Abstract
This thesis examines the enduring influence of coloniality on the cultural practices and material heritage of the AmaZulu and VhaVenda people, with a specific focus on waist belts as symbols of identity, resilience, and adaptation. Through the lens of coloniality of culture, the study traces how colonial power has reconfigured indigenous knowledge systems and reshaped cultural expressions, often relegating them to the periphery of wider societal narratives.
This research engages directly with AmaZulu and VhaVenda women as co-researchers using decolonial methodologies rooted in relational ontology and epistemology. Their dialogues offer varied insights into the waist belts’ symbolic and practical roles across generations and geographies. Through these conversations, the study explores the differences in cultural knowledge retention and interpretation between urban and rural communities, highlighting the intersection of gender, location, and colonial influence.
The analysis reveals how waist belts, such as the Venda muvhofho and the Zulu isifociya, encapsulate the layered histories of cultural continuity, resistance, and transformation. These objects, often dismissed as mere "craft," are reframed as critical sites of indigenous knowledge and lived experience. This work advocates for a reconceptualization of indigenous material culture within academic discourse, challenging the dominance of Eurocentric paradigms and emphasizing the importance of preserving and valuing indigenous perspectives.
Through this decolonial inquiry, the thesis contributes to the broader conversation on how material culture can illuminate the persistent effects of coloniality and serves as a call to reimagine research practices that centre and respect indigenous voices.