AFRIKANER VALUES IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA: AN ...

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language, religion, history 8 , living space 9 , race, occupation, social position, age or a
combination of these aspects.
1.3 VALUE OF THE STUDY
The value of the study primarily centres around the following four aspects. Firstly the
study highlights the present process of (re)defining the Afrikaner in the context of their
total existence. Secondly, the research results emphasize the impact and extent of the
concept “values” on the Afrikaner identity, culture, morality, religion and narratives.
Thirdly, the study addresses the lack of anthropological knowledge on the Afrikaner,
especially with regard to:
• contemporary insights and perspectives on the Afrikaner values, culture and
identity; and
• one of the most extensive and radical present-day culture and identity change.
The research fourthly, provides a contribution to indigenous anthropology as research
methodology/epistemology and explains how story telling and narratives play an
important role in the insider perspective as research method. The research practice will
be discussed in the next chapter.
8 The historical construction of identity is, generally speaking, very highly regarded (Cattell 2001:13-15
and Stanton 1996:173). However, some writers (Brown 1997:36 and 41; Martin 1995:12 and 15; Peoples
& Bailey 2000:308 and Van Staden 1997:30) warn against the overemphasis of the presumed importance
of precise historical events because the creation of identities is more concerned with the subjective
interpretation of history than with “real” historical facts. Degenaar (in Cattell 2001:15) maintains that the
inherent instability of identity goes together with the fluidity of the historical context because of its
continual reinterpretation.
9 In narratives, space is proposed as the locality where the necessities of life are available; where the
community can sustain itself and multiply; where people believe they belong because it is where their
ancestors were buried; where particular forms of social interaction occur; where particular customs are
considered an indispensable ingredient of a good life; and where power is controlled in a particular way by
specific people. It must, however, be pointed out that space is often inappropriately regarded (Owens
2002:271) as a cultural construct where social relationships are expressed through their own rules of
combination and articulation. As a result, homologies between spatial categories and categories of
distinctive socio-cultural practice are easily taken for granted, while the distinctiveness of societies, nations
and cultures is based upon a seemingly unproblematic division of space on the grounds of the claim that
people “naturally” occupy discontinuous spaces (Gupta & Ferguson 1992:6).