Microsoft Word - PhD Thesis Final.pdf - University of Limpopo ...

life. According to Moses Ngwepe 544 , going to work for wages enhanced a
young man’s status the same way as going for circumcision 545 . Young men
who have never gone to work were referred to as bomahlalela or malofa 546 ,
in a derogatory manner like those who did not go to the mountain school,
who were called mašoboro 547 . Therefore, to have been involved in migrant
labour, young men not only got money and other material possession, they
also boosted their social status. These young men who participated in the
migrant labour system acquired a distinct identity of higher social class
which distinguished them from the rest.
As much as the White authorities and the mine owners needed cheap
migrant labour, they were also faced with a challenge of controlling it. One
of the ways by which the authorities regulated the migrant labour system
was through the pass laws. The control of movement and activities of
Blacks through pass laws has a long history in South Africa. However, it
was only after the large mineral discoveries that they were strictly enforced
and their scope extended. For instance, after the discovery of diamonds in
Kimberly, the Transvaal government forced Blacks who left the Transvaal to
have a pass 548 . After the discovery of gold, the Transvaal governments
544 Interview, Moses Ngwepe, Early Dawn village, 18 May 2003.
545 Interview, Moses Ngwepe, Early Dawn village, 18 May 2003.
546 “Loafers”.
547 Boys who did not go through circumcision school.
548 J. Pampallis, Foundations of the new South Africa, p 28.
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