A return to Turner: Liminalities in Afrikaner identity politics after apartheid

This article explores interpretive possibilities offered by the concept of liminality in the context of identity politics in South Africa in an attempt to build on the rich and stimulating work of Victor Turner towards a comparative and contextual analysis. Degrees and variations of liminality are i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anthropology Southern Africa Vol. 34; no. 1-2; pp. 62 - 72
Main Author: van der Waal, Kees (C. S.)
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Routledge 01.01.2011
Subjects:
Afrikaans
creolisation
cultural politics
disability
identity
Liminality
South Africa
transition
ISSN:2332-3256, 2332-3264
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This article explores interpretive possibilities offered by the concept of liminality in the context of identity politics in South Africa in an attempt to build on the rich and stimulating work of Victor Turner towards a comparative and contextual analysis. Degrees and variations of liminality are identified; I am interested, for instance, in whether it is part of hegemonic domination or tactical resistance, historically structured or innovative, and how it is related to class, gender and race in order to go beyond structural positions and social categories. After looking at the current South African transition as a liminal phase, manifestations of Afrikaner/Afrikaans cultural politics are investigated on the level of individual and collective liminality, drawing from the literature, fieldwork and personal experience. With regard to individual and social identity based on Afrikaans, liminality appears, under certain conditions, as either a form of defensive victimhood or as social connectedness and creolisation.
ISSN:2332-3256
2332-3264
DOI:10.1080/23323256.2011.11500009