Umsindleko: A Gcaleka Ritual Of Incorporation - McAllister, P. A.

The Gcaleka people of the Transkei speak of going out to work in the urban-industrial centres of South Africa as going to 'war' and celebrate the return of a migrant worker with joy and thanksgiving. One of the rituals which marks return is a beer drink called umsindleko. In this study umsindleko is examined within the context of a series of ritual events associated with labour migration, and against a background of economic dependence on the earnings of migrant workers. Drawing extensively on the skilful oratory performed at umsindleko the relationship between Gcaleka society and the world of wage employment is explored, in an attempt to illustrate the 'meaning' of labour migration to the people involved in it.

Softcover. English. Institute of Social and Economic Research, Rhodes University. 1981. ISBN: 9780868100340. 57 pp. Good. Book No: 2504061