Search

This article discusses the history of passive resistance in South Africa. The effects of the introduction of the plough on the division of labor in the tribal economy of the Bantu peoples of South Africa, the repercussions of conversion to Christianity on tribal authority, and the modification of family structure as a result of mine labor, provide a ready demonstration of the applicability of the law of cultural radiation. During three centuries of acculturation, this selective borrowing of items in isolation from their original setting has transformed the culture of the Bantu tribes. But the consequences are very much more complex at the present time, when the groups are completely interdependent, assimilation is proceeding rapidly and white and non-white participate in the same institutions.