Tlokwa material culture as it relates to the usage of beadwork

Abstract

The paper is based on field research conducted mainly during 1998 among the Batlokwa of the Mt Fletcher district (Eastern Cape, South Africa). It explores the largely unresearched Tlokwa material culture, as it relates to their beadwork. The investigation of Tlokwa beadwork showed that it is secondary to other aspects of the traditional material culture; it represents forms of meaning which have their roots in the making and wearing of traditional leather garments, fringed skirts, and certain materials used for body ornamentation. The major part of the paper is a detailed description of the traditional crafts of processing cow hides and certain natural fibres, so as to open, in a postscript to this paper, a discussion on developing the local economy without infringing on the meaning structure which today the beadwork of the Batlokwa represents. In this connection the intricate questions of the indigenous knowledge, the intellectual property and its protection, will be raised.

To cite this article: Kuckertz, H. J. 2000. Tlokwa material culture as it relates to the usage of beadwork. Natal Museum Journal of Humanities 12: 97-121.