Retaining indigenous values of built heritage: a case of Makgabeng, Limpopo province, South Africa
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Date
2021
Authors
Moremoholo, Matseliso
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Abstract
Values that influence the conservation of built heritage in South Africa have been based on the
western perspective of what constitutes value. In turn, these western values are based on tangible
values that focus on retaining the built environment using aesthetic and economic values, as well
as sustainability. Intangible indigenous values, such as ancestral values, have been side-lined
under the assertion that they are backward. The inclusion of intangible values within the
conservation of the built environment has been under the influence of approaches such as Critical
Discourse Analysis and Multi Criteria Decision Making through encouraging public participation
processes.
Globalisation and urbanisation continue to affect how the conservation of indigenous built
environments is dealt with. The Indigenous Knowledge Systems Bill was passed in South Africa
only in 2017 and the Protection, Promotion, Development, and Management of Indigenous
Knowledge Act (Act 6 of 2019) was enacted only in 2019. It can therefore be argued that the
protection of indigenous knowledge and indigenous ways of life, as well as the indigenous built
environments and values associated with them is still in its infancy in South Africa.
It is under these conditions that I seek to investigate how intangible indigenous values of built
heritage can or have been incorporated and retained in brick-and-mortar architecture. This
incorporation would not only ensure the conservation of said values but would also, in turn,
render those structures as heritage. To tackle this, Makgabeng Plateau, located in the Limpopo
province of South Africa, was chosen as a case study area.
Description
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science to the Faculty of Science, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021