Author: Mabena TB

Due Date: 15 March 2024

Publish Date: 20 August 2024

Buyer Persona: People within studies or interested in the field of anthropology

In this blog I will be writing about teachings and beliefs that I believe are endogenous to my ethic group that have shaped my worldview. I will start by giving a brief insight on what endogenous means. I will also share what information is strange or familiar to me by noting my biases and prejudice as well as critically reflect upon these points.

The term endogenous refers to something that originates from a specific organization or individual and in this case originating from my own ethnic group. This is what my ethnic group believes defines and sets us apart from many. The teachings I believe are endogenous to my ethnic group are the fact that our clan name "Mbhuduma" ,an ox symbolizing chieftaincy in my tribe this further illustrates to us that we should thus characterize dominance in the Ndebele Kingdom in particular. It is also believed that women should only marry  man from particular clans as a form of strengthening the family name.

Upon stating biases and prejudices I believe what is strange and unfamiliar to me is that somewhere along our clan praises it further praises 'malila angakabethwa' meaning that we are weaklings how does that match characteristics of an ox. In terms of assigned marriages, isn't marrying different ethnics groups instead going to intensify the union of two clans , one can never know with these old forks. I strongly believe that these beliefs that still exist today were created in order to instill courage and discipline among our ethnic groups hence they are still used in order to groom or set right path for proper adulting.

Author: Mabena TB

Due Date :10 March 2024

Publish Date: 20 May 2024

Buyer Persona: People within studies or interested in the field of Social Anthropology.

In this blog I will be highlighting and reflecting on historical as well as my own experiences and views on the concept of stereotypes and stigmatization. Stereotypes can can be defined as wildly held beliefs or views centered towards a particular group of society which are usually overrated, unfair and untrue. Stigmatization is quite similar to stereotypes as it places focus on the act of unfair treatment of individuals publicly.

With reference to 'The danger of a single story' , stereotypes and stigmatization are overly portrayed as Chimamanda Ngozi talks of how she was expected to be illiterate and not be able to operate a mere 'iron' when she first arrived in the United State as an African native. This strengthens the fact that the language used to portray African context denotes stereotypes and stigmatization as Wainana depicts. Over the years eurocentrism and exotism have labelled the persona and physique of African society. "To date Africans are still stigmatized on using to animals as a mode of transport and clothing gear. "Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants, diviners, seers and wise men living in hermitic splendour. "(Wainana , 2005).

In modern anthropology, Africans are still considered inferior as opposed to the western society. I live in a democratic state however I believe  there is a significant difference in the lifestyle of the Caucasian as opposed to us with a shade of melanin. This is conveyed in the education system, life expectancy , lifestyle choices and a variety of social factors. This has been portrayed through the concept of othering whereby difference is created by viewing others as inferior , primitive or lesser than. In contrast, stereotypes can be conveyed positively and negatively , back people are associated with violence and riots , I as an individual from the Ndebele tribe associated with eating pap with peaches. People that wear spectacles are considered to be intelligent.