cosmologies, and pathways to progress
Inventing the Ghanaian political subject: Nkrumah and the use of borborbor music
No full textIn this article, I explore how Kwame Nkrumah strategically employed borborbor (bɔbɔɔbɔ) music in Ghana’s pre- and early post-independence political landscape. I argue that borborbor music played an important role in mobilising support for the independence movement by promoting themes of unity, resistance, and cultural pride. Using a historical and ethnographic approach, I analyse archival materials, interviews, and song texts to trace how Nkrumah integrated this music into political activities. I draw on Turner (1987), Schechner (2002), and Conquergood’s (2002) cultural performance theories to frame borborbor as a performative act that constructs political subjectivity and fosters national identity. My findings suggest that borborbor music played a pivotal role in mobilising support for Nkrumah and the independence movement. Through the agency of individual borborbor practitioners, the music was used to communicate political messages and galvanise public sentiment, effectively shaping the Ghanaian political subject. The music’s themes of unity, resistance, liberation, and cultural pride resonated with Ghanaians, fostering a sense of national identity and solidarity. I also examine how borborbor practitioners after the Nkrumah era have continued to use borborbor music as a tool for political engagement and nation-building. I conclude that when consciously and strategically harnessed, indigenous cultural forms such as borborbor music can serve as a powerful medium for cultivating national identity and political consciousness
Hybridity in choral highlife: from choral highlife to choral hiplife?
No full textGhana’s choral music tradition has undergone significant changes since it was introduced to the region by Western missionaries in the nineteenth century. Originally rooted in Western-inspired hymnody and four-part harmony, its development has primarily been shaped by Ghanaian choral composers who have incorporated indigenous and popular musical styles such as asafo, adowa, agbadza, reggae, and highlife. Ghanaian choral highlife is a hybrid dance musical form that combines choral and highlife elements in simple quadruple time. However, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, this evolutionary process, driven by Ghanaian art musicians, took a new direction. Using digital and traditional ethnographic methodological approaches and resources such as YouTube, archival sources, interviews, and focus group discussions, this paper examines the evolution of Ghanaian choral highlife music, a sub-genre of Ghanaian choral music, through its hybridisation with Ghanaian hiplife. How was this process realised? How do secular artists navigate the sacred performance space of choral highlife? This paper argues that, since the first half of the twentieth century, Ghanaian choral music has developed alongside popular music by integrating its elements, resulting in a distinctive hybrid genre that reflects a modern musical synthesis. This hybridity further underscores the relationship between the sacred and the secular within the Ghanaian choral soundscape. I turn to “Ayeyi Dwom” and “Oye” for analysis and to demonstrate the cultural practices and processes at stake in the experimentation across genres
SAMHSEC explores the history of Fish River Valley
Get PDFThe local branch of the SA Military History Society (SAMHSEC) chose a beautiful summer day for their outing on Sunday, 17 November 2024. The rendezvous was Cuylerville’s St Mary’s Anglican Church, a national monument, where local resident Adele Cutten shared its interesting history. That story begins with Bailie’s settler party, led by Lieut John Bailie RN, the largest 1820 party (263 persons) and the first to leave the Tent Town at Algoa Bay in 1820. Bailie’s group comprised a high proportion of skilled tradesmen and professionals
Harnessing community musicians as living archives for “sustainable” teaching and learning of Ugandan musics at Makerere University
No full textAt the Department of Performing Arts and Film at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, there is a growing trend of integrating community musicians into music and dance education through workshops on Ugandan musical traditions. These musicians, who play a vital role in the creation, preservation, and transmission of traditional music, function as living archives within their communities. Drawing on research conducted at Makerere University from 2021 to 2023, this article examines how engaging community musicians as key contributors to teaching and learning Ugandan musics has the potential to decolonise music education in Uganda. In describing the benefits of this inclusive approach, I critique the persistence of elitist frameworks in Ugandan university music and dance departments, which often prioritise engagement with PhD holders and published materials over community-based knowledge. I argue that community musicians, as living archives, offer invaluable insights that can foster the sustainable teaching and learning of Uganda’s diverse musical heritage. Sustainable teaching and learning, as conceptualised in this article, involve educational practices that acknowledge and integrate the contributions of all stakeholders in the production, dissemination, and appreciation of knowledge, thereby ultimately benefiting educational institutions, students, and the communities to which students may return after graduation
Efficacy of Sound, Power, Potency and Promise in the Translocal Ritual Music of Cuban Ifa-Orisa
Get PDFAdvancing Integrity and Social Justice through Faith-based Service Learning in Kiambiu, Kenya
No full textThe Franciscan School of the Institute of Spirituality and Religious Formation, Tangaza University, offers a course on peace, justice, and human rights during which students engage with the Kiambiu small Christian communities through five weeks of community engagement service learning from a faith based perspective to implement the theory they learn. The programme includes prayers, Bible study, and reflection on the factors affecting their lives and society. Both formative and summative assessments form the total grade for the course. A study was undertaken with the following objectives: to explore how students of the Franciscan school engage with members of the Kiambiu small Christian communities; to examine issues that affect the socio-economic lives of the Kiambiu small Christian communities; to evaluate socio-political issues that challenge the integrity of the Kiambiu small Christian communities, and to involve the Kiambiu small Christian communities in their rights for a just nation. The methodology for this study is the five-stage pastoral cycle, and the experiential educational theory was used as its framework. The programme targeted 17 small Christian communities with a population of 425. There were 28 students in total. The outcome of the community engagement reveals that both communities and students are enriched and transformed by the experience. The findings highlight that, through community engagement, the Kiambiu small Christian communities’ members work and transform their attitude towards justice, peace, and human rights, improve their economic status, and alleviate their standard of living by starting self-reliance income-generating projects, while the students are transformed intellectually and affectively.