Chiefly Authority, Leapfrogging Headmen and the Political Economy of Zululand, South Africa, ca. 1930-1950

Abstract

In early twentieth century South Africa, where white and capitalist domination of Africans was the central feature of the country's political economy, various elements of African society tried to use 'tradition' in a defensive manner to resist the pernicious effects of social and economic dislocation. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Zulu king and chiefs held popular support, despite their incorporation into the white state that threatened to undermine their legitimacy. This was, in part, because of their power over land allocation, and in part because they represented a symbolic and idealised past in which the Zulu kingdom fought to defend itself against colonial conquest and intervention. Shula Marks first highlighted the importance of the Natal-Zululand case for understanding chiefly authority, as well as the chiefs' opposition to, and co-option by, the state. This paper draws on her work to expand the discussion of Zulu chiefs and headmen, especially in the economic sphere, and argues that insufficient attention has been devoted to differences between northern and southern Zululand, and to the strategies of non-royal headmen in shaping the pattern of local authority.