Infrastructures of Migrant Labour in Colonial Ovamboland, 1915 to 1954

Download or read book Infrastructures of Migrant Labour in Colonial Ovamboland, 1915 to 1954 written by Lovisa Nampala and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2023-09-23 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most research on the migrant labour system in Namibia under South African colonial rule emphasises its dehumanising aspects. In a complete contrast, this study highlights the social and ritual resources that contract workers and their families in colonial Ovamboland mobilised to provide forms of support and connection across great distances and absences. Based on extensive oral research, this study peels back the layers of intangible infrastructure that sustained migrant workers through all the stages of their contract, including observances around workplace deaths. This thesis vividly demonstrates the persistence of older practices that sustained the bonds of life, fellowship and family under stress, as well as adaptation to new colonial system, such as the postal system.