Perceptions and values of local landscapes: implications for the conservation of biocultural diversity and intangible heritage
- Cocks, Michelle L, Dold, Anthony P
- Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Dold, Anthony P
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141442 , vital:37972 , ISBN 9789086867493 , DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-749-3_10
- Description: South Africa is widely recognised as a highly diverse country with regard to its people, culture, landscapes, biological resources and ecology. The importance of policies on protecting cultural diversity and how they relate to the environment is only just emerging at an international level, but in South African we find there is a complete lack of institutional support for rural communities’ attachment to local landscapes. The main objective of this case study is to improve our understanding of the meanings and values that Xhosa people (amaXhosa) of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa attach to their natural landscapes. It is clear that the amaXhosa are still intrinsically connected to their natural environment, in particular the thicket biome that is called ihlathi yesiXhosa (Xhosa forest). Access to places and spaces within the natural environment provides a sense of wellbeing, a link to ancestral spirits, a location for religious rituals, plus a wealth of culturallyinspired uses of specific species and sacred places in the landscape. We suggest that local cultural values could be incorporated into the formal conservation process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Dold, Anthony P
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141442 , vital:37972 , ISBN 9789086867493 , DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-749-3_10
- Description: South Africa is widely recognised as a highly diverse country with regard to its people, culture, landscapes, biological resources and ecology. The importance of policies on protecting cultural diversity and how they relate to the environment is only just emerging at an international level, but in South African we find there is a complete lack of institutional support for rural communities’ attachment to local landscapes. The main objective of this case study is to improve our understanding of the meanings and values that Xhosa people (amaXhosa) of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa attach to their natural landscapes. It is clear that the amaXhosa are still intrinsically connected to their natural environment, in particular the thicket biome that is called ihlathi yesiXhosa (Xhosa forest). Access to places and spaces within the natural environment provides a sense of wellbeing, a link to ancestral spirits, a location for religious rituals, plus a wealth of culturallyinspired uses of specific species and sacred places in the landscape. We suggest that local cultural values could be incorporated into the formal conservation process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Voices from the forest: celebrating nature and culture in Xhosaland
- Dold, Anthony P, Cocks, Michelle L
- Authors: Dold, Anthony P , Cocks, Michelle L
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141427 , vital:37971 , ISBN 9781431402991 , https://www.amazon.com/Voices-Forest-Celebrating-Culture-Xhosaland/dp/1431402990
- Description: The link between people and nature is explored in this fascinating book, revealing how plants, animals, and landscapes are profoundly reflected in South Africa’s Xhosa language, stories, poetry, religious rituals, healing practices, and everyday customs. While the South African landscape has for centuries been molded and manipulated by humans, the country and its plants and animals have in turn influenced South Africans’ cultural and spiritual development. Based on 10 years of research, it consists of unique photographs that portray how both contemporary rural and urban South Africans still find great value in nature. A fresh, positive approach to biodiversity conservation, this volume serves as a guide to sustainable practices in the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Dold, Anthony P , Cocks, Michelle L
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141427 , vital:37971 , ISBN 9781431402991 , https://www.amazon.com/Voices-Forest-Celebrating-Culture-Xhosaland/dp/1431402990
- Description: The link between people and nature is explored in this fascinating book, revealing how plants, animals, and landscapes are profoundly reflected in South Africa’s Xhosa language, stories, poetry, religious rituals, healing practices, and everyday customs. While the South African landscape has for centuries been molded and manipulated by humans, the country and its plants and animals have in turn influenced South Africans’ cultural and spiritual development. Based on 10 years of research, it consists of unique photographs that portray how both contemporary rural and urban South Africans still find great value in nature. A fresh, positive approach to biodiversity conservation, this volume serves as a guide to sustainable practices in the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
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