The origin and evolution of the nineteenth-century Zulu Kingdom are used to examine two
competing state formation theories: Robert Carneiro's circumscription theory and Elman …

The role of climate variability in pre-colonial southern African history is highly disputed. We
here provide a synthesis and critique of climate-society discourses relating to two regionally …

Most histories seek to understand modern Africa as a troubled outcome of nineteenth
century European colonialism, but that is only a small part of the story. In this celebrated …

The oral narrative or myth concerning a candidate divmer's calling to the river is a familiar
tale found among some Zulu and Xhosa-speaking diviners (cf. Callaway 1970: 299, 319-21; …

A longer-range purpose is to collect comparable information on as many polities as possible
in order to facilitate the development of a richer theory to guide language policy and …

Examines indigenous oral traditions and histories in order to explain the factors propelling
sociopolitical consolidation and the emergence of chiefdoms and kingdoms in nineteenth …

The unresolved debate on the mfecane in southern African history has been marked by
general acceptance of the proposition that large-scale loss of life and disruption of settled …

Since the first of its volumes appeared in 1976, the James Stuart Archive of Recorded Oral
Evidence Relating to the History of the Zulu and Neighbouring Peoples has become well …

In 2005, Tony Perman attended a ceremony alongside the living and the dead. His visit to a
Zimbabwe farm brought him into contact with the madhlozi, outsider spirits that Ndau people …

This paper draws attention to the inconsistent development of segregationist strategies on
the eastern Cape frontier during the nineteenth century. It argues that the primary thrust of …