Abstract
This study compares dynamics in the contestation of history and identity between Paul to post-1994 white Afrikaners in South Africa. In reference to Paul, I am interested in how the followers of the nascent Hellenistic Gentile Christian movement claimed legitimacy as the true Jews, usurping the monopoly of the identity ‘true Jews’ from the Jews, who believed that they alone, stand to claim the Abrahamic promise. Instead, Paul contested the Jewish history and identity, claiming that his Gentile Christians were, in fact, the true Jews – how so? The analysis shall be juxtaposed, providing a discursive analysis to the Afrikaners, who regularly receive claims that they do not belong to South Africa. Specifically, I look into how they contest the South African oral history, claiming that in fact, they are legitimate and the original inhabitants. The study notes that in both cases, identity is constructed through the contestation of history and identity. Thus, the comparison shall be narrowed down to how history is variably, contested for identity formation. Though living within the same locale, the different social groups interpret history differently and variously, appeal to different conspicuous figures and events as their identity markers.
Highlights
History is contested not from facts, but from how it is ideologically interpreted – its discourse
Being a foreigner originally from Zimbabwe, at first I did not understand that in South Africa different ethnic groups have a different construction of the oral past, which feeds into the manner in which they construct their subjective identities
The question is, how is the past contested to create identity, how is it collectively imagined as real – evoked passionately with tenacity and nationalistic feelings, as if it is there for the taking? With regard to Paul, how did he contest the Jewish history to place his nascent Christian movement as the legitimate heir – the true Israel? The same question can be asked of the South African Afrikaners: how do they contest history to legitimise their identity claiming: ‘We are the true and original inhabitancy of this country.’
Summary
History is contested not from facts, but from how it is ideologically interpreted – its discourse. These initial casual conversations made me think – analogically – how Paul contested the Jewish history, thereby proclaiming to his Gentile Hellenistic Christian community to be the true Jews.
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