| Abstract
|
:
|
Twenty years ago, the democratic vocabulary of tolerance and forgiveness was powerfully introduced to South Africans, especially by President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Both their words and actions were later broadened during the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, what remains neglected in studies around the transition is what the underpinnings of the words by these two gentlemen were. This article makes a case that a radically different ontology, different to the one made available by the Christian religion, informed them, an ontology that has its roots in the work of the First People. Comparing the sense of self as it appears in indigenous /Xam texts to the sense of self which comfortably misinterpret Mandela’s words in some comic strip frames, the article underlines how important a new sense of self is in redefining concepts desiring a more just world. Twenty years ago, the democratic vocabulary of tolerance and forgiveness was powerfully introduced to South Africans, especially by President Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Both their words and actions were later broadened during the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, what remains neglected in studies around the transition is what the underpinnings of the words by these two gentlemen were. This article makes a case that a radically different ontology, different to the one made available by the Christian religion, informed them, an ontology that has its roots in the work of the First People. Comparing the sense of self as it appears in indigenous /Xam texts to the sense of self which comfortably misinterpret Mandela’s words in some comic strip frames, the article underlines how important a new sense of self is in redefining concepts desiring a more just world.
|