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The Politics of the Past: Evolving Ethnic Cultural Identities in African Traditional Governance Systems

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African Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management

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Abstract

This chapter illustrates the socio-political nuances that often characterize communal identity and affiliation in African localities and are likely to affect sustainable conservation and management of community heritage. The case study illuminates on the fluidity of community identity, and how the seemingly basic ethnic community set up more often hosts and represents historical deposits of internal cultural production that have a bearing on cultural identity consumption in the present. To illustrate on the various factors that contribute to the evolution of communal cultural identities, the chapter uses a case study of Shoshong village communities of Baphaleng and Bakaa in Botswana, who are challenging traditional governance (chieftaincy) assertions that threaten their communal cultural identity in the village.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ashburnham was a British Assistant Resident Commissioner for Bechuanaland between 1895–1901.

  2. 2.

    Goold-Adams was a British Resident Commissioner for Bechuanaland between 1899–1902.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana, Maun, Botswana

    Susan Osireditse Keitumetse

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  1. Susan Osireditse Keitumetse
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Keitumetse, S.O. (2016). The Politics of the Past: Evolving Ethnic Cultural Identities in African Traditional Governance Systems. In: African Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32017-5_3

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