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CULTURE, IDENTITY AND THE LAW

Sodi TDepartment of Psychology, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa

Email: [email protected]

Paper presented at the Traditions 1 Conference Soweto Hotel, South Africa18 – 19 November 2009

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OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION

1.THE CASE STUDIES

2.THE LEGAL QUESTIONS

3.THE DEBATE – UNIVERSALISM VS RELATIVISM

4.CULTURE AND IDENTITY: THE CONCEPT OF HARMONY

5.CULTURE, HEALTH AND ILLNESS

6.AFFIRMATION OF AN IDENTITY: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROJECT

7.CONCLUSION

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1. CASE STUDIES

Tony Yengeni and the ritual slaughter

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When the honourable member of parliament, Mr Tony Yengeni was released from prison early in 2007, heslaughtered a bull at his parents’ home in Gugulethu(CapeTown).

Whilst he celebrated and interpreted this act of ritual bull slaughter as a traditional cleansing ceremony, the animalrights activists, through the Society for the Prevention ofCruelty to Animals (SPCSA) considered Mr Yengeni’s behaviour as a criminal act that needed to be investigatedunder the Animal Protection Act

1. CASE STUDIES

16 Year Limpopo girl has cancer

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When a 16 year old girl from Limpopo Province was diagnosed with cancer, the mother wanted to take her to a traditional healer. On the other hand, the management of Mankweng hospital (where she was receiving treatment)

gotan urgent court interdict to prevent the mother from removing her daughter from the hospital. This was done to have the child treated in hospital against her mother’s wish.

2. THE LEGAL QUESTIONS

On the issue of ritual bull slaughter

In South Africa, Act Number 71 of 1962

as amended stipulates: “Any person who --- kills any

animal in contravention of a prohibition

in terms of a notice published in the Gazette ---

shall be shall, --- subject to the provisions of

this Act and any other

law, be guilty of an offence and liable on

conviction to a fine not exceeding R4 000 or in

default of payment to imprisonment for a period

not exceeding twelve months or to such

imprisonment without the option of a fine ….”,

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On the issue of the 16 year old girl

An interesting critique of animal rights movement:

“Animal rights advocates believe that animals have basic

rights – many say, the same as people – to be free from

confinement, pain, suffering, use in experiments, and death

for reason of consumption by other animals (including

humans). Thus, animal rights advocates oppose the use of

animals for food, for clothing, for entertainment, for medical

research, for product testing, --- and as pets. Currently,

animal rights doctrine is essentially philosophical, ----

vegetarian, pro-activist, moralistic, and urban-based” (Albright 1986).

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On the issue of ritual bull slaughter

In South Africa, section 15 Subsection 1

of the Bill of Rights stipulates:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of

conscience, religion, thought, belief and

opinion”

Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act No. 108 of 1996

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On the issue of the 16 year old Limpopo girl with cancer

In South Africa, section 28 Subsection 1b

of the Bill of Rights stipulates:

“Every child has the right to family care or parental care,

or to appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment”


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On the issue of the 16 year old Limpopo girl with cancer

The same section 28 Subsection 2 of the Bill of Rights stipulates:

“A child's best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.”


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3. THE DEBATE: UNIVERSALISM VS RELATIVISM

UniversalismHuman phenomena or all psychological processes are the same across all cultures (Sam & Moreira, 2002; Berry, Segall,

Poortinga & Dasen, 1992) Culture is viewed as peripheral; only masking

basic underlying psychological universals

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Culture relativismAll human behaviours are culturally patterned (Sam & Moreira, 2002; Swartz, 1998)“It is impossible to speak of human behaviour without taking into account the cultural context in which it is manifest”

3. THE DEBATE: UNIVERSALISM VS RELATIVIS

WHAT THEN ARE WE SAYING?

UniversalismThe girl from Limpopo has cancer ( a medical condition). Culture in this case is considered to be irrelevant as it has absolutely no role in causal explanations, meaning, and treatment of this “medical condition”

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Culture relativismMr Yengeni’s ritual slaughter of a bull:A“This is definitely not an SPCSA matter, because it is not about cruelty to animals. Instead, it is about man’s search for meaning, purpose and the redefinition of the relationship with the cosmos,God and his ancestry”Mr Sandile Memela, spokesperson for Arts and Culture Minister (defending Mr Yengeni’s actions and the government’s reluctance to condemn ritual bull slaughtering

4. CULTURE AND IDENTITY: THE QUESTION OF HARMONY

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Mr Yengeni probably interprets his “time in jail” as a manifestation of disharmony in his relationship with the spiritual world. Under these circumstances, the relationship between his family and the ancestors

need to be restored

The healthy person in African traditional thought is “…harmonised with self, others, nature, the spirit world, and the universe by connections, interactions …” Dana, 1993,

p. 40

5. CULTURE, HEALTH AND ILLNESS

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In traditional Western thought, physical illness is explained primarily in terms of the germ theory.

Physical illness in all its manifestation is biological in origin.

The mother of the 16 year old Limpopo girl may not be subscribing to this particular theory or illness. Does she

have a choice under these circumstances?

6. AFFIRMATION OF AN IDENTITY: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROJECT

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"Modem man does not understand how much his 'rationalism' (which has

destroyed his capacity to respond to numinous symbols and ideas) has put

him at the mercy of the psychic 'underworld.' He has freed himself from 'superstition' (or so he believes), but in

the process he has lost his spiritual values to a positively dangerous

degree. His moral and spiritual tradition has disintegrated, and he is now paying the price for this breakup in world-wide

disorientation and dissociation.”

Carl Jung (1964). Man and His Symbols, p 84

7. CONCLUSION

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The Euro-centric models to health, illness and behaviour need to be interrogated if psychology and other behavioural sciences are to remain relevant in Africa. Practices such as animal sacrifices are affirmation of an identity and are thus psychologically meaningful if understood from within the cultural context of the individuals concerned.

THANK YOURE A LEBOGA

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