Home › African Studies › The Kaleidoscope of Life: Essays on Identity and Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

The Kaleidoscope of Life: Essays on Identity and Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

by Sithembele Isaac Xhegwana

Identity, colonial history, and Indigenous knowledge

Regular price $31.74 USD
Regular price $39.68 USD Sale price $31.74 USD
Save 20%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.

Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

Identity, colonial history, and Indigenous knowledge

Presented as a collection of essays, Sithembele Isaac Xhegwana’s book examines how colonial plunder extended beyond people and material resources to Indigenous knowledge systems. The description connects this history with the influence of Western religion and education, and frames the author’s discussion around inculturation, African identity, and decolonisation. Its central concern is the place of Indigenous ways of knowing in accounts of Africa’s past and present. The book is situated within African cultural and ethnic studies, with a focus on challenging the dominance of Western epistemologies.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in African cultural and ethnic studies
  • Those exploring Indigenous knowledge systems and decolonisation
  • Readers studying colonial history, identity, and Western epistemologies

Themes

Indigenous knowledge systemsColonialism and cultural appropriationAfrican identityDecolonisationWestern epistemology

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"At this time and age, we all are aware of this plunder which did not only end with natural resources, livestock and people who were either turned into slaves or also ravished; the indigenous knowledge systems were either appropriated or completely destroyed. The Western epistemology, in the form of religion and education, found the 'natives' not only le indigent but almost reduced to nothing. A er they had been stripped of everything they had, in the form of both the infrastructure and cosmology, mostly practiced in the form of specialized artwork and supernatural invocations, di erent forms of Western inculturation were implanted...

"...The author himself, having been a victim of this furious but passive inculturation engages the silent harbingers of this epistemology and thus deliberate lies about Africa. Today, Africa needs to not only li the veil but to rip it o in its quest for decolonialization. Xhegwana's voice, in its own ways and manners, emulates and thus adds to the clarion call of decentering from Western knowledge/s; that of Sol Plaatjie, S.E.K. Mqhayi, Mongane Wally Serote, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Captain Ibrahim Traore, and many other heroes stirring the African renaissance." - Andrew Maina

 

Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews