No abstract available.

The chieftaincies in Kranskop in Umvoti seized the opportunity to exercise
\nindependence from the Zulu royal family, an opportunity which the advent
\nof British imperialism provided. These chieftaincies decided to support the
\ninvading colonial forces during the Anglo-Zulu War of January to September
\n1879 and participated actively in the colonial armed forces which fought
\nthe Usuthu section of the Zulu royal family during the 1880s. They also
\nprovided active military support to the Natal colonial forces during the Poll
\nTax uprisings of 1906. This article retraces the genesis of the dispute over the
\nchieftainship at MaMbulu in Kranskop between the Ngubane and the Nzama
\nfamilies. The consolidation of the Zulu Kingdom by King Shaka does not tell
\nthe whole story because some chiefdoms maintained their own autonomy.
\nExamples are the shift in allegiance by the Ngubane to the British side because
\nof political conflicts, and the move away from King Shaka by the Nzama
\nchiefdom. It will be shown that the context which made it possible for the
\nNzama people to come under the leadership of the Ngubane can be linked to
\nthe different relations that King Shaka kaSenzangakhona, the founder of the
\nZulu Kingdom, shared with the various chieftaincies on its western boundary
\nduring the 1820s.

No abstract available.

This article is a foray into the field of anthropology (“volkekunde” in
\nAfrikaans) and sport history. It examines aspects of the sport-related thinking
\nof a noted luminary in South Africa’s rugby world, Dr Danie Craven of
\nStellenbosch. He was not only an outstanding rugby player but also for
\nmany years an influential chairperson of the South African Rugby Board.
\nThe possibility is probed that his outlook was at least in part informed by his
\nbackground as an anthropologist or the Afrikaans variant of a “volkekundige”
\nwith its own emphases. It is argued that to some extent his academic exposure
\nto “volkekunde” heightened for instance his understanding of the role of the
\nNew Zealand Māori in that country’s rugby culture and some insights spilled
\nover into his attempts to bring coloured South African players closer to the
\nmainstream of rugby in South Africa, not always with the necessary political
\nsophistication or finesse. Finally, it is argued that what he called the “spirit” of
\nrugby, might have been informed by anthropological precepts.

As a social institution that permeates almost all societies, marriage trends and
\npractices are studied across the social sciences. Yet South African marriages,
\npast and present, remain understudied, notably because of a lack of adequate
\nsource material. This paper contributes to a better understanding of marriage
\ntrends in the South African past by offering a new dataset of more than 55 000
\nmarriages solemnized in the Anglican church of Cape Town between 1865
\nand 1960. We show how these records can both reveal new evidence to test
\nexisting hypotheses and expose trends that open new questions for historical
\ninquiry.

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the structure and organization of the Orange Free State (OFS) Boer republic’s citizen force army in October 1899 (that is when the Anglo-Boer War or South African War broke out). A basic question is whether the structure of the OFS armed forces was indeed effective as far as the organization of these armed forces was concerned. It will be indicated how and why the OFS citizen army command structure was adapted, and what legal consequences it had. A review is given of the OFS military laws (known as the Krijgs- en Commandowet; representing the military and commando law); the legal position of the OFS State President is explained (namely the role and functions of MT Steyn, last OFS President); the role of the Military Commission is discussed; as well as the role of the war councils and war meetings.